In an event that hits the computer world only once every few years, security experts are racing against time to mitigate the impact of a bit of malware which is set to wreak havoc on a hard-coded date. As is often the case, that date is April 1.

 

 

 

Malware creators love to target April Fool's Day with their wares, and the latest worm, called Conficker C, could be one of the most damaging attacks we've seen in years.

 

 

 

Conficker first bubbled up in late 2008 and began making headlines in January as known infections topped 9 million computers. Now in its third variant, Conficker C, the worm has grown incredibly complicated, powerful, and virulent... though no one is quite sure exactly what it will do when D-Day arrives.

 

 

 

Thanks in part to a quarter-million-dollar bounty on the head of the writer of the worm, offered by Microsoft, security researchers are aggressively digging into the worm's code as they attempt to engineer a cure or find the writer before the deadline. What's known so far is that on April 1, all infected computers will come under the control of a master machine located somewhere across the web, at which point anything's possible. Will the zombie machines become denial of service attack pawns, steal personal information, wipe hard drives, or simply manifest more traditional malware pop-ups and extortion-like come-ons designed to sell you phony security software? No one knows.

 

 

 

Conficker is clever in the way it hides its tracks because it uses an enormous number of URLs to communicate with HQ. The first version of Conficker used just 250 addresses each day -- which security researchers and ICANN simply bought and/or disabled -- but Conficker C will up the ante to 50,000 addresses a day when it goes active, a number which simply can't be tracked and disabled by hand.

 

 

 

At this point, you should be extra vigilant about protecting your PC: Patch Windows completely through Windows Update and update your anti-malware software as well. Make sure your antivirus software is actually running too, as Conficker may have disabled it.

 

 

 

Microsoft also offers a free online safety scan here, which should be able to detect all Conficker versions.

 

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128643/beware-conficker-worm-come-april-1/

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

It's happening again...Skynet! Get in the chopper. :geek:

We always gonna take those cyber terrorists seriously.

I want to know, what motivates someone to make viruses like this. Revenge against humanity?

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

 

 

I pray your right, because that would be so sweet

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

 

 

I pray your right, because that would be so sweet

 

 

 

Why does it say [blocked due to abuse]?

I want to know, what motivates someone to make viruses like this. Revenge against humanity?

 

Lulz?

 

 

 

Hatred of Microsoft? (I'm sure we all know that one)

 

 

 

Just generally being an arse?

 

 

 

 

 

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

 

 

I pray your right, because that would be so sweet

 

 

 

Why does it say [blocked due to abuse]?

 

 

 

No idea O_o

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

The more I think about it, the more this actually makes sense.

 

I know there are cruel people out there who do things like this because they enjoy seeing others suffer, but April Fool's Day plus the internet can only make me think of Rick Astley.

 

Anyway, cyberterrorists? Let's call Jack Bauer.

I plan on sending all of my friends a rick-roll on aprils fools day. But one of those ones that the go back button is ineffective and you can't X it out. Sometimes tells me no one would have the sense to use Ctrl+alt+delete. Most would restart they're comps. I could use a good laugh. :lol:

The fact that this one activates on April's Fools Day makes me think it's for the lulz.

 

Most of them are, i think. Like, it's for the same cause that you throw a rock at window on an abandoned building.

 

 

 

 

 

Anonymous - "We do it because We can"

Send in Bruce Willis...he's got experience with cyber-terrorists.

... all infected computers will come under the control of a master machine located somewhere across the web, at which point anything's possible. Will the zombie machines ...

 

I like how they make it out to be some sort of zombie apocalypse. :lol:

I'm willing to put hard cash on it mass-sending rickrolls, screamers, and "SUPRISE!" pics. Basically /b/ in video form. This should be interesting.

I plan on sending all of my friends a rick-roll on aprils fools day. But one of those ones that the go back button is ineffective and you can't X it out. Sometimes tells me no one would have the sense to use Ctrl+alt+delete. Most would restart they're comps. I could use a good laugh. :lol:

 

I'm sending my friends some super cool new anime songs from my phone :D For them to only turn to Rick Rolls :twisted:

 

 

 

I'm not particularly worried about this worm though (I should be really since my security is appalling), I'm just praying to Google that it really does turn out to be a Rick Roll.

I want to know, what motivates someone to make viruses like this. Revenge against humanity?

 

That, their egos, the fact that they can do it....there are many things that would motivate someone [who's capable] to do it.

I still dont get what it does, it gonna spam us?

I still dont get what it does, it gonna spam us?

 

Nobody knows what it'll do! It might turn out computers into zombies, start a new ice age, spam our YouTube profiles or... heaven forbid... never want to give us up :ohnoes:

Yet all this and they never say how or where one might get it...

 

 

 

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

If ever that happened, I would never stop laughing.

Yet all this and they never say how or where one might get it...

 

 

 

Dude.

 

 

 

I'm going to so laugh when if on that day millions of computers turn on to the sounds of Rick Astley. :lol:

 

If ever that happened, I would never stop laughing.

 

 

 

That would be the greatest April Fools day prank ever. :twisted:

 

 

 

Too bad this is some serious stuff. A lot of people are going to have damaged computers.

After youtube's shenanigans with rick last april fools they'd have to pull something really creative to get me to laugh. That is, assuming it is rick astley-related

Conficker Worm: It'll [bleep] the [bleep] out of you.

Whoever is behind it must be pretty smart. Not even the combined forces of the greatest security techs around the world can crack the worm... What does someone with such intellect and time on his hands want to do with such a powerful worm?

 

...probably lulz #-o

This doesn't make much sense. :?

Hopefully they'll ddos Australia's government to teach them a lesson for trying this whole censorship thing