Conficker botnet claiming 50,000 victims a day

The Conficker malware is still spreading

Weeks after leaving the media spotlight, the Conficker malware infection continues to spread, according to experts.

Researchers at security firm Symantec have reported that the botnet is still claiming victims at a rate of 50,000 a day. Infections are the highest in the US, Brazil, India, China, Mexico and Italy.

"Much of the media hype seems to have died down around Conficker/Downadup, but it is still out there spreading far and wide," the researchers wrote in a blog post.

Conficker spread throughout the world during the early part of the year. When researchers discovered that the third variant was designed to dial a control server on 1 April, a media storm erupted.

The malware failed to perform any sort of significant attack, but continued to spread throughout April. Researchers discovered later in the month that a new variant was making the rounds.

Since the frenzy died down, Conficker has been eclipsed in the public eye by more prolific attacks, such as the recent Gumblar infection.