ORANGE VIRUS ALERT: SOBER.V (Panda)

05/04/2005. - According to the free online anti-malware solution Panda ActiveScan, the number of computers infected by this new worm has increased fivefold
-Panda Software has made its PQRemove tool available free to all users to detect and eliminate Sober.V from infected computers. This utility can be downloaded from http://www.pandasoftware.com/download/utilities/

-This worm is particularly virulent in countries such as the USA, Germany and Australia

- TruPreventTM Technologies have blocked Sober.V without the need for updates, so users that have them installed have been protected at all times

According to data from the online anti-malware solution Panda ActiveScan, Sober.V is already the most frequently detected malicious code in the world. Over the last 24 hours, the number of computers in which Panda ActiveScan has detected this e-mail worm has increased fivefold.

In order to prevent Sober.V from continuing to spread through those computers without adequate anti-malware protection, Panda Software has made its free PQRemove tool available to all users. The tool detects and eliminates this worm from any infected computer and can be downloaded from http://www.pandasoftware.com/download/utilities/

Sober.V spreads in messages written in English or German -depending on the recipient’s e-mail address- and therefore the countries worst hit by this worm include the USA, Germany and Australia. This malicious code uses social engineering in order to trick users, with the messages in which it is sent offering free tickets to the World Cup Finals in Germany 2006.

According to Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs, “Sober.V demonstrates once again how social engineering techniques can be used as an effective means for rapidly propagating malicious code. So without any great technical innovation, simply by choosing the right subject at the right time, this technique has helped cause an epidemic of considerable proportions.”

Given that the success of social engineering techniques depend exclusively on the human factor, to prevent attacks from malicious code like Sober.V it is not only necessary to have effective anti-malware protection, but it is also advisable to combine traditional systems -which block malicious code using signature files- with proactive technologies that can block worms like Sober.V without having previously identified them; simply analyzing their behavior.

“Our proactive TruPrevent^TM Technologies have detected and blocked Sober.V without having prior knowledge of it, so users who have these technologies have been protected from the outset. Evidently, the technologies pay no attention to the content of the message, but monitor the behavior of the code hidden inside them. If this behavior could represent a threat to the system, TruPrevent^TM Technologies will block it without needing to carry out any other type of evaluation,” explains Corrons.

The rapid spread of Sober.V is exponentially increasing the chance of users falling victim to this worm. For this reason, Panda Software advises all users to treat emails received with caution, regardless of the source, and to update -if they haven´t already done so- their antivirus software. Panda Software has already made the corresponding updates to detect and eliminate this new malicious worm available to clients.

Panda Software’s clients can already access the updates for installing the new TruPrevent™ Technologies along with their antivirus protection, providing a preventive layer of protection against new malware. For users with a different antivirus program installed, Panda TruPrevent™ Personal is the perfect solution, as it is both compatible with and complements these products, providing a second layer of preventive protection that acts while the new virus is still being studied and the corresponding update is incorporated into traditional antivirus programs, decreasing the risk of infection.

In order to help as many users as possible scan and disinfect their computers, Panda Software offers Panda ActiveScan, free of charge, at http://www.pandasoftware.com. ActiveScan is also available to webmasters that want to include it on their websites. Those who would like to include it on their sites can request the HTML code from 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/about/subscriptions/) and complete the corresponding form.

For further information about the malicious code mentioned above, visit Panda Software’s Virus Encyclopedia.

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