Defying Experts, Rogue Computer Code Still Lurks

[ Thanks to Cosmo
Lee for this link. ]

“The program, known as Conficker, uses flaws in Windows
software to co-opt machines and link them into a virtual computer
that can be commanded remotely by its authors. With more than five
million of these zombies now under its control — government,
business and home computers in more than 200 countries — this
shadowy computer has power that dwarfs that of the world’s
largest data centers.

“Alarmed by the program’s quick spread after its debut in
November, computer security experts from industry, academia and
government joined forces in a highly unusual collaboration. They
decoded the program and developed antivirus software that erased it
from millions of the computers. But Conficker’s persistence
and sophistication has squelched the belief of many experts that
such global computer infections are a thing of the past.”

Complete
Story