Conficker Still Propagating in Ireland, Reports ESET

According to the "Global Threat Trends Report" of Security Company ESET for April 2010, the notorious Conficker virus once again proliferated across the Irish cyber space during April 2010 and was the most prevalent malware.

Explain the company's security researchers that Conficker represents a type of network virus that at first spread by abusing a current security flaw within the Windows OS. This flaw exists within the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) sub-system that an attacker can abuse remotely even in the absence of authentic user credentials. Moreover, the variant of the worm determines whether it may also propagate through unprotected shared folders or through removable media, while employing the Autorun function that is active by default within all Windows operating systems except Windows 7.

Commenting on the growth of Conficker across Ireland, security firm ESET stated that Conficker is still propagating even after over two years i.e. since 2008 when it first emerged. This indicates that several Irish organizations are not doing enough to safeguard their software.

Meanwhile, in addition to Conficker, the second most prevalent malware noticed in the country during April 2010 was INF/Autorun. A general group of e-threats, INF.Autorun relies on Autorun.inf files for an automated launch of Trojans, Trojan downloaders and backdoors at the time the user accesses specific folders or files. And once executed, these malevolent files will normally pull down more malware onto a hijacked computer.

Another malware that ranked third in April 2010 in terms of spreading most extensively was Win32/Agent. State ESET's security researchers that this malware, which is a Trojan program, infects via implanting a backdoor onto a user's computer and then deactivates each and every .exe file while slowing down the PC considerably. Additionally, it can compromise the user's web-browser, intercept his keyboard activities, and what's worse, capture his identity. Typically, this Trojan mutates once it settles on the computer hard drive of a user, which makes it really hard to completely remove it from the system.

Lastly, the security firm detected two other most prevalent malicious programs during April 2010. These are Wind32/PSW.OnLineGames placed on No.4 and INF/Conficker, on No.5.

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» SPAMfighter News - 5/20/2010