Downadup – The Internet Apocalypse That Won’t Happen

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.

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.