Sophos, an anti-computer virus company, has published a report on the top ten viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world.
The report, compiled from Sophos’s monitoring stations, shows that Zafi-B and Netsky-P are number one and two in the chart for the third consecutive month. "Zafi-B is still loitering in the number one spot – a position it’s retained since storming straight in to the top of the chart in June," said Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "The percentage of reports attributed to Zafi-B has gradually declined over the last three months, but it’s still a force to be reckoned with. Conversely, the percentage of reports of Netsky-P, number two in the chart for the last few months, is actually growing. Even when viruses aren’t hitting the headlines, it’s essential that computer users update their anti-virus protection."
Sophos analysed and protected against 1,150 new viruses in September. The total number of viruses Sophos now protects against is 95,025. Sophos figures show that over 6.6pc, or one in 15 emails, circulating during the month of September were viral.
"It’s disheartening that the same old viruses are continuing to cause trouble for computer users the world over. These viruses will only disappear when they stop infecting and spreading. Keeping your defences up to prevent infections is the only way we will see the back of these nasties. A new entry to the chart this month is the ‘lottery winner’ hoax," continued Theriault. "There are lots of email scams being distributed which claim that the recipient has won a substantial monetary prize. When ‘winners’ contact the lottery company to claim their prize, they are invariably asked to pay a handling fee or disclose bank account details. Sadly, there are no free lunches – if something seems too good to be true, it probably is." Sophos has made available a free, updated information feed for intranets and websites which means users can always find out about the latest viruses and hoaxes:
