Microsoft wins court nod to topple botnet

A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, granted a request by Microsoft to deactivate 277 Internet domains, which the software maker said is linked to a “botnet,” the paper said.
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, the paper said.