Microsoft's MSRT Tackles Renocide Malware

Microsoft says its Malicious Software Removal Tool tackles one of the biggest malware families in circulation, reports v3.co.uk.

Dubbed Renocide, the worm first appeared in 2008 and is among the top five detected threats. It has backdoor capabilities that allow the infected PC to be used as part of a botnet. On the Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog, Marian Radu says since 2008 the worm "has slowly but steadily increased its prevalence."

According to Microsoft, Rimecud, a backdoor-enabled worm, takes first place in detected threats, while account stealer Taterf takes second. Third is Sality, which Radu warns is the most dangerous on the list due to its ability to infect other systems.