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images/news/security.jpgThose behind the Zeus botnet recently decided to press the big red button, bluescreening 100,000 computers around the globe. Security experts aren't sure why yet, although they have some ideas.
The controllers of the Zeus botnet recently hit the kill switch for one reason or another, taking down some 100,000 infected computers with it.
The Washington Post recently profiled the case of Zeus/Zbot—a software kit that sprung up in March that harvests financial and personal data from PCs through the use of a Trojan. Zeus, unlike many other malware programs, managed to make each installation appear different to virus trackers so that it would be more difficult to remove. But Zeus had another interesting feature—one that isn't terribly uncommon among botnet software, it turns out. A command was built into the software to kos—or "kill operating system"—and it was apparently executed some time last month.
Arstechnica
The controllers of the Zeus botnet recently hit the kill switch for one reason or another, taking down some 100,000 infected computers with it.
The Washington Post recently profiled the case of Zeus/Zbot—a software kit that sprung up in March that harvests financial and personal data from PCs through the use of a Trojan. Zeus, unlike many other malware programs, managed to make each installation appear different to virus trackers so that it would be more difficult to remove. But Zeus had another interesting feature—one that isn't terribly uncommon among botnet software, it turns out. A command was built into the software to kos—or "kill operating system"—and it was apparently executed some time last month.
Arstechnica
