Zafi-B retains top slot for fourth consecutive month
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against spam and
viruses, has published a report revealing the top ten viruses and
hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world.
The report, compiled from Sophos's global network of monitoring
stations, shows that Zafi-B and Netsky-P are number one and two in
the chart for the third consecutive month.
The top ten viruses in September 2004, and the month they were
first seen, were as follows:
"Zafi-B is still loitering in the number one spot - a position
it's retained since storming straight in to the top of the chart in
June," said Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "The
percentage of reports attributed to Zafi-B has gradually declined
over the last three months, but it's still a force to be reckoned
with. Conversely, the percentage of reports of Netsky-P, number two
in the chart for the last few months, is actually growing. Even
when viruses aren't hitting the headlines, it's essential that
computer users update their anti-virus protection."
Sophos analysed and protected against 1,150 new viruses in
September. The total number of viruses Sophos now protects against
is 95,025. Sophos figures show that over 6.6%, or one in 15 emails,
circulating during the month of September were viral.
"It's disheartening that the same old viruses are continuing to
cause trouble for computer users the world over. These viruses will
only disappear when they stop infecting and spreading. Keeping your
defences up to prevent infections is the only way we will see the
back of these nasties."
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during September are as
follows:
"A new entry to the chart this month is the 'lottery winner'
hoax," continued Theriault. "There are lots of email 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."
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 above Top Ten virus chart are available here
More information about safe
computing, including anti-hoax policies.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.