A new variant of the Conficker, or Downadup, worm has emerged, and researchers believe it has been designed to neutralize the efforts of an industry coalition that is trying to prevent infected machines from receiving additional instructions or code updates, according to a report this week from nonprofit research institute SRI International. The Conficker B++ variant finds a new way for its authors to communicate with compromised computers thanks to features that allow drones to receive binary updates without being forced to meet an "internet rendezvous" point. — DK