Conficker, also known as
Downup,
Downadup and
Kido, is a
computer worm targeting the
Microsoft Windows operating system that was first detected in November 2008.
[1] It uses flaws in Windows software and
Dictionary attacks on administrator passwords to co-opt machines and link them into a virtual computer that can be commanded remotely by its authors. Conficker has since spread rapidly into what is now believed to be the largest computer worm infection since the 2003
SQL Slammer,
[2] with more than seven million government, business and home computers in over 200 countries now under its control. The worm has been unusually difficult to counter because of its combined use of many advanced malware techniques.
[3] source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker