03December 2007

BitDefender Lab▓s Top 10 Malware List for November Reveals Trend Toward Lower-Profile Malware

BUCHAREST, Romania √ November 30, 2007 √ BitDefender╝, a global provider of award-winning antivirus software and data security solutions, announced today its Top 10 Malware List for November 2007. According to BitDefender Labs, malware packed with the NSAnti packer topped the November list with 28.62% of total detections.

The second spot on November▓s malware list is occupied by a host of trojan downloaders belonging to various "families" and detected collectively by BitDefender's B-HAVE behavioral heuristics detection engine under the name BehavesLike.Trojan.Downloader.

Other notable bits of malware on November▓s Top 10 list are The Kobcka Trojan, making another episodic appearance at number 8, and a generic detection for malware that uses the recent PDF URI exploit (generally mass mailers) at number 6. The remainder of the top ten is comprised of ancient mass mailer viruses, mostly from the Netsky family.

The trend toward lower-profile malware is apparent on BitDefender▓s November Top 10 list as the single most prevalent virus is Netsky.P with only 4.80 percent of total detections.

BitDefender▓s November 2007 Top 10 malware list includes:

1. Packer.Malware.NSAnti.J 28.62%
2. BehavesLike:Trojan.Downloader 10.67%
3. Win32.Netsky.P@mm 4.80%
4. Win32.Netsky.AA@mm 1.50%
5. Win32.NetSky.D@mm 1.47%
6. Exploit.PDF-URI.Gen 1.29%
7. Win32.Nyxem.E@mm 1.25%
8. Trojan.Kobcka.AI 0.89%
9. Win32.Netsky.C@mm 0.77%
10. Win32.Netsky.B@mm 0.75%

"The age of high-profile malware outbreaks seems to be over,■ said Viorel Canja, head of BitDefender▓s Antivirus Lab. ⌠We're entering a new period, where stealthier and much more diversified viruses are the norm, posing even greater challenges to security."

For further details on the latest malware detected in the wild, please visit BitDefender▓s Defense Portal site at: http://www.bitdefender.com/site/VirusInfo/realTimeReporting/.

About BitDefender╝
BitDefender is a leading global provider of security solutions that satisfy the protection requirements of today's computing environment. The company offers one of the industry's fastest and most effective lines of security software, setting new standards for threat prevention, timely detection and mitigation. BitDefender delivers products and services to over 41 million home and corporate users in more than 180 countries. BitDefender has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Romania. Further information about BitDefender can be obtained by visiting: http://www.bitdefender.com.