Top Twelve Viruses For November 2002

Wayne N. Kawamoto
Managing Editor, www.smallbusinesscomputing.com

Central Command, a provider of PC anti-virus software and computer security services released its monthly listing of the top twelve viruses reported for November 2002. The report, coined the “Dirty Dozen”, is based on the number of virus occurrences confirmed through Central Command’s
Emergency Virus Response Team.

The list below represents the most prevalent viruses for November 2002, number one being the most frequent.

Ranking, Virus Name, Percentage

1. Worm/Klez.E (incl. G variant) 35.2%

2. W32/Yaha.E 16.2%

3. Worm/BugBear 10.4%

4. W32/Elkern.C 7.5%

5. Worm/Bride.A 4.4%

6. W32/Funlove 4.1%

7. Worm/W32.Sircam 3.4%

8. W32/Nimda 1.8%

9. W32/Magistr.B 1.0%

10. W95/Hybris 0.6%

11. W95/CIH 0.5%

12. Worm/Opasoft.A 0.5%

Others 14.4%

“Long shopping lines and in-laws might not be the only nuisance this holiday season, as Worm/Klez.E and W32/Yaha.E continue to prey on unprotected computer systems,” said Steven Sundermeier product
manager at Central Command, Inc. Worm/Klez.E accounted for 35.2% of all total infection reports received for November 2002 and W32/Yaha.E 16.2%. “During the winter months, we typically see an
increase in the number of new virus submissions. Users should exercise extra caution and anticipate the usual holiday-themed viruses; viruses disguised as festive electronic greeting cards, screensavers and desktop wallpaper.”

Worm/Bride.A, an Internet worm that drops the file infector W32/Funlove, is the top new entry to the Dirty Dozen. It is also partially accountable for the high number of W32/Funlove infection
reports for the month. Worm/Bride.A arrives with the attachment README.EXE and has already spawned a number of variants.