06August 2007

BitDefender Labs Reports Top Malware for First Half of 2007

BUCHAREST, Romania √ July 30, 2007 √ BitDefender╝, a global provider of award-winning antivirus software and data security solutions, unveiled its report of the Top 10 malware threats for 1H 2007. The main threats detected by BitDefender Labs between January and the end of June were mass mailers and trojans. The Peed trojan was the top threat to date in 2007, variants of which accounted for more than 30% of all threats detected.

Trojans have proven to be the most popular type of malware to date this year, with a generic behavior-based trojan signature coming in second on the Top 10 list. Behavior-based trojans are different pieces of malware that behave like trojans, which are detected and blocked pro-actively before being assigned names and specific signatures. These pro-active behavior-based detections made up 21.4% of total detections.

Another notable threat detected by BitDefender Labs is the Win32.Sality.M virus, the only true virus to make the list. While the highly-dangerous polymorphic virus spreads using the Bagle mass mailer as one of its vectors, the Bagle virus alone did not make the 2007 list.

BitDefender▓s Top 10 malware list for 1H 2007 includes:
1. Trojan.Peed.Gen 27.19%
2. BehavesLike:Trojan.Downloader 21.4%
3. Win32.Netsky.P@mm 5.62%
4. Trojan.Peed.A 2.37%
5. Win32.NetSky.D@mm 1.87%
6. Win32.Nyxem.E@mm 1.86%
7. Win32.Sality.M 1.85%
8. GenPack:Trojan.Downloader.Tibs.I 1.33%
9. Trojan.Peed.P 1.30%
10. Win32.Netsky.AA@mm 1.22%

(Note: BitDefender▓s 2007 Top 10 list of malware accounts for 66.01% of the total number of all viruses seen in circulation.)

"The gradual change from viruses to trojans on the Top 10 malware lists presents an interesting trend in data security,■ commented Viorel Canja, head of BitDefender Labs. ⌠Although the popularity of mass mailers is slowly receding, variants are still present and pose a very real risk to computer systems used by consumers and small businesses. By constantly detecting and defending against the latest variants of malware before they become a problem, BitDefender continues to demonstrate its commitment to protecting its subscribers.■

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/.