30 September 2004
Top ten viruses and hoaxes reported to Sophos in September 2004
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.
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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
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