Klez still top virus, JDBGMGR knocked off perch by WTC Survivor
hoax
This is the latest in a series of monthly charts counting down
the ten most frequently occurring viruses and hoaxes as compiled by
Sophos, a global leader in anti-virus protection for
businesses.
For March 2003, the virus chart is as follows, with the most
frequently occurring virus at number one:
"Klez continues to hang around like a bad smell - those hit by
it couldn't have updated their anti-virus protection in more than a
year. Now that it's possible to receive fully automated updates,
there's really no excuse. And though it's easy to protect against
Klez, it's a seriously nasty virus to recover from," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos Anti-Virus.
"Indicating the growing popularity of file sharing, this month's
highest new entry is Gibe, a worm which spreads via the KaZaA
network. Businesses need to have a long hard think about whether
these applications have a valid place on their networks."
Sophos detected 883 new viruses, worms and Trojan horses in
March. The total number it now protects against is 80,962.
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during March 2003 are as
follows:
"The WTC Survivor hoax - which falsely warns of a September 11th
themed virus - has taken over the number one slot for the first
time in a year. People receiving this hoax should ignore its advice
and not email the warning to everyone they know. Much like real
viruses, hoaxes clog mail servers and cause much unnecessary
confusion," continued Cluley.
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.
Graphics of the virus top ten chart are available here.
More information about safe computing,
including anti-hoax policies.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.