-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- software giant microsoft is offering a $ 250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of pcs being hijacked . experts say a single infected laptop could expose an entire network to the worm . experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the conficker or downadup virus , but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen . the worm exploits a bug in microsoft windows to infect mainly corporate networks , then -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it opens a link back to its point of origin , meaning it can receive further orders to wreak havoc . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- turbulence forced a united airlines flight bound for new york 's laguardia airport to land shortly after takeoff tuesday night and sent five people to the hospital , a united spokeswoman confirmed . shortly after united airlines flight 1632 took off from houston 's intercontinental airport at 8:08 p.m. , the flight `` experienced severe turbulence and diverted to lake charles , louisiana , at 8:41 p.m. , '' spokeswoman amy ryan said . lake charles regional airport executive director heath allen told cnn affiliate kplc that three of the injured were members of the flight crew . ! 2 injured when airliner hits turbulence . a total of five people sought medical attention , ryan said , but she declined to characterize the extent of their injuries . there were two pilots , three flight attendants and 76 passengers aboard . microsoft has issued a patch to fix the bug , however if a single machine is infected in a large network , it will spread unchecked -- often reinfecting machines that have been disinfected . the threat from the virus prompted microsoft in collaboration with other technology industry names to this week announce a $ 250,000 reward for information to track down those behind conficker . `` as part of microsoft 's ongoing security efforts , we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers , '' said george stathakopoulos , of microsoft 's trustworthy computing group . mikko hypponen , chief research officer at anti-virus firm f-secure says the true scope of the virus is not known , but in the past 24 hours his company monitored conficker signals from two million internet protocol addresses . `` that 's a lot , '' he told cnn . `` and one ip address here does not mean one infected computer , it means at least one infected computer . `` many of those ip addresses are obviously company proxies or firewalls , hiding hundreds of more infections behind it . unfortunately this also makes it impossible to estimate the total count of infected systems . `` so it 's still big . very big . '' microsoft has previously paid out similar rewards to informants who helped identify the creator of sasser , another notorious worm let loose in 2004 . the perpetrator was tracked to germany , where he was sentenced a year later . flight attendants were preparing to serve drinks about 30 minutes into the flight . `` right about that time , we hit some really severe turbulence , and ... several people flew up and hit the ceiling of the plane and then were immediately slammed down to the floor of the plane , '' first class passenger jeff hornback told kplc . pilot sends plane into dive ; mistakes venus for another plane . `` i heard both the pilot and a flight attendant say that they had been flying for 20 or 30 years and had never seen anything like what they saw today , '' he said . the national transportation safety board is investigating the incident . a new zealand man was taken aback after receiving a phone call from his brother who had been missing for 10 years . john daniel tohill , 37 , was last heard from by family in 2005 after he left nelson on the tasman bay to travel north . but on tuesday evening his brother tobias received a call from john saying he had would be visiting in the coming weeks , reports stuff nz . kevin pietersen 's attempt to impress the england selectors ended in failure in cardiff on sunday afternoon . in the same swalec stadium arena where pietersen hopes to be batting against australia in the first ashes test this summer , the surrey batsman fell for 19 after appearing to be ready to build on the 170 he made against the oxford students last week . pietersen was making his first lv = county championship appearance since june 2013 in the hope of finding a way back into the england set-up . kevin pietersen trudges off the pitch after being dismissed for 19 on his championship return . according to allen , a relief flight crew arrived from houston , and the flight departed lake charles regional airport after 2 a.m. wednesday and landed at laguardia just after 6 a.m. pietersen edges behind off the bowling of craig meschede having already survived a scare . the former england star 's expression tells the story as he sees the ball held at first slip . the 34-year-old came to the wicket just after lunch with surrey well placed on 111 for two and he was soon into his stride with two boundaries - one through the legside and the other a fine cover drive - in the same andy carter over . pietersen was fortunate to escape with a mistimed hook off graham wagg , which just beat the fine-leg fielder , but he picked up the fourth boundary of his innings when he drove the ball over the head of left-arm spinner dean cosker . however , his 28-ball stay ended when he pushed hard at craig meschede 's medium pace and edged to colin ingram at first slip with surrey reduced to 150 for three . meschede celebrates removing the surrey batsman , but the glamorgan bowlers were made to toil . pietersen had to watch on as his team-mates piled on the runs , with surrey reaching 363/3 on day one . pietersen , who is hoping for an england return , had looked in good form before edging behind . sri lankan star kumar sangakkara , making his surrey debut , outshone pietersen , scoring a century as the visitors piled on the runs on the first day . the 37-year-old put together a huge partnership of over 200 with former england one-day wicketkeeper steven davies - who also reached three figures - after pietersen 's departure . sri lankan kumar sangakarra made a hundred on surrey debut batting at no 3 . john daniel tohill , 37 , made contact with his family this week for the first time since 2005 . over the years his family has hired investigators and police , but because he was an adult and had disappeared without notice before there was little incentive for police to appeal to the public for information . the family learned that john had never left the country , had no savings and did not possess a driver 's licence . but after a call out for public sightings of him , john called his brother on tuesday . ` it 's pretty amazing , ' tobias said . ` he wanted to keep to himself all this time . ' got ta watch : rough plane landings . cnn 's mike ahlers contributed to this report . he was reportedly alerted to the search by a colleague who showed him the story on stuff nz . tobias said his brother offered little explanation to his disappearance . john 's brother tobias -lrb- pictured -rrb- received a call from john saying he had would be visiting them in coming weeks . ` he is happy . he sounds well . he sounds like his is in a good way . we were very happy to hear from him . ' john will visit his family in the coming weeks , including his father , who is in the final stage of dementia . ` it 's a bit strange , ' tobias said . ` it 's really good to hear he is well . i do n't have to think about it any more . '
software giant microsoft offers $ 250,000 bounty to catch conficker author . industry analysts say is one of the most serious infections they have ever seen . the worm exploits a bug in microsoft 's ubiquitous windows software . virus could allow its creators to hijack entire networks .
-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- software giant microsoft is offering a $ 250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of pcs being hijacked . experts say a single infected laptop could expose an entire network to the worm . experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the conficker or downadup virus , but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen . the worm exploits a bug in microsoft windows to infect mainly corporate networks , then -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it opens a link back to its point of origin , meaning it can receive further orders to wreak havoc . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- turbulence forced a united airlines flight bound for new york 's laguardia airport to land shortly after takeoff tuesday night and sent five people to the hospital , a united spokeswoman confirmed . shortly after united airlines flight 1632 took off from houston 's intercontinental airport at 8:08 p.m. , the flight `` experienced severe turbulence and diverted to lake charles , louisiana , at 8:41 p.m. , '' spokeswoman amy ryan said . lake charles regional airport executive director heath allen told cnn affiliate kplc that three of the injured were members of the flight crew . ! 2 injured when airliner hits turbulence . a total of five people sought medical attention , ryan said , but she declined to characterize the extent of their injuries . there were two pilots , three flight attendants and 76 passengers aboard . microsoft has issued a patch to fix the bug , however if a single machine is infected in a large network , it will spread unchecked -- often reinfecting machines that have been disinfected . the threat from the virus prompted microsoft in collaboration with other technology industry names to this week announce a $ 250,000 reward for information to track down those behind conficker . `` as part of microsoft 's ongoing security efforts , we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers , '' said george stathakopoulos , of microsoft 's trustworthy computing group . mikko hypponen , chief research officer at anti-virus firm f-secure says the true scope of the virus is not known , but in the past 24 hours his company monitored conficker signals from two million internet protocol addresses . `` that 's a lot , '' he told cnn . `` and one ip address here does not mean one infected computer , it means at least one infected computer . `` many of those ip addresses are obviously company proxies or firewalls , hiding hundreds of more infections behind it . unfortunately this also makes it impossible to estimate the total count of infected systems . `` so it 's still big . very big . '' microsoft has previously paid out similar rewards to informants who helped identify the creator of sasser , another notorious worm let loose in 2004 . the perpetrator was tracked to germany , where he was sentenced a year later . flight attendants were preparing to serve drinks about 30 minutes into the flight . `` right about that time , we hit some really severe turbulence , and ... several people flew up and hit the ceiling of the plane and then were immediately slammed down to the floor of the plane , '' first class passenger jeff hornback told kplc . pilot sends plane into dive ; mistakes venus for another plane . `` i heard both the pilot and a flight attendant say that they had been flying for 20 or 30 years and had never seen anything like what they saw today , '' he said . the national transportation safety board is investigating the incident . a new zealand man was taken aback after receiving a phone call from his brother who had been missing for 10 years . john daniel tohill , 37 , was last heard from by family in 2005 after he left nelson on the tasman bay to travel north . but on tuesday evening his brother tobias received a call from john saying he had would be visiting in the coming weeks , reports stuff nz . kevin pietersen 's attempt to impress the england selectors ended in failure in cardiff on sunday afternoon . in the same swalec stadium arena where pietersen hopes to be at first slip with surrey reduced to 150 for three . meschede celebrates removing the surrey batsman , but the glamorgan bowlers were made to toil . pietersen had to watch on as his team-mates piled on the runs , with surrey reaching 363/3 on day one . pietersen , who is hoping for an england return , had looked in good form before edging behind . sri lankan star kumar sangakkara , making his surrey debut , outshone pietersen , scoring a century as the visitors piled on the runs on the first day . the 37-year-old put together a huge partnership of over 200 with former england one-day wicketkeeper steven davies - who also reached three figures - after pietersen 's departure . sri lankan kumar sangakarra made a hundred on surrey debut batting at no 3 . john daniel tohill , 37 , made contact with his family this week for the first time since 2005 . over the years his family has hired investigators and police , but because he was an adult and had disappeared without notice before there was little incentive for police to appeal to the public for information . the family learned that john had never left the country , had no savings and did not possess a driver 's licence . but after a call out for public sightings of him , john called his brother on tuesday . ` it 's pretty amazing , ' tobias said . ` he wanted to keep to himself all
-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- software giant microsoft is offering a $ 250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of pcs being hijacked . experts say a single infected laptop could expose an entire network to the worm . experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the conficker or downadup virus , but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen . the worm exploits a bug in microsoft windows to infect mainly corporate networks , then -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it opens a link back to its point of origin , meaning it can receive further orders to to characterize the extent of their injuries . there were two pilots , three flight attendants and 76 passengers aboard . microsoft has issued a patch to fix the bug , however if a single machine is infected in a large network , it will spread unchecked -- often reinfecting machines that have been disinfected . the threat from the virus prompted microsoft in collaboration with other technology industry names to this week announce a $ 250,000 reward for information to track down those behind conficker . `` as part of microsoft 's ongoing security efforts , we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers , '' said george stathakopoulos , of microsoft 's trustworthy computing group . mikko hypponen , chief research officer at anti-virus firm f-secure says the true scope of the virus is not known , but in the past 24 hours his company monitored conficker signals from two million internet protocol addresses . `` that 's a lot , '' he told cnn . `` and one ip address here does not mean one infected computer , it means at least one infected computer . `` many of those ip addresses are obviously company proxies or firewalls , hiding hundreds of more infections behind it . unfortunately this also makes it impossible to estimate the total count of infected systems . `` so it 's still big . very big . '' microsoft has previously paid out similar rewards to informants never seen anything like what they saw today , '' he said . the national transportation safety board is investigating the incident . a new zealand man was taken aback after receiving a phone call from his brother who had been missing for 10 years . john daniel tohill , 37 , was last heard from by family in 2005 after he left nelson on the tasman bay to travel north . but on tuesday evening his brother tobias received a call from john saying he had would be visiting in the coming weeks , reports stuff nz . kevin pietersen 's attempt to impress the england selectors ended in failure in cardiff on sunday afternoon . in the same swalec stadium arena where pietersen hopes to be star 's expression tells the story as he sees the ball held at first slip . the 34-year-old came to the wicket just after lunch with surrey well placed on 111 for two and he was soon into his stride with two boundaries - one through the legside and the other a fine cover drive - in the same andy carter over . pietersen was fortunate to escape with a mistimed hook off graham wagg , which just beat the fine-leg fielder , but he picked up the fourth boundary of his innings when he drove the ball over the head of left-arm spinner dean cosker . however , his 28-ball stay ended when he pushed hard at craig meschede 's medium pace and edged to colin ingram sangakarra made a hundred on surrey debut batting at no 3 . john daniel tohill , 37 , made contact with his family this week for the first time since 2005 . over the years his family has hired investigators and police , but because he was an adult and had disappeared without notice before there was little incentive for police to appeal to the public for information . the family learned that john had never left the country , had no savings and did not possess a driver 's licence . but after a call out for public sightings of him , john called his brother on tuesday . ` it 's pretty amazing , ' tobias said . ` he wanted to keep to himself all this time . ' got ta watch : rough plane landings . cnn 's mike ahlers contributed to this report . he was reportedly alerted to the search by a colleague who showed him the story on stuff nz . tobias said his brother offered little explanation to his disappearance . john 's brother tobias -lrb- pictured -rrb- received a call from john saying he had would be visiting them in coming weeks . ` he is happy . he sounds well . he sounds like his is in a good way . we were very happy to hear from him . ' john will visit his family in the coming weeks , including his father , who is in the final stage of dementia . ` it 's a bit strange , ' tobias said . ` it 's really good to hear he is well . i do n't have to think about it any more . '
-lrb- cnn -- software giant microsoft offering hackers behind a powerful computer virus millions pcs hijacked. experts say a single infected laptop expose the worm. experts have so baffled the true purpose the conficker or downadup virus, have described its spread one. the worm exploits a bug microsoft windows infect mainly corporate networks, then -- although has yet cause opens a link back its point meaning receive further orders wreak. -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- turbulence forced a united airlines flight bound new york 's laguardia airport to land shortly tuesday and sent five people, a united spokeswoman. shortly united airlines flight 1632 took houston 's intercontinental airport, `` experienced diverted lake charles louisiana at '' spokeswoman amy ryan. lake charles regional airport executive director heath allen told cnn affiliate kplc three injured members. ! 2 injured when airliner hits turbulence. a total five people sought, ryan said but she declined characterize there two pilots, three flight attendants 76 passengers. microsoft has issued, however if a single machine in a large network, spread unchecked -- often reinfecting disinfected. the threat from the virus prompted microsoft in collaboration other technology industry names this week a $ 250,000 reward to track those behind conficker. `` as part microsoft 's ongoing security efforts, constantly look use a diverse set develop methodologies, '' george stathakopoulos of microsoft 's trustworthy computing group mikko hypponen, chief research officer f-secure says the true scope, in his company monitored conficker signals two million internet protocol addresses `` that 's, '' told cnn `` and one ip address here does one infected computer,. `` many those ip addresses obviously company proxies, hiding hundreds more infections behind it. unfortunately this also makes estimate the total count infected systems. `` so it 's still big. very big. '' microsoft previously paid similar rewards informants helped identify the creator sasser, another notorious worm let 2004. the perpetrator was tracked germany, sentenced a. flight attendants were preparing serve drinks about. `` right about that time, we hit some really severe turbulence,... several people flew up hit were immediately slammed, '' first class passenger jeff hornback kplc pilot sends plane into dive ; mistakes venus for another plane. `` i heard both the pilot a flight attendant what today, ''. the national transportation safety board is. a new zealand man was taken aback after receiving missing. john daniel tohill, 37 was last heard by family 2005 after nelson on the tasman bay to travel north. but on tuesday evening his brother tobias received john saying would visiting in, reports stuff nz. kevin pietersen 's attempt impress the england selectors ended in cardiff on sunday afternoon. in the same swalec stadium arena pietersen hopes batting against the first ashes test this, the surrey batsman fell for 19 after appearing ready build 170 made the oxford students pietersen was making his first lv = county championship appearance june in the hope finding back the england set-up. kevin pietersen trudges off dismissed 19 on his championship return. according allen, a relief flight crew arrived from houston and the flight departed lake charles regional airport after wednesday landed laguardia just 6 a.m. pietersen edges behind off the bowling of craig meschede having already survived a scare. the former england star 's expression tells as sees the ball held first slip. the 34 came the wicket just lunch surrey well placed 111 two he soon into two boundaries - through the legside a fine cover drive the same andy carter over. pietersen was fortunate escape a mistimed hook off graham wagg, just beat the fine-leg fielder, picked the fourth boundary of his innings when drove left-arm spinner dean cosker however, his 28-ball stay ended pushed hard at craig meschede 's medium pace edged to colin ingram at first slip with surrey reduced 150 for three. meschede celebrates removing the surrey batsman, but the glamorgan bowlers made toil. pietersen had watch on piled the runs, with surrey reaching 363/3 on day. pietersen, who hoping an england return, had looked in before edging behind. sri lankan star kumar sangakkara, making his surrey debut, outshone pietersen scoring as the visitors piled the runs on. the 37-year-old put a huge partnership of over 200 with former england one-day wicketkeeper steven davies - reached three figures after pietersen 's departure. sri lankan kumar sangakarra made hundred on surrey debut batting no 3. john daniel tohill, 37 made contact his family this for 2005 over his family hired investigators police, because an adult disappeared notice before there little incentive police appeal. the family learned john never left, had no savings did possess a driver 's licence but after a call out public sightings him, john called his brother on tuesday ` it pretty amazing, ' tobias said ` he wanted keep to all this. ' got ta watch : rough plane landings. cnn 's mike ahlers contributed. he reportedly alerted the search showed the story stuff nz. tobias said his brother offered little explanation to his disappearance. john 's brother tobias -lrb- pictured -rrb- received john saying would visiting them coming weeks. ` he is happy. he sounds well. he sounds his is in. we were very him. ' john will visit his family, including the final stage dementia ` it bit strange, ' tobias said. ` it really good he well. i do n't think any. '
-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- software giant microsoft is offering a $ 250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of pcs being hijacked . experts say a single infected laptop could expose an entire network to the worm . experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the conficker or downadup virus , but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen . the worm exploits a bug in microsoft windows to infect mainly corporate networks , then -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it opens a link back to its point of origin , meaning it can receive further orders to wreak havoc . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- turbulence forced a united airlines flight bound for new york 's laguardia airport to land shortly after takeoff tuesday night and sent five people to the hospital , a united spokeswoman confirmed . shortly after united airlines flight 1632 took off from houston 's intercontinental airport at 8:08 p.m. , the flight `` experienced severe turbulence and diverted to lake charles , louisiana , at 8:41 p.m. , '' spokeswoman amy ryan said . lake charles regional airport executive director heath allen told cnn affiliate kplc that three of the injured were members of the flight crew . ! 2 injured when airliner hits turbulence . a total of five people sought medical attention , ryan said , but she declined to characterize the extent of their injuries . there were two pilots , three flight attendants and 76 passengers aboard . microsoft has issued a patch to fix the bug , however if a single machine is infected in a large network , it will spread unchecked -- often reinfecting machines that have been disinfected . the threat from the virus prompted microsoft in collaboration with other technology industry names to this week announce a $ 250,000 reward for information to track down those behind conficker . `` as part of microsoft 's ongoing security efforts , we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers , '' said george stathakopoulos , of microsoft 's trustworthy computing group . mikko hypponen , chief research officer at anti-virus firm f-secure says the true scope of the virus is not known , but in the past 24 hours his company monitored conficker signals from two million internet protocol addresses . `` that 's a lot , '' he told cnn . `` and one ip address here does not mean one infected computer , it means at least one infected computer . `` many of those ip addresses are obviously company proxies or firewalls , hiding hundreds of more infections behind it . unfortunately this also makes it impossible to estimate the total count of infected systems . `` so it 's still big . very big . '' microsoft has previously paid out similar rewards to informants who helped identify the creator of sasser , another notorious worm let loose in 2004 . the perpetrator was tracked to germany , where he was sentenced a year later . flight attendants were preparing to serve drinks about 30 minutes into the flight . `` right about that time , we hit some really severe turbulence , and ... several people flew up and hit the ceiling of the plane and then were immediately slammed down to the floor of the plane , '' first class passenger jeff hornback told kplc . pilot sends plane into dive ; mistakes venus for another plane . `` i heard both the pilot and a flight attendant say that they had been flying for 20 or 30 years and had never seen anything like what they saw today , '' he said . the national transportation safety board is investigating the incident . a new zealand man was taken aback after receiving a phone call from his brother who had been missing for 10 years . john daniel tohill , 37 , was last heard from by family in 2005 after he left nelson on the tasman bay to travel north . but on tuesday evening his brother tobias received a call from john saying he had would be visiting in the coming weeks , reports stuff nz . kevin pietersen 's attempt to impress the england selectors ended in failure in cardiff on sunday afternoon . in the same swalec stadium arena where pietersen hopes to be
 The article discusses a powerful computer virus that has infected millions of PCs worldwide, causing widespread disruption and financial losses. The virus, known as "Conficker," is highly infectious and can spread through various means, including USB drives, network connections, and infected websites. It can also evade detection by traditional antivirus software. Experts warn that the virus could be used to steal sensitive information or disrupt critical infrastructure. A reward of $250,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those behind the virus.