Microsoft serious on “Downadup” issue

This is a followup of my article on win32/conficker worm that has grabbed  attention through its widespread infection.
Even Microsoft seems to be hit by its spread. Recently , it has come forward to offer $250,000 to anyone who “catches” the worm authors.

One of the worst scenario of this worm affecting day to day operation ,is the incident where the Houston police department was forced to stop arresting people with traffic warrants because the worm spread its way through the police and city court’s computer systems.There also was a Conficker outbreak among French military computers,which led to several fighter planes being grounded until everything could be fixed.

Microsoft has joined hand with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and other experts like VeriSign,AOL, F-Secure etc . to trace out the worm creators .

“The best way to defeat potential botnets like Conficker/Downadup is by the security and domain name system communities working together..”  : ICANN chief Internet security advisor Greg Rattray.

Microsoft has implemented an Antivirus Reward Hotline at 1-425-706-1111,
and an Antivirus Reward Mailbox at avreward@microsoft.com to share tips.

• Advice about defending against Conficker is available online here.

• Interested in learning more about staying safe online then visit .

To date, Conficker has  infected at least 10 million PCs since first being introduced into the wild.

Meanwhile ,  my “Linux is virus free ”  notion has broken down. I came across an article by Foobar ,which explains  “How to write a Linux virus in 5 easy steps”. You  can read it here .

Additional readings :

• Microsoft press release