But if anyone does have a compromised box involved in the current round of DDOS, please don't "scorch" it. Assuming you don't mind losing your equipment for a while, give your local FBI office a call and ask if they ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ want to look at it. They'll tell you whether to leave it running, shut it down gracefully, or just yank the power cord.
But first you'll have to explain to them what a computer is, what unix is, what cracking means, etc. I've dealt with the FBI before in cracking incidents. It wasn't until I got in touch with someone from the computer crimes division in DC that I found an agent with even the smallest fraction of a clue. The local and regional offices were useless.
Not so true here in Eugene, OR. We have called the FBI and they came right over. She had a good crasp of the issues and ideas....The problem is that they will not do much if the amount of "damage" is less than $80,000.