Microsoft gets green light

Bangalore: Microsoft has got approval from a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia to deactivate a global network of computers that the company accused of spreading spam and harmful computer codes. Microsoft can now deactivate 277 Internet domains, which the software maker said is linked to a "botnet", reports Reuters.

A botnet is an army of infected computers that hackers can control from a central machine. The company aims to secretly sever communications channels to the botnet before its operators can re-establish links to the network, the paper said. Microsoft on Monday filed a suit that targets a botnet identified as Waledac, a newspaper said.

The judge order requires VeriSign to temporarily turn off the suspect Internet addresses. According to Internet security firm NetWitness said in a report that a new type of computer virus is known to have breached almost 75,000 computers in 2,500 organizations around the world, including user accounts of popular social network websites.