There has been a sudden resurgence of the W32. Sober.X virus, with Sophos reporting that it accounted for 35% of all viruses reported around the world during the past few hours.
Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor Netxactics, confirms local PC users noted dramatic increases in the number of e-mails carrying the virus this morning.
"Internet service providers also noted the sudden increase, which started last night," says Myroff.
There was a similar upsurge in the US by mid-morning, he says, as US office workers logged on to their PCs.
The virus appears to be a new variant of Sober, and is the most prevalent around the world, says Myroff.
"It`s a major nuisance and is slowing down traffic on the networks," he adds.
The virus arrives in an attachment to e-mails that appear to come from post@fbi.gov, mail@fbi.gov or office@cia.gov, among others, with the subject lines including "you visit illegal Web sites", "Your IP was logged", "Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie" or "Your Password".
Myroff says it is unusual for a mass outbreak to begin in SA. However, he says the threat to companies is limited, since patches for Sober variants have been available for some time.
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