News
Klez is King
- By Scott Bekker
- 06/04/2002
The slippery Klez worm topped anti-virus vendor
Sophos' monthly list of the Top 10 most reported viruses for the third straight month in May.
Klez, which randomly changes the subject line, e-mail text and attachment name each time it propagates, accounted for nearly 53 percent of virus reports to Sophos in May. The next most prevalent virus, an Elkern variant, was less than half as common at 23 percent. The third most commonly reported virus was almost in the noise category, Badtrans at 3.5 percent.
Chris Wraight, technology consultant at Sophos Americas, noted that the random subject, body and attachment name generation makes Klez trickier to spot than the average virus.
"That said, putting a halt to the spread of Klez-H is as simple as updating your anti-virus software and following safe computing
practices," Wraight said in a statement.
Sophos also reported that the JDBGMGR hoax was the most common hoax in May, accounting for 45 percent of complaints. The fake virus warning tells users to search for and delete a virus file called JDBGMGR. The file is actually a legitimate part of Microsoft's Java middleware.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.