Conficker worm active, security experts say
The Conficker worm, believed to have burrowed into millions of computers around the world, has sent an encrypted data message to infected machines, according to a computer security firm. Trend Micro said the purpose of the mysterious update, sent to other infected machines using peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfer software, was not immediately clear.
Ivan Macalintal, a Trend Micro advanced threats researcher, said Conficker began showing activity on Tuesday, nearly a week after the expected April 1 activation date that had computer security experts on alert around the world.
"As expected, the P2P communications of the Downad/Conficker botnet may have just been used to serve an update," Macalintal wrote in a post late Wednesday on the TrendLabs Malware blog. "The Conficker/Downad P2P communications is now running in full swing!"
