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Adware biggest offender
in Q1
2 April, 2008
By Chris Talbot
Adware was the worst offender for causing malware infections
in the first quarter of 2008, but Trojans were close behind
the as the second most active category.
According to the Panda Software's PandaLabs Q1 malware analysis
and detection report, adware was the cause of 28.58 per
cent of all infections, making it the leading cause of infections
during the first three months of the year. Trojans followed
closely behind with 25.46 per cent of all infections.
"Adware is a type of malicious code that shows ads
while users surf the Web. Besides being annoying, many variants
can compromise the computer's security or performance, so
users should take precautions," said Luis Corrons,
technical director of PandaLabs, in a statement.
After adware and Trojans, the figures dropped significantly.
Worms accounted for 9.94 per cent of all infections, representing
the third worst offender in the first quarter of 2008.
In terms of new malware strains that appeared in the first
quarter, there were more new Trojans than anything else
(62.16 per cent of new malware strains detected in Q1 were
Trojans), followed by adware (20.34 per cent) and worms
(8.87 per cent).
"The huge amount of new Trojans put in circulation
every month indicates that cyber-criminals are interested
in creating new strains more frequently, making detection
increasingly difficult for security solutions, which will
be unable to update signature files in time, leaving users
unprotected," Corrons said.
The two most active viruses in the quarter were adware.
Comet topped the list as the most active virus, followed
by NaviPromo. After that, the most active viruses were,
in descending order, W32/Bagle.HX.worm, W32/Bagle.RC.worm,
W32/Bagle.RP.worm, SaveNow (adware), Starware (also adware),
W32/Puce.E.worm, Zango (adware) and Virtumonde (spyware).
The report also included a special section on threats to
cell phones, smartphones, iPhones, etc. PandaLabs stated
the three biggest threats to such devices are worms, Trojans
and spyware.
"Their behavior and features are similar to those
of malicious codes for computers," said Corrons. "Trojans
designed to steal confidential data like e-mail passwords,
instant messaging contacts, etc., are the most prevalent,
with 54.48 per cent of all infections. This shows attacks
against cell phones are becoming increasingly sophisticated."
The most common effects of malware for cell phones include
cell phone blocking, battery consumption, sending of SMS
to premium numbers, deletion of folders and messages, and
theft of phone numbers, SMS or other sensitive data stored
on the devices.
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