1 November 2003
Top ten viruses and hoaxes reported to Sophos in October 2003
Gibe-F and Dumaru-A threaten to strain relationship between PC users and Microsoft
This is the latest in a series of monthly charts counting down the ten most frequently reported viruses and hoaxes as compiled by Sophos, a global leader in anti-virus and anti-spam protection for business.
For October 2003, the chart is as follows, with the most frequently occurring virus at number one:
"There's no change in the top three viruses this month," said Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "With over 36% of reports, Gibe-F and Dumaru-A - both of which pose as security patches from Microsoft support - are threatening to destroy computer users' trust in Microsoft. Deploying anti-virus at the desktop level can stop all viruses dead in their tracks, regardless of whether they come in by email, peer to peer or chat systems."
"An interesting new entry this month comes in the form of CoreFloo-C, a Trojan which allows a remote intruder to access and control a computer via Internet Relay Chat (IRC). This is the first time this year that a Trojan has made it into the top ten which is dominated by Windows 32 viruses," continued Theriault.
Sophos currently protects against 85,357 viruses.
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during October are as follows:
"A new entry into October's chart is the 'Welcome to the Matrix' hoax," said Theriault. "The hoax is in French and warns people not to open powerpoint presentations entitled 'Welcome to the Matrix'. Rather like the most common viruses this month, this hoax threatens Microsoft's credibility with some versions claiming to come from a Microsoft security team."
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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