Security researchers discover 'indestructible' botnet

[eppur_se_muova]

Source: BBC

More than four million PCs have been enrolled in a botnet security experts say is almost 'indestructible'

The botnet, known as TDL, targets Windows PCs and tries hard to avoid detection and even harder to shut down.

Code that hijacks a PC hides in places security software rarely looks and the botnet is controlled using custom-made encryption.

Security researchers said recent botnet shutdowns had made TDL's controllers harden it against investigation.



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13973805

[SoapBox]

1. Uhhhh...yikes.

[cliffordu]

2. All our base are belong to them.

[Thav]

3. I, for one, welcome our new botnet overlords.

Seriously though, a botnet like this can wreak some serious havoc.

[FreeBillClinton]

4. Can't the government install something on my computer to protect me??!!

...unless they already have.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. +1... but which government? n/t

[BadtotheboneBob]

5. Resistance is Futile...

... you will be assimilated.

[sybylla]

6. I had something like that on my computer last year.

It came in after some off the shelf software opened a back-door port. Could not get rid of it. I hid itself in Font files, RealPlayer files, all sorts of places that virus software wouldn't look - or if it did, you wouldn't necessarily think you needed to quarantine.

Ended up doing a reinstall of all the original software and starting over.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

8. I ran Crap Cleaner and Registry Cleaner last night...

...on my puter, I stay away from Real Player stuff, but the registry cleaner found about 100 RealPlayer lines of crap in my registry, of course I cleaned them all out. Had me scratching my head a bit. What does it mean? I don't know, just sharing some information here.

[madokie]

14. After a few times of that kind of shit I made the switch to linux

and haven't looked back. It was an easy change for me too. I was afraid of trying for a long time but when I finally did I found it to be relatively easy and pain free.
I'm using ubuntu 10.10

[blackspade]

7. I have never understood the purpose of these kinds of assaults

other than to prove that the TDL controller is an asshole.
Seriously, the folks that create these shitty programs should be banned from computer use for life.

[itsrobert]

9. Because it creates whole industries to fight it

and when people cannot handled it anymore they throw away their computer and get a new one. It's like a mob protection racket.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Some people actually believe those letters from Nigerian 'bankers'.

Maybe not many, but it doesn't take many to turn random spamming into a profitable enterprise. And a botnet helps hide the spammers' tracks, making it harder to stop them.

From the article: "Recent successes by security companies and law enforcement against botnets have led to spam levels dropping to about 75% of all e-mail sent, shows analysis by Symantec."

[fascisthunter]

12. Windows is a Mess

go Linux and Unix

[Tesha]

13. And MacOS X is, of course, a NetBSD Unix. (NT)

[bemildred]

15. Unices at least make it challenging to break in and take over.

One has two choices that I can see:

1.) Surf in a Unix box of some form, and accept the occasional limits on content functionality.

2.) Surf on a dedicated windoze box that you can do a fresh install on when it acts suspicious.
(This has the advantage that it avoids the usual degradation of performance one sees in old windoze boxes. It always runs like new.)