Panda Software's Top Ten Most Dangerous Viruses of 2002

Panda Software, leading antivirus software developer, has published a list of the ten most prevalent viruses in 2002, based on the data compiled from Panda ActiveScan, the free online antivirus.

Topping the list of this years most virulent malicious code was Klez.I. This ruthless virus was responsible for nearly 18 percent of all infections. It is venomous in that it launches a two-pronged attack. On the one hand it uses 'social-engineering under a multitude of guises to trick users. On the other hand it exploits a known vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer to run automatically when viewed in the Preview Pane.

In second place, responsible for less than five percent of total infections, came Bugbear. This worm exploits the same vulnerability as Klez.I and is able to block certain application processes including those of some antiviruses and personal firewalls. It also opens port 36794 on the computer under attack to create a backdoor that could be used by a hacker to gain remote access to the computer or network.

Close behind Bugbear came Elkern.C. The prevalence of this virus throughout 2002 was due largely to the fact that it is installed on computers by the Klez.I worm.

The tenacious Nimda, the culprit in just over three percent of cases, held fourth place in the Top Ten list. This virus was first detected in September 2001 when it reached epidemic proportions. Its persistence is largely due to its exploiting of both an Internet Explorer vulnerability (the same one as exploited by Klez.I) and a flaw affecting Microsoft IIS, allowing Nimda to infect both directly and indirectly, via Internet downloads.

In fifth place was Sircam, which has appeared in nearly all monthly rankings of virulent malicious code since August 2001, holding its position no doubt due to its cunning use of social engineering techniques.

The remaining five viruses that made up this years ranking were Grade.A, Help, Magistr.B, Klez.F and the PSW/Bugbear Trojan horse. Despite seemingly low infection rates, all of them were responsible for less than three percent of total infections, the continuous appearance of such viruses once again highlights the need for users to be proactive in the protection of their IT resources.

Ranking
Name
Percentage frequency

1
W32/Klez.I
17.96%

2
W32/Bugbear 4.41%

3
W32/Elkern.C
3.70%

4
W32/Nimda
3.22%

5
W32/Sircam
2.94%

6
W32/Grade.A
2.91%

7
VBS/Help
2.72%

8
W32/Magistr.B
2.63%

9
W32/Klez.F
2.47%

10
Trj/PWS.Bugbear
2.30%

To help users keep viruses from spreading, Panda Software offers Panda ActiveScan 4.0, to Internet users free of charge, at http://www.pandasecurity.com/Disinfect.asp?ID=36. ActiveScan is also available to webmasters that want to include it on their websites. Administrators can request the HTML code from http://www.pandasecurity.com/activescan-for-websites.htm , indicating the web page on which they want to include it.

More information on all viruses and other malicious code is available from Panda Softwares Virus Encyclopedia at: http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia/

About Panda Software:

Panda Software (http://www.pandasecurity.com) is a leading international developer of computer security software for all types of customers: corporate clients, small and medium sized companies and home users. The company has recently released two new enterprise antivirus solutions, Panda Antivirus Enterprise Suite and Panda PerimeterScan, as well as a new product for small businesses, Panda Antivirus Platinum 7.0, which includes a firewall.

Panda's 100% in-house, cutting-edge technology has received awards and quality certifications from the most widely respected IT security institutions. Panda Software was the first to allow truly automatic, daily signature updates, as well as centralized administration of antivirus protection, both of which have revolutionized the antivirus industry. The quality of Panda Software's products has been endorsed by the major industry watchdogs including ICSA Labs and CheckMark.

For more information contact:
Amanda St. John
Public Relations Director
amanda@pandasecurity.com
818) 543-6909