Experts warn of imminent Conficker attack

[Barman58]

Experts warn of imminent Conficker attack

Security experts have uncovered new Conficker activity which could indicate that the hackers behind the worm are finally gearing up for an assault.
Researchers at Trend Micro discovered a new variant of Downad/Conficker last night, called Worm_Downad.E, which is spreading over the peer-to-peer network of infected PCs created by the previous version.


Full story ....


Experts warn of imminent Conficker attack - vnunet.com

 

[dmex]

Anyone who STILL hasnt patched their system for conflicker in the last 8 months deserves every virus they get :huh:

 

[Orbital Shark]

Anyone who STILL hasnt patched their system for conflicker in the last 8 months deserves every virus they get :huh:

Sorry if this seem a bit of a noob question (i've got a headache LOL). What do you mean by patched? If you mean 100% up-to-date then i'll be ok

 

[swarfega]

or is there a patch we should know about?

 

[itznfb]

nope, standard windows update will take care of it

 

[TechOutsider]

nope, standard windows update will take care of it

Or disable the "Server" service via services.msc. Conflicker exploits a hole in the Server service.

 

[dmex]

Conflicker exploits a hole in the Server service.

A patch for that exploit has been out over 6 months over 4 months before the first Conflicker variant was discovered, if people bothered to use Windows Update or install the patch then Conflicker would be useless and mean absolutely nothing.

Disabling the Server Service is pointless if your using a firewall and it also disables File Sharing

People who got infected:
A) Didn't use a firewall
B) Didn't patch there system

The infection rate just mirrors the amount of people who dont use Windows Update or patch their systems so they deserve all the problems they get for being ignorant.

 

[Compaker]

Just imagine "Conficker strikes during Earth Hour, Epic failure on their fault." Lol.

 

[Barman58]

The unfortunate thing is that Conficker is most prevalent as an infection in markets where the use of counterfeit copies of Windows is at it's highest.

These copies are not likely to be kept patched, so it reinforces Dmex's statement that users who keep their system up to date with all the patches from Windows Update, should not worry about this.

What is more worrying in this case is what the Conficker Botnet is going to be used for. The people in control of the Botnet have at their command a massive amount of computing power which if used to launch some form of zero day attack could cause havoc with the internet.

Hopefully the Botnet will just be used for normal criminal activity :huh: like stealing user passwords, but my paranoia does make me worry a little

 

[Jacee]

Also, be aware that the Bots (infected machines) send out thousands upon thousands of of spam email. Many domains that look perfectly innocent have been compromised, so don't be click happy.

 

[baarod]

The unfortunate thing is that Conficker is most prevalent as an infection in markets where the use of counterfeit copies of Windows is at it's highest.

These copies are not likely to be kept patched, so it reinforces Dmex's statement that users who keep their system up to date with all the patches from Windows Update, should not worry about this.

What is more worrying in this case is what the Conficker Botnet is going to be used for. The people in control of the Botnet have at their command a massive amount of computing power which if used to launch some form of zero day attack could cause havoc with the internet.

Hopefully the Botnet will just be used for normal criminal activity :huh: like stealing user passwords, but my paranoia does make me worry a little

It's going to be used by Hulu to take over the planet!

 

[Jacee]

More on understanding and protecting yourself against Conficker
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

Latest group to get hit:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514681,00.html