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2 January 2002

Top ten viruses reported to Sophos in December 2001

This is the latest in a series of monthly charts counting down the ten most frequently occurring viruses as compiled by Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection.

For December 2001, the chart is as follows, with the most frequently occurring virus at number one:

Position Last
month		 Malware Percentage of reports
11W32/Badtrans-B
   92.4%
2NewW32/Goner-A
   1.0%
33W32/Magistr-B
   0.9%
45W32/Sircam-A
   0.7%
56W32/Magistr-A
   0.5%
67W32/Hybris-B
   0.3%
7=2W32/Nimda-A
   0.2%
7=NewW32/Sheer-A
   0.2%
7=4W32/Nimda-D
   0.2%
7=Re-entryW32/Apology-B
   0.2%
Others3.4%

"Badtrans dominated the figures for December 2001, accounting for 9 out of every 10 viruses reported to Sophos last month, and becoming one of the most widespread worms of the year," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos Anti-Virus. "End of term fever may have hit businesses as users let down their guard. Once again this outbreak proves that users need to think before they double-click on unsolicited email attachments and ensure their anti-virus is kept up-to-date".

1256 new viruses were discovered and protected against by Sophos Anti-Virus during December 2001.

The total number of viruses Sophos now detects and protects against is 71,192.

More information about Badtrans.

More information about safe computing.

Graphics of the above Top Ten chart are available here.

Compiled by Sophos's technical support team, the top ten chart is collated from calls to Sophos's 24 hour, 365 days a year technical support line.

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About Sophos

Sophos enables enterprises all over the world to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Sophos's network access control, endpoint, web and email solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, Sophos protects over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with its reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for its high level of customer satisfaction and powerful yet easy-to-use solutions, Sophos has received many industry awards, as well as positive reviews and certifications.

Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com