Downadup

Downadup (a.k.a. Conficker or Kido) is not the cleverest
e-threat ever. It is just a very well-written piece of malware, highly aggressive
and resistant. The worm did not the damage other worms have done, but it has
great potential though, especially because it can update itself in a smart
manner.

The alleged “Internet Apocalypse” is nothing else than a
simple speculation. So far, the code analysis of different Downadup variants
revealed no other evidence in this respect. The only sure thing by now, other
than its high rate of infections, is that the worm was crafted for deploying
rogue security software on the compromised machines.

The rumors that media amplified are based on the
misunderstanding of an enhanced feature pertaining to the latest variant.
Downadup initial versions connected to a limited number of domains in order to
update. The current enhancement refers to the generation of 50,000 random
domains and the selection of 500 of them that it attempts to randomly connect
for the same update purposes, starting April 1^st (see full
description).

 

Still, the number of the Downadup infected machines around
the globe probably equals already that of Belgium’s
or Netherlands’
population, while Q1 infection rates reveal absolutely alarming figures, as you
can see below.

 

Top 10 Most Infected Countries	Percentile infections growth in Feb (compared to Jan)
Australia	311.62
China	287.98
Indonesia	256.58
Spain	222.73
Philippines	220.32
India	214.47
Thailand	209.08
Malaysia	183.67
Italy	137.08
France	126.51

 

Top 10 Most Infected Countries	Percentile infections growth in Mar (compared to Jan)
China	683.71
Australia	473.99
Indonesia	339.96
India	316.71
Spain	280.81
Philippines	264.00
Thailand	199.11
Malaysia	193.19
France	164.30
Italy	116.37

 

Top 10 Most Infected Countries	Percentile infections growth in Mar (compared to Feb)
China	237.42
Australia	152.11
India	147.67
Indonesia	132.50
France	129.88
Spain	126.08
Philippines	119.83
Malaysia	105.18
Thailand	95.23
Italy	84.89

 

There is only one point here: Downadup is not a toy or an
April Fools’ Day joke. It is important that you patch your OS with the latest
updates, while also installing and activating a reliable proactive security
suite. Remember to scan everything and to trust nobody!

Better safe than sorry!

P.S.: If your system has been infected, there is still hope.
Check http://www.bdtools.net/, download
the Downadup Removal Tool, follow the instructions and clean your system.
Ideally, once you eliminated Downadup from your machine, you should patch your
OS with the latest updates, install and activate an antimalware suite.