Nasty worm wriggles into millions of computers, identified as 'Conficker' or 'Downadup'
A NASTY worm has wriggled into millions of computers and continues to spread, leaving security experts wondering whether the attack is a harbinger of evil deeds to come.
US software protection firm F-Secure says a computer worm known as "Conficker" or "Downadup" had infected more than nine million computers and was spreading at a rate of one million machines daily.
The malicious software had yet to do any noticeable damage, prompting debate as to whether it is impotent, waiting to "detonate", or a test run by cybercriminals intent on profiting from the weakness in the future.
"This is enormous; possibly the biggest virus we have ever seen," said software security specialist David Perry of Trend Micro.
"I think the bad guys are field testing a new technology. If Conficker proves to work well, they could go out and sell malware (malicious software) to people.
Update your windows operating system regularly to ensure you do not get infected with worms like this..... Wow some people are just stupid
The worm, a self-replicating program, takes advantage of networks or computers that haven't kept up to date with security patches for Windows RPC Server Service.
It can infect machines from the internet or by hiding on USB memory sticks carrying data from one computer to another. Once in a computer it digs deep, setting up defences that make it hard to extract.
Malware could be triggered to steal data or turn control of infected computers over to hackers amassing "zombie" machines into "botnet" armies.
Microsoft says it is aware of the Conficker "worm family" and has modified its free Malicious Software Removal Tool to detect and get rid of infections.
The US software giant also advises people to stay current on anti-virus tools and Windows updates, and to protect computers and files with strong passwords.
A troubling aspect of the worm is that it can potentially crack passwords and lock a legitimate user out of their own computer.
"Downadup uses brute force from the infected network of botnets to break the password of the machine being attacked," Perry said.
"That is something never seen before and I find it disturbing."
Mr Perry urged people to harden passwords by mixing in numbers, punctuation marks, and upper-case letters.
Doing so makes it millions of times harder for passwords to be deduced, according to Mr Perry.
"This is necessary in a world where malware hacks passwords," Mr Perry said.
"Go get a notebook, keep it next to your computer and record your password in it. No hacker in the world can hack the written page locked away in your office."
Barack Obama suspends Guantanamo Bay cases
HOURS after taking office, US President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases.
Military judges were expected to rule on the request today at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official involved in the trials said.
The request would halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3000 people.
Prosecutors said in their written request that the halt was "in the interests of justice".
Mr Obama has pledged to shut down the Guantanamo prison camp that was widely seen as a stain on the United States' human rights record and a symbol of detainee abuse and detention without charge under the administration of his predecessor, former President George W. Bush.
Human rights activists and military defence lawyers had urged him to halt the special tribunals that are formally known as military commissions and move the prosecutions into the regular US courts.
"In order to permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commission process, generally, and the cases currently pending before the military commissions, specifically, the secretary of defence has, by order of the president directed the chief prosecutor to seek continuances of 120 days in all pending case," prosecutors said in the document.
About 248 foreign captives are still held at the detention center that opened in January 2002. The Bush administration had said it planned to try 80 prisoners on war crimes charges, but only three cases have been completed.
