Conficker C Launched on April 1st As Planned

We previously reported on the anticipated APril 1 launch of the Conficker C botnet and it is now confirmed that it has in fact been launched. The effects have not quite been what was expected; not yet anyway.

It is unknown how many computers are actually infected but the estimate is upwards of ten million. Conficker C was programmed to launch at midnight April 1 and establish a link from the infected computers to command and control servers. It was supposed to have generated a list of 50,000 domain names and then select 500 to contact. Researches say this process has begun.

Infected computers have started reaching out as expected but so far nothing note worthy has happened as a result. "We have observed that Conficker is reaching out, but so far none of the servers they are trying to reach are serving any new malware or any new commands," said Toralv Dirro, a security strategist at McAfee Avert Labs, in Germany.

It is suspected that those in control of the Conficker C are biding their time and waiting for researchers and IT professionals to relax their guard. Most major antivirus manufacturers have released updates which will easily find and remove the Conficker C infection.