Conficker worm's code

Computer security experts who have analyzed the Conficker worm's code say it is designed to begin a new phase on April 1, and while it's unclear whether it will unleash havoc or remain dormant, its stubborn presence is rattling businesses with multimillion-dollar budgets to fight cyber crime.
Conficker, believed to reside on 2 million to 12 million computers worldwide, is designed to turn an infected PC into a slave that responds to commands sent from a remote server that controls an army of slave computers known as a botnet.
"It can be used to attack as well as to spy. It can destroy files, it can connect to addresses on the Internet and it can forward your e-mail an expert on botnets who helps governments protect against cyber crime.
The virus has been powerful enough to attack infected computers for months by exploiting weaknesses in Microsoft's Windows operating system. Evron and several other analysts said Wednesday's change could simply give Conficker enhanced functionality, possibly making it more dangerous.
In February, Microsoft announced it was offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for creating Conficker, saying the worm constituted a "criminal attack."