The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Storm Worm
The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Storm Worm
In January 2007, a new computer virus started making its rounds on the internet. This virus, called the Storm Worm, quickly became the most prolific and destructive virus in history. In just a few short weeks, the Storm Worm had infected millions of computers around the world, and caused billions of dollars in damage.
The Storm Worm was so damaging because it was designed to be a “botnet” – a network of infected computers that could be controlled by the virus creators and used to launch attacks on other computers or networks. The Storm Worm was used to launch some of the biggest denial-of-service attacks ever seen, and was also used to send out billions of spam emails.
The Storm Worm was finally stopped in its tracks in March 2007, after a global effort by security researchers and law enforcement. But the damage had already been done, and the Storm Worm remains the most dangerous computer virus ever created..Original source
The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of theConficker virus
In 2008, a worm called Conficker, also known as Downadup, hit the internet. It was unlike any other worm that came before it. For one, it was incredibly difficult to remove. For another, it was able to spread quickly and easily, infecting millions of computers in just a few weeks.
The story of Conficker is a cautionary tale of how a seemingly innocuous piece of code can spiral out of control and cause Worldwide havoc.
The Conficker worm was first discovered in November of 2008 by security firm F-Secure. It was designed to exploit a then-un patched flaw in the Windows operating system. The worm worked by infecting a computer and then scanning the internet for other vulnerable computers. Once it found another vulnerable computer, it would infect that one as well.
This process would continue, with the worm infecting more and more computers. The worm was able to infect computers that were not even connected to the internet by using removable drives such as USB sticks.
Within a few weeks, the worm had infected millions of computers in over 190 countries. The estimated damage caused by the worm was over $9 billion.
The worm caused such havoc that the United States government Got involved. The Department of Homeland Security set up a website to provide information on how to remove the worm.
Microsoft also got involved, offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for creating the worm.
Fortunately, the worm did not contain any malicious code. It did not delete files or steal information. However, it did slow down infected computers and made them vulnerable to other malware.
The person or persons responsible for creating the worm were never found. However, the worm continues to infect computers today. It is estimated that there are still over 10 million computers infected with the Conficker worm.
The best way to protect your computer from the Conficker worm is to keep your Operating system and security software up to date.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous computer virus ever. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.