31 October 2002
Top ten viruses and hoaxes reported to Sophos in October 2002
This is the latest in a series of monthly charts counting down the ten most frequently occurring viruses and hoaxes as compiled by Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection.
For October 2002, the chart is as follows, with the most frequently occurring virus at number one:
"After seven months at the top, Klez-H has finally been knocked off its perch by the Bugbear worm," said Natasha Staley, anti-virus consultant, Sophos Anti-Virus. "Bugbear is a box of tricks that not only spreads via email and network shares but can also log the victim's keystrokes - allowing hackers to monitor everything a user types from passwords to bank account details."
Protection against Bugbear was made available by anti-virus vendors as soon as the worm was discovered. Sophos urges users to keep their anti-virus software up-to-date and to regularly download patches to make their operating systems as robust as possible. Bugbear itself exploits vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer in order to spread.
Sophos detected 824 new viruses, worms and Trojan horses in October, the total number it now protects against is 77,564.
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during October 2002 are as follows:
To lessen the impact of these bogus viruses warnings, Sophos advises all businesses to implement an anti-hoax policy. This should specify that all virus warnings, whatever their source, are centrally coordinated by one member of staff who is responsible for confirming whether they are real or fake.
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 virus top ten chart are available here.
More information about safe computing, including anti-hoax policies.
- 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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