Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan

Madrid, July 1 2004 - According to data gathered by Panda Software´s free, online scanner, the Trojan Downloader.GK caused the most incidents in users´ computers worldwide in June 2004. The impact of this Trojan has allowed it to take the top spot in the Top Ten ranking of the viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan, replacing Netsky.P, which held this position in April and May.

Last month, Downloader.GK caused 12.75 percent of incidents followed by Briss.A, at 11.87 percent. Behind these malicious code are Netsky.P (8.34 percent), Sasser.ftp (7.29 percent) and Gaobot.gen (4.74 percent). The bottom half of the ranking includes Qhost.gen (4.68 percent), Netsky.D (3.5 percent), Downloader.HC (3.42 percent), Revop.F (3.23 percent) and StartPage.FH (2.97 percent).

The following can be highlighted from the data collected by the free, online scanner, Panda ActiveScan last month:

- Leadership and prevalence of Downloader.GK.
After taking first place in the two previous rankings, Nestky.P has dropped to third place, while Downloader.GK came in first.

Downloader.GK is a Trojan that cannot spread alone, as it must be downloaded to computers when the user visits certain web pages and agrees to install a specific ActiveX control. Its position in this ranking demonstrates that it has been included in a large number of web pages, even a long time after it emerged (at the beginning of June).

- Significant increase in Trojans.
In June, six of the ten malicious code most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan were Trojans. In May, only three Trojans made the ranking, and only one in prior months. This increase shows the intense activity of cyber criminals with the objective of getting some kind of financial benefit from their creations, as the actions they can carry out include stealing confidential details that can be used for fraudulent purposes.

To help as many users as possible keep their systems virus free, Panda Software offers Panda ActiveScan, free of charge, at http://www.pandasoftware.com. 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.

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