Authors: GGarza

Posted on Windows 7 News & Tips

Conflicter was a computer worm launched in 2008, and quickly infected computers worldwide. It was a different type of worm because it infects computers through a number of mechanisms, including file sharing and removable drives. It is dangerous because it can infiltrate and disable disable important computer services and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, all without human interaction.

The Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit is well underway to understanding how botnets work and find ways to eliminate or disable them.

 Did the Bad Guys Win?

In part yes. Conflicter still poses a significant threat to the Internet infrastructure as long as infected computers are still subject to the remote control of those behind Conficker. It is estimated that about 3.2 million computers world wide are still infected.

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But in another way, however, the community’s efforts starting with Microsoft and with other security firms to fight Conficker created new avenues for understanding how the botnets work. Plus it lead to an advanced and redefined the fight against botnets ever since.

 Where the Good Guys did win

The alliance to attack Botnets the thinking behind the Conficker Working Group. And it was the foundation for Microsoft’s efforts with their partners to annihilate botnets. So far the Alliance has eliminated the Waledac, Rustock and Kelihos botnets. They were also responsible for the takedown efforts by other Botnets such as Coreflood and DNS Changer.

There was an attitude change among security firms. Before Conficker, there was hesitation about taking action against Botnets for fear of “making smarter criminals.” Now the attitude is “let’s get smarter than them.”

Moral of the Story

I know that this sounds like a cliche. But if you don’t have virus protection on your computer, you are a good candidate for infection. And while there are numerous virus protection programs available, you can get Microsoft’s Security Essentials for free.

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