The Zafi.b worm was the most prevalent virus internationally for the fourth consecutive month, but there was a notable lack of serious virus threats in SA, says an anti-virus (AV) expert.
Despite the outbreak of another Bagle variant last week, Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor Netxactics, says September was a good month in terms of virus threats.
"The Bagle variant had a fairly low distribution potential, and most people are already patched up, so I don't think we will see much of it. Overall, it was fairly quiet on the local virus front last month."
Myroff says there could be a number of reasons for the lack of virus activity. "Maybe AV vendors are simply offering a better product now, or maybe the public deserves some credit for this. If they have been keeping their AV patching up to date, then they are responsible for limiting the possibility of a virus outbreak.
"Then again, it could just be a case of good fortune."
Despite the relatively quiet period, Myroff says the number of new viruses in September - 1 150 - was significantly higher than the average of 800. "Obviously most of these were not even in the wild," he adds.
In terms of hoaxes, the prevalence of the 'winning lottery notification' scam has seen it placed on the top 10 most common hoaxes on the Internet. "There are lots of e-mail scams being distributed which claim that the recipient has won a substantial monetary prize.
"When 'winners' contact the lottery company to claim their prize, they are invariably asked to pay a handling fee or disclose bank account details. Sadly, there are no free lunches - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is."
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