Want to score a cool quarter mil? Track down Conficker's maker

What's a sure sign that Conficker (also called Downadup) has actually infected lots of innocent users? The answer is, when Microsoft offers a $250,000 bounty on the worm author's head.

According to their press release, if you can supply any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Conficker worm, Microsoft wants to give you a quarter million dollar reward. That's a nice chunk of change! I suspect many a researcher is scurrying to his or her underground contacts, trying to dig up some information on the gang behind this infection.

Meanwhile, the deplorable malcontents behind Conficker have not rested on their laurels. According to the latest reports, researchers have already discovered a new variant of Conficker called, Conficker B++. The original Conficker generated seemingly random malicious domain using an algorithm that changed daily, in order to find locations where it could download new malware. A group of malware fighters calling themselves the Conficker Cabal, cracked this algorithm and locked those future domains, thus preventing Conficker from downloading future malicious payloads. However, Conficker B++ was designed to combat that problem. In short, Conficker B++ is programmed with alternate means of downloading new binaries. So even if the Conficker Cabal blocks those malicious domains generated by that original algorithm, Conficker B++ can still find its malicious payload using other techniques.

Despite this nasty evolution, all the previous defenses still work against the latest variants of Conficker:

1. Use a firewall
2. Make sure your Windows systems have up-to-date patches
3. Use antivirus programs that automatically download new signatures
4. Be wary of using others' USB devices

If you at least follow those four tips, Conficker will have a tough time getting into your network.