30 April 2002
Top ten viruses and hoaxes reported to Sophos in April 2002
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. Starting this month, Sophos is also issuing a top ten of virus hoaxes.
For April 2002, the chart is as follows, with the most frequently occurring virus at number one:
"The various manifestations of the Klez worm dominate April's virus chart with variants taking up the number one, two and six slots," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos
Anti-Virus. "
Klez-H was the hard hitter; some commentators went so far as to call this the biggest worm in the world ever. In reality, the success of Klez-H is damning evidence that computer users are failing to keep their
anti-virus software up-to-date. Sophos issued protection for variant
Klez-G - which also protects against Klez-H - back in early February."
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during April 2002 are as follows:
"Virus hoaxes - emails warning of highly destructive but mythical viruses - spread and cause havoc because users are duped into thinking the warnings are real. In some instances, hoaxes can be as disruptive and costly as genuine viruses," said Cluley. "'A virtual card for you' was first reported in December 2000, but it is still catching users out. Introducing an anti-hoax policy will limit the harm done."
474 new viruses were discovered and protected against by Sophos Anti-Virus during April 2002.
The total number of viruses Sophos now detects and protects against is 73,553.
More information about Klez.
Graphics of the above Top Ten chart are available here.
More information about safe computing, including anti-hoax policies.
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.
- USA number 1 for malware and spam
- Huge surge in email attachment attacks
- Scareware makes users buy bogus products
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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