Top Ten Viruses And Hoaxes Reported To Sophos in March 2004
Bagle and Netsky worms dominate chart as virus writers battle for supremacy
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against spam and viruses, has revealed the top ten viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world.
The report, which examines virus and hoax reports in the month of March 2004, shows eight new entries to the chart.
The top ten viruses in March 2004 were as follows:
1. W32/Netsky-D (Netsky variant) 30.2% NEW ENTRY
2. W32/Netsky-B (Netsky variant) 12.3%
3. W32/Netsky-C (Netsky variant) 11.7% NEW ENTRY
4= W32/Bagle-C (Bagle variant) 3.5% NEW ENTRY
4= W32/Netsky-J (Netsky variant) 3.5% NEW ENTRY
5. W32/Bagle-E (Bagle variant) 3.4% NEW ENTRY
6. W32/Netsky-P (Netsky variant) 2.1% NEW ENTRY
7. W32/Bagle-H (Bagle variant) 1.5% NEW ENTRY
8. W32/Bagle-J (Bagle variant) 1.4% NEW ENTRY
9. W32/MyDoom-A (MyDoom Worm) 0.9%
Others 29.5%
“The authors of the Netsky and Bagle worms have been battling for virus writing supremacy in March, with both releasing new variants in a tit-for-tat game of one-upmanship,” said Carole Theriault, security consultant, Sophos. “The Netsky author wins the dubious accolade of the month’s biggest virus, accounting for almost 60% of all reports to Sophos, but the biggest losers are the innocent computer users who have been caught in the crossfire of the Netsky/Bagle spat.”
“As the argument between the two virus writers escalated, a torrent of new worms was released,” continued Theriault. “To minimise the impact of such virus activity, businesses should consider blocking all attachments containing programs at the email gateway and setting up their anti-virus protection to update automatically.”
Sophos analysed and protected against 824 new viruses in March. The total number of viruses Sophos now protects against is 89,112.
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during March are as follows:
1. Hotmail hoax 18.8% EIGHTH MONTH AT NUMBER ONE
2. JDBGMGR 18.1%
3. Meninas da Playboy 7.5%
4. A virtual card for you 6.3%
5. Bonsai kitten 6.1%
6. WTC Survivor 5.0%
7. Budweiser frogs screensaver 4.0%
8. Bill Gates fortune 2.6%
9. Elf Bowling 2.5%
10.Jamie Bulger 2.1% NEW ENTRY
Others 27.0%
“This month’s new entry targets the nation’s conscience by exploiting the tragic death of Jamie Bulger. Users are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of opening emails but distributing and forwarding chain letters only wastes time and bandwidth,” continued Theriault.
Sophos has made available a free, constantly updated information feed for intranets and websites which means users can always find out about the latest viruses and hoaxes: www.sophos.com/virusinfo/infofeed/