[virusinfo] Top Ten viruses and spyware most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan in March - 04/06/05
- From: "Mike" <mikebike@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: virusinfo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2005 18:03:31 -0700
From; Panda Oxygen3 24h-365d wrote:
"He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils;
for time is the greatest innovator"
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), British philosopher.
- Top Ten viruses and spyware most frequently detected
by Panda ActiveScan in March -
Oxygen3 24h-365d, by Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)
MADRID, April 6, 2005 - Panda Software has published its monthly ranking of
the top ten viruses most frequently detected by its online anti-malware
solution, Panda ActiveScan. A new version of this tool which also detects
spyware has recently been made available to users. Based on this feature,
Panda Software has also published the top ten spyware programs most
frequently detected last month.
March can be defined as the month of the Trojan horses. Only three of the
malicious code included among the 10 viruses most frequently detected by
ActiveScan don't fall into this malware category.
This is, without a doubt, a worrying situation, as Trojans can carry out a
large number actions on the computers on which they are installed,
including opening backdoors, stealing confidential data, etc. Last month,
Panda ActiveScan disinfected a Trojan in 11 percent of computers scanned.
An example of the dangers of this type of malware is Mitglieder.BO. This
Trojan attacks different antivirus and firewall application installed on
computers. What's more, it installs W32/Bagle.BN.worm and tries to download
the file Trj/Downloader.BBN from different web pages every six hours.
The top ten ranking of viruses, worms and Trojans detected in March is as
follows:
Mhtredir.gen 3,03%
Netsky.P.worm 2,47%
Downloader.GK 2,28%
Shinwow.E 2,25%
Sdbot.ftp 1,96%
Qhost.AF 1,48%
Zapchast.D 1,31%
Downloader.WT 1,28%
Mitglieder.BO 1,25%
Startpage.SJ 1,21%
Spyware is a type of malware designed to collect data on the user's
browsing habits, interests and preferences. This data is then sent to the
author of the program, sold to third-parties or could be stored so that it
can be recovered when necessary.
Spyware does not directly damage system information but attacks user
privacy by snooping on the user's Internet activity. This allows
unscrupulous advertisers to target these users with customized spam
(unsolicited commercial mail sent without the recipient's permission).
In March, the top ten spyware programs most frequently detected by Panda
ActiveScan were:
New.net 3,76%
ISTbar 3,67%
Cydoor 3,48%
BetterInet 2,73%
Altnet 2,21%
RealSpy 2,08%
Dyfuca 1,25%
ClearSearch 0,81%
MarketScore 0,79%
Petro-Line 0,58%
The top spot is taken by Spyware/New.net. This code can be considered a
model of spyware behavior. It tricks the user into installing it on the
computer by passing itself off as a toolbar added to Internet Explorer.
What's more, it modifies the domain name resolution system on the computer
so that the system accepts and recognizes domain names ending in '.SHOP'.
It is easy to see that the aim of this spyware program is to direct users
(whose shopping habits have been previously monitored) to certain websites.
"It is becoming more apparent that the 'virus' concept of is getting pushed
into the background with the avalanche of spyware that is hitting users",
explains Luis Corrons, head of PandaLabs. "Home users and companies must
install latest generation protection systems that not only protect against
the classic threat of viruses, worms and Trojans, but also combat other
types of malware like spyware or adware."
To help as many users as possible keep their systems virus free, Panda
Software offers Panda ActiveScan, free of charge, at
http://www.pandasoftware.com. Webmasters who would like to include
ActiveScan on their websites can get the HTML code, free of charges, at
http://www.pandasoftware.com/partners/webmasters
Panda Software also offers users Virus Alerts, an e-bulletin in English and
Spanish that gives immediate warning of the emergence of potentially
dangerous malicious code. To receive Virus Alerts just visit Panda
Software's website (http://www.pandasoftware.com) and complete the
corresponding form in the Virus Alerts section.
For more information about these and other malicious code, visit Panda
Software's Virus Encyclopedia at:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia
NOTE: The addresses above may not show up on your screen as single lines.
This would prevent you from using the links to access the web pages. If
this happens, just use the 'cut' and 'paste' options to join the pieces of
the URL.
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The 5 viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan, Panda
Software's free online scanner:
1)Netsky.P ; 2)Mhtredir,gen; 3)Downloader.GK; 4)Sdbot.ftp; 5)Downloader.WT
------------------------------------------------------------
To contact with Panda Software, please visit:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/about/contact/
------------------------------------------------------------
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