Security researchers report that the number of machines infected by the Downadup worm has skyrocketed from roughly 2.4 million to over 8.9 million in the last four days alone.

Downadup is a malicious worm that uses computer or network resources to make complete copies of itself. And it may also include code or other malware that damages both a computer and network. The worm also goes by the names “Kido” and “Conflicker.”

Once executed, Downadup disables a number of system services, including Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender, and Windows Error Reporting. The worm then connects to a malicious server, where it downloads additional malware to install on the infected computer.

Name :  Worm:W32/Downadup.AL
Detection Names :  Net-Worm.Win32.Kido
Worm:W32/Downadup.AL

Aliases :  Worm:Win32/Conficker (Microsoft)
W32/Conficker.worm.gen (Symantec)
Mal/Conficker (Sophos)

Type: Worm
Category: Malware
Platform: W32