Netsky scoops gongs in Sophos October viral count

ANTI VIRAL firm Sophos released its monthly figures for the top viral attacks detected during October.

And out of the top 10 threats to peace, quiet, and to Windows operating systems, different variants of the Netsky pesky took six out of the 10 placings.

Sophos' security consultant Carole Theriault, commented: "With only one new entry... the dominance of Netsky-P and Zafi-B seems unshakable. These viruses are so prevalent and well established that it is very difficult for newer viruses to compete. Thousands of copies are circulating around the world". She said that it's probable that unprotected PCs in areas where security isn't a high priority are responsible for the oxygen that keeps these bugs alive.

The figures, presented below, are based on an analysis of 1,131 new viruses in October. Sophos software now protects against 96, 156. One in 22 emails, Sophos reckons, are viral. Sophos also released figures for the top 10 hoaxes in October. The Hotmail hoax represented 36 per cent, Meninas da Playboy 8.6%, Jamie Bulger 4.8%, A virtual card for you 4.3%, Bonsai kitten 3.3%, WTC Survivor 3%, Budweiser frog screensave 2.9%, Bill Gates fortune 2.6%, Lottery winner 1.6%, and Applebees gift certificate 1.5%. The others represent 31.4% of the pie.

Sophos has a link to the latest viruses and hoaxes, here.

Number	Name	Per cent	First Spotted
Eka	W32/Netsky-P	35.2%	March 2004
Dva	W32/Zafi-B	28%	June 2004
Tri	W32/Netsky-D	7%	March 2004
Chatur	W32/Netsky-Z	5.8%	April 2004
Pancha	W32/Bagle-AA	4.4%	April 2004
Shashta	W32/Netsky-B	3.9%	Feb 2004
Sapta	W32/Netsky-Q	2.6%	March 2004
Ashta	W32/Mydoom-O	2.2%	July 2004
Nava	W32/Netsky-C	1.9%	Feb 2004
Dasha	W32/Bagle-Zip	1%	New Entry

Other viruses represented eight per cent, said Sophos. µ