Johannesburg, 01 Dec 2003
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against spam and viruses, has revealed the top 10 viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world.
The report, which examines virus and hoax reports in the month of November 2003, shows that a new e-mail-aware worm stormed to the top of the charts, while an existing hoax had a new burst of life.
The top 10 viruses in November 2003 were as follows:
1. W32/Sober-A (Sober worm) 32.6% (New entry)
2. W32/Mimail-C (Mimail variant) 9.5%
3. W32/Mimail-F (Mimail variant) 9.5%
4. W32/Dumaru-A (Dumaru virus) 8.0%
5. W32/Mimail-A (Mimail worm) 5.1%
6. W32/Gibe-F (Gibe variant) 4.5%
7. W32/Nachi-A (Nachi worm) 2.6%
8. W32/Mimail-J (Mimail variant) 2.4%
9. W32/Klez-H (Klez variant) 2.2% (22 months in chart)
10. W32/Mimail-E (Mimail variant) 1.5%
Others 22.1%
"Although Mimail attempted to hijack the chart with a total of five entries - totalling over a quarter of all reports - it is the bilingual Sober worm that has caused the most problems for computer users this month," said Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor, NetXactics. "Sober-A sneakily disguises itself using a number of subject titles and messages, making it difficult to spot with the naked eye. It can even present itself in German if it thinks it is being examined on a German user`s computer."
"The Mimail worms attempted a number of different tricks, including attempting to steal the credit card information from Paypal users," continued Myroff. "The virus writers and hackers are becoming more determined in their attempts to steal confidential information that could leave you out of pocket."
Sophos analysed and protected against 724 new viruses in November. The total number it now protects against is 86 081.
The top 10 hoaxes reported to Sophos during November are as follows:
1. Hotmail hoax 31.3%
2. Meninas da Playboy 12.7%
3. Bonsai Kitten 6.2%
4. Budweiser frogs screensaver 4.7%
5. JDBGMGR 4.0%
6. A virtual card for you 3.8%
7. Bill Gates Fortune 3.0%
8. Frog in a blender/Fish in a bowl 2.9%
9. WTC Survivor 2.3%
10. Do not push 90# 1.8% (New entry)
Others 27.3%
"A new version of the Hotmail hoax, promising users extra storage space if they forwarded an e-mail to their friends, helped keep the hoax at the top of the list of hottest hoaxes," said Myroff.
"Creeping into the chart is the `Do not push 90#` chain letter which is based on a genuine telephone scam from the early 1990s, and has caused people to be unnecessarily alarmed. If you receive a virus hoax, chain letter or e-mail scam, you should delete it immediately and resist any temptation to forward it on," continued Myroff. "Remember that passing the e-mail on, and continuing the chain simply serves to spread confusion, annoy recipients and clog up bandwidth."
Graphics of the above top 10 virus chart are available at: outbind://25/www.sophos.com/pressoffice/imgallery/topten www.sophos.com/pressoffice/imgallery/topten
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