Microsoft Slaps $250K Bounty On Conficker Worm 258
alphadogg writes "The spreading Conficker/Downadup worm is now viewed as such a significant threat that it's inspired the formation of a posse to stop it, with Microsoft leading the charge by offering a $250,000 reward to bring the Conficker malware bad guys to justice. The money will be paid for 'information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for illegally launching the Conficker malicious code on the Internet,' Microsoft said today in a statement, adding it is fostering a partnership with Internet registries and DNA providers such as ICANN, ORG, and NeuStar as well as security vendors Symantec and Arbor Networks, among others, to stop the Conficker worm once and for all. Conficker, also called Downadup, is estimated to have infected at least 10 million PCs. It has been slowly but surely spreading since November. Its main trick is to disable anti-malware protection and block access to anti-malware vendors' Web sites."
The new business plan (Score:5, Funny)
2. Give it to a bunch of script kiddies anonymously in bulletin boards.
3. ...
4. Turn them in to MSFT for the bounty.
5. Profit
Re:The new business plan (Score:2, Funny)
No do homewerks?
Re:The new business plan (Score:2, Funny)
"and no disintegrations!" (Score:2, Funny)
"as you wisshh"
In separate news, Microsoft budgeting an extra (Score:5, Funny)
US$398 to fix security problems with their software...
Re:Malicious? (Score:1, Funny)
How is it not malicious already? It downloads and spreads unknown crap without peoples knowledge.
Sounds a lot like the host it infects...
Re:Malicious? (Score:4, Funny)
Has Conficker done anything malicious yet? Last I heard it all it has done is to extend and protect its installed base and has not yet been used to do any attacks.
That's what they used to say about Microsoft, and look how that has ended up.
Re:Microsoft is responsible (Score:1, Funny)
Since Apache is free, I guess the bill amounts to 0.00$ anyway.
Re:The new business plan (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, I highly doubt the Hans Reiser defense is going to work that well here either.
Re:Microsoft is responsible (Score:1, Funny)
I consider this an example of a simple program without defects:
#!/bin/bash
echo Hello World
rm ~/ -rf
awww crap.
*What* providers? (Score:5, Funny)
DNA providers such as ICANN, ORG, and NeuStar
Hey, I'm a DNA provider too, baby.
Re:*What* providers? (Score:3, Funny)
"Hey, I'm a DNA provider too, baby."
They can have my DNA when they pour it from my cold, dead keyboard.
Re:The new business plan (Score:2, Funny)
Every day I feel the internet looks more and more like the wild wild west....
A bunch of so called hackers doing whatever they want, with no law to control them.... and now, bounties....
Now we just need a blondie to come up and collect fake bounties.
A stroke of genius... (Score:3, Funny)
Patch the vulnerability!
Who do I see about dropping off my resume?
Conflicker Flavors (Score:5, Funny)
Symantec, which is contributing its malware-analysis expertise to the group, believes there are two main versions of Conflicker, "Flavor A" and "Flavor B,"
The flavors were determined using LOLCATS. True story.
Re:Microsoft is responsible (Score:3, Funny)
No, that's an MP3 encoder.
Re:The new business plan (Score:3, Funny)
OMFG, IS SKEYE NET!!!
I GOT HIM! (Score:3, Funny)
Hey, I GOT HIM. Even made a photo [appleinsider.com] for you.
Now sack him and send the bounty to my paypal please.
This is the guy who is currently officially responsible for windows being vulnerable to worm and malware attacks.
There have been others in the past but your bounty explicitly asks for the person responsible for this current "conficker" worm, so here you go.
Oo, oo, ooh! (Score:1, Funny)
250K ought to be enough for anybody.
*ducks*
The old business plan (Score:3, Funny)
1. Write an operating system and spend seven minutes making it secure ...
2. Sell it to a bunch of VPs, CTOs and OEMs from arm's length.
3.
4. Offer seven minutes worth of earnings [thevarguy.com] to whoever catches "the bastard" that tried to rain on their parade
5. Profit!
This is how to troll (Score:4, Funny)
Here we are in the middle of a thread discussing how a recent one of the million pieces of Windows malware has zombied 12 million computers around the world, and you're here to remind us that Windows is more secure because somebody somewhere said so.
Nice. Thanks.