Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan

In August, according to the data gathered by Panda Software’s free online antivirus solution, Downloader.GK was once again the malicious code responsible for most attacks on users’ computers. This is the third month running that it has headed the list of Top Ten viruses detected by Panda ActiveScan, which has also seen the continuation of the prevalence of Trojans in general.

Last month, Downloader.GK was the culprit in 17.51 percent of infections, followed a long way off by Briss.A-, the cause of just under seven percent of attacks. After these two came Qhost.gen and Mhtredir.gen, both responsible for over six percent of positive cases. Fifth place in the Top Ten was held by Sasser.ftp (5.93%), and in sixth place came Netsky.P (5.61%). Downloader.OG (4.96%), StartPage.FH (4.44%), Gaobot.gen (4.24%) and Downloader.HC (3.35%) occupied the final positions in the August ranking.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the data collected by Panda ActiveScan last month:

- Major presence of the Downloader family.

Downloader.GK tops the ranking for the third successive month, with a percentage infection rate twice that of Briss.A, in second place. Just as happened in July, three of the Top Ten are from the Downloader family of Trojans.

- Trojans continue to dominate.

Similarly in August, seven of the ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan were Trojans, highlighting the continuation of this worrying trend. In both June and July, six of the Top Ten were Trojans, in May there were three, while previously there had only been one.

- The same old faces.

There were only two new viruses in this month’s ranking: Exploit/Mhtredir.gen and Downloader.OG, replacing Downloader.HC and Bagle.AH.

Virus                             % frequency
Trj/Downloader.GK           17.51
Trj/Briss.A                            6.93
Trj/Qhost.gen                      6.35
Exploit/Mhtredir.gen            6.12
W32/Sasser.ftp                   5.93
W32/Netsky.P.worm          5.61
Trj/Downloader.OG              4.96
Trj/StartPage.FH                  4.44
W32/Gaobot.gen.worm       4.24
Trj/Downloader.JH              3.35

To help as many users as possible keep their systems virus free, Panda Software offers Panda ActiveScan, free of charge. Webmasters who would like to include ActiveScan on their websites can get the HTML code, free of charge.

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 and complete the corresponding form in the Virus Alerts section.

For more information about these and other viruses, visit Panda Software´s Virus Encyclopedia.

About PandaLabs

On receiving a possibly infected file, Panda Software´s technical staff get straight down to work. The file is analyzed 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.

Oxygen3 24h-365d, by Panda Software
© Panda Software 2003

2004-09-02 11:07

Back

IT News: