[PBARC] Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Pan da ActiveScan in May

[WOLF, EARNEST G]

All -

I used the online pandasoftware just to see what it would find -  it found infections that Nortons didn't.

Glenn


                "History is a court of judgment."
          Georg Hegel (1770-1831); German philosopher.
 
          - Top Ten viruses most frequently detected 
                 by Panda ActiveScan in May -
 Oxygen3 24h-365d, by Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)

Madrid, June 3 2003 - In the May ranking of viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan, the Klez.I worm once again holds first place. In fact last month, this persistent worm was still responsible for more than 8 percent of all recorded incidents, way ahead of Enerkaz, which in second place was the culprit in nearly four and a half percent of cases.

Other malicious code doing the rounds in May included Parite.B (4.18% of all infections) and the Trojan, NoClose (3.20%).

The Sobig.B worm came in fifth place. Although this malicious code appeared very recently, it has already caused a large number of incidents and was responsible for almost three percent of all virus attacks last month.

These malicious code were followed by other viruses which, although they have not caused a significant number of incidents, have still been regulars in the Top Ten ranking for the last few months. These include Elkern.C, Opaserv, Nimda, Bugbear and Redlof.A.

The data collected by Panda ActiveScan in May can be summarized in the following observations:

- The staying power of the Klez.I worm, which can be explained by its huge capacity to spread and its use of what has been dubbed 'social engineering'.

- The appearance of Sobig.B in the ranking, due to the large number of incidents caused by this worm within a few days of being discovered.

However, the fact that a large number of viruses that appeared quite a few months back are still appearing in the ranking proves the need for more effective antivirus protection. According to Luis Corrons, head of Panda Software's Virus Laboratory, "It is not just the most frequently detected viruses that threaten users but also the thousands of other malicious code that still linger around the world. In order to be completely protected against malicious code, users should ensure they have a good antivirus installed with daily updates."  

To help as many users as possible keep their systems virus free, Panda Software offers its free, online antivirus Panda ActiveScan, at http://www.pandasoftware.com/. Similarly, Webmasters can offer this service to visitors to their websites by simply including the HTML code available, free of charge, from the following address: 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 section concerning Virus Alerts.

For further information about these and other viruses, visit Panda Software's Virus Encyclopedia at: http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia

NOTE: The address above may not show up on your screen as a single line. This would prevent you from using the link to access the web page. If this happens, just use the 'cut' and 'paste' options to join the pieces of the URL.

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The 5 most frequently detected viruses by Panda ActiveScan, Panda Software's free online scanner: 1)Klez.I; 2)Parite.B; 3)Sobig.C; 4)Sobig.B; 5)Enerkaz.