rewrite

Quoting:Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, first appeared last November. The worm is self-replicating and has attacked a vulnerability in machines using Microsoft's Windows operating system, the software that runs most computers.

It can infect machines via a net connection or by hiding on USB memory drives used to ferry data from one computer to another. Once in a computer, it digs deeps, setting up defences making it hard to extract.

Microsoft put up $250,000 to catch those behind Conficker

Among those affected by the virus have been the House of Commons and the defence forces of the UK, Germany and France.

The reason for the hype and the concern around Conficker is that 1 April was the day the worm was set to change the way it updates itself, moving to a system that is much harder to combat.