Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan

3/31/2006. - Despite a significant number of infections in general in March, there have been no major changes to the ranking of virus activity. As with previous months, the FTP script associated with the Sdbot family was the most frequently detected malicious code last month, and overall, nine out of ten of the viruses in the ranking remained unchanged since February.

The second most frequently detected threat throughout the month was the Netsky.P worm, which uses email and file sharing programs in order to spread, and which exploits a vulnerability in Outlook preview pane in systems that have not been updated. Despite having been in circulation for two years, it is still one of the most ubiquitous threats.

Another frequently detected threat was Exploit/Metafile, an exploit of a vulnerability in the processing of WMF files in Windows. Since it first appeared, this vulnerability has been widely exploited on all types of web pages hosting malware, thanks to the large number of computers that are not updated.

The ranking also includes threats such as Tearec.A (CME-24), known as Kamasutra, responsible for considerable alarm due to its activation on the third of each month, even though the repercussions were less serious than first feared, or Sober.AH (CME-681), which caused alert levels to be raised to orange in November. Further down the ranking came Alcan.A, the culprit in 0.54 percent of cases, the generic detection for the Qhost family, the generic detection for the Gaobot bots, and Parite.B.

Malware                                 % frequency
W32/Sdbot.ftp                             1.95
W32/Netsky.P.worm                    1.09
Exploit/Metafile                            0.94
W32/Tearec.A.worm!CME-24       0.63
W32/Sober.AH.worm!CME-681    0.57
W32/Alcan.A.worm                       0.54
Trj/Qhost.gen                               0.54
W32/Gaobot.gen.worm                0.52
W32/Parite.B                                0.51
Trj/Lowzones.QF                          0.47

The only new appearance in this month’s Top Ten is the Trojan Lowzones.QF, a type of malware that can capture screenshots or steal personal data from compromised computers.

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

About PandaLabs
Since 1990, PandaLabs’ mission has been to analyze new threats as soon as possible to ensure that our clients are safe. Several teams specialized in each specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc.) work 24x7 to offer global coverage. To do this they are supported by TruPrevent™ Technologies, a truly global early warning system made up of sensors that are strategically distributed and neutralize new threats and send them to PandaLabs for in-depth analysis. According to AV-Test.org, PandaLabs is the fastest in the industry to offer complete updates (more information at www.pandasoftware.com/pandalabs.asp).

Oxygen3 24h-365d
by Panda Software

2006-04-03 15:36

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