Sophos: Top Ten Viruses In June 2001
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.
For June 2001, the chart is as follows, with the most frequently occurring virus at number one:
1. W32/ Magistr-A 22.2% (Magistr)
2. W32/BadTrans-A 10.9% (BadTrans)
3. VBS/VBSWG-X 9.6% (Homepage)
4. W32/Apology-B 7.4% (Apology variant)
5. W32/Hybris-B 6.3% (Hybris variant)
6. Troj/Keylog-C 4.6% (Keylog variant)
7. W32/Flcss 2.8% (FunLove)
8. W32/Navidad-B 2.6% (Navidad variant)
=9. VBS/Kakworm 2.2% (Kakworm)
=9. VBS/VBSWG-Z 2.2% (Mawanella)
Others 29.8%
“June’s virus chart is topped by the highly destructive Magistr worm. This worm has been dominating the top ten for the last three months. It seems that the simple message – don’t open unsolicited attachments – has not yet hammered home,” said Peter Cooper, UK support manager, Sophos Anti-Virus. “What’s more, the highly publicised Homepage virus is also continuing to infect many people. It seems computer users are still ignoring warnings and have neglected to update their anti-virus protection.
June also saw the resurgence of the Apology virus which prevents infected users from reaching the websites of many anti-virus vendors, thus preventing them downloading protection. Sophos reminds that users who regularly update their anti-virus software will be protected from all known viruses.
794 new viruses were discovered and protected against by Sophos Anti-Virus during June 2001.
The total number of viruses Sophos now detects and protects against is 64,894
For more information about Magistr (W32/ Magistr-A) visit: http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32mag.html
Graphics of the above Top Ten chart are available at:
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/imggallery/topten/
For more information about safe computing visit:
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/safehex.html
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.
About Sophos
Sophos is one of the world’s largest specialist developers of anti-virus software. The products are sold and supported through a global network of subsidiaries and partners in more than 120 countries. Sophos Anti-Virus is widely used by large corporations, banks and governments.
For further information, please visit http://www.sophos.com