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Panda Software News: Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan in December
Added: (Tue Jan 04 2005)
Top Ten viruses most frequently detected
by Panda ActiveScan in December
CAMBRIDGE, January 4, 2005
In December, Downloader.GK was, for the seventh month running, the virus most frequently detected by the free, online scanner, Panda ActiveScan.
Last month, the detection rate of Downloader.GK (over 12%) was much higher than the second malicious code in the ranking, Mhtredir.gen, a generic detection for a large group of Trojans that allow an attacker to gain remote control of computers.
Third place was taken by Netsky.P, a worm that has become a regular in the ranking of the most frequently detected viruses. This worm is followed by Citifraud.A, a Trojan that is designed to carry out online fraud using a technique known as phishing. The worm/Trojan Mabutu.A, and the Trojan that installs other malware StartPage.FH appear in fifth and sixth place in the ranking.
Seventh place in the Top Ten was taken by Shinwow.E, a malicious code that prevents the computer from working correctly and modifies the start page of the browser Internet Explorer. In eighth place came a worm that emerged in December called Zafi.D, which spread by taking advantage of the festive season. This worm reaches computer in an email message that passes itself off as a Christmas greeting.
Gaobot.gen, the generic detection for a family of worms that steal confidential data and Sober.I, a worm that appeared in November.
Global Top 10 Viruses December 2004 % frequency
Trj/Downloader.GK 12.13%
Exploit/Mhtredir.gen 6.54%
W32/Netsky.P.worm 4.45%
Trj/Citifraud.A 3.67%
W32/Mabutu.A.worm 3.46%
Trj/StartPage.FH 3.20%
Trj/Shinwow.E 3.18%
W32/Zafi.D.worm 3.05%
W32/Gaobot.gen.worm 2.88%
W32/Sober.I.worm 2.76%
Similar to the Global statistics Trj/Downloader.GF is still dominating the Top 10 Viruses detected in the UK by Panda ActiveScan.
Top 10 Viruses in the UK December 2004 % frequency
Trj/Downloader.GK 15.68
Exploit/Mhtredir.gen 6.47
W32/Netsky.P.worm 3.72
Trj/StartPage.FH 3.45
Trj/Shinwow.E 3.32
Trj/Downloader.AAF 3.28
Trj/Qhost.gen 3.26
Trj/Citifraud.A 3.05
W32/Gaobot.gen.worm 2.97
W32/Sasser.ftp 2.81
The following conclusions can be drawn from the data collected by Panda ActiveScan in December:
- Significant activity of Trojans. There is a large number of Trojans in this edition of the Top Ten, considering that a few months ago, only one or two appeared. This confirms the change in the aim of creators of malicious code, which has been apparent over the last few months: financial gain.
- Social engineering still get results. Sober.I and Zafi.D, which appeared in November and December, have made the ranking thanks to their use of social engineering techniques, or tricks for persuading users to run infected files. This demonstrates that this strategy is still an effective means of spreading viruses rapidly when they first emerge.
- Phishing, a serious threat. Once again, the Trojan Citifraud.A appears in one of the top positions in this list, confirming that online scams, known as phishing are a serious threat that users must bear in mind.
To help as many users as possible keep their systems virus free, Panda Software offers Panda ActiveScan, free of charge, at http://www.pandasoftware.co.uk/. Webmasters who would like to include ActiveScan on their websites can get the HTML code, free of charges, at 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 Virus Alerts section.
For more information about these and other malicious code, visit Panda Software's Virus Encyclopaedia at: http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia.
About Panda Software's virus laboratory
On receiving a possibly infected file, Panda Software's technical staff get straight down to work. The file is analysed and depending on the type, the action taken may include: disassembly, macro scanning, code analysis etc. If the file does in fact contain a new virus, the disinfection and detection routines are prepared and quickly distributed to users.
For more information: http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/
Mark Price
mprice@pandasoftware.co.uk
(0)870 444 5640
"At Panda Software we respect your privacy. If you don't wish to receive future communication, please send an email to marketing@pandasoftware.co.uk