26 January 2009

15 million PCs, but not a single Macintosh

UPI has a story about the latest virus:
A virulent computer virus has infected more than fifteen million computers around the world so far, British experts say. The Independent on Sunday reported that the worm— known as Downadup, Conficker or Kido— had contaminated six million PCs in the past three days alone. The newspaper said more than 3,000 British organizations, including hospitals and the Ministry of Defense, have received the virus.
Officials in Britain, the United States, Russia, China and India say they are waiting to see what the virus's effects will be, if anything. The newspaper reported there is a possibility the virus has no function other than to demonstrate its originator's skill, but some security experts think it unlikely a worm so sophisticated at this one would have no ulterior purpose.
Tom Gaffney, technical manager of F-Secure, says this could be to capture confidential information, such as online account details and passwords. He said it is likely the worm is a "rootkit," which gives the virus designer administrative access to remote computers.
Rico says he almost feels sorry for all those millions of PC owners; they could've invested in some anti-virus software, of course...

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