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Tip #4803 - Kraken Botnet

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Kraken Botnet

Over the past year, we here at WorldStart have written many times about the Storm Worm. This worm has become well known worldwide because of its ability to infect computers and remotely execute commands, without any detection by normal antivirus software. Well, until recently, the Storm Worm has been the "big one" to look out for, but now, there's a new botnet on the loose that's causing even more havoc. It's called Kraken.

The Kraken botnet is very similar to the Storm Worm in how it infects computers. It is a decentralized set of botnets that infect computers and send out spam e-mail, but Kraken is quickly becoming more of a threat. According to some of the first data found on this worm, it has infected nearly twice the amount of systems as the Storm Worm. Researchers at Damballa also said it has infected nearly 400,000 systems, including at least 50 Fortune 500 companies.

As of right now, there is no protection against the Kraken botnet. It changes its code very quickly and is able to avoid detection by antivirus software. The good news is, now that this worm has been detected and made public, antivirus and anti-botnet companies can begin finding a way to fight against its attacks. In time, there will be a fix, but it will take awhile to slow this one down.

So, as always, I will keep you posted on this new bug and let you know as soon as a resolution arrives. For now, keep your eyes peeled for any strange activity on your system. Some antivirus software programs are detecting Kraken as an “Unknown File,” so if you see that, you should quarantine the file immediately. Also, since this botnet sends out spam, you might see strange activity in your e-mail, including a high number of returned e-mails and a slow connection. If you see those signs, you should update your antivirus software and run a full system scan just to be safe.

Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends!

~ Gary

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