Trojans and adware, the worst threats in August, reports PandaLabs

~~jaz_martin~~ · 09-18-2007, 11:12 PM

9/3/2007.
According to data from the Panda ActiveScan online antivirus solution, Trojans and adware were the most active threats in August. Specifically, they were responsible for 25.92% and 24.81% respectively of all infections detected. This once again underlines the strategy of cyber-criminals to use this type of malicious code for financial gain.

Worms, responsible for over eight percent of infections, were the third most active type of malware. The other types of malicious code to attack users' systems were backdoors (3.59%) dialers (3.03%), spyware (2.96%) and bots (2.51%).

“The figures in August are similar to those observed in July, suggesting that the prime financial motive of malware creators is unchanged”, explains Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, who adds: “The versatility of Trojans makes them ideal for this purpose. It’s therefore no surprise that these threats head the ranking of the most active threats”.

With respect to the specific strains of malware that were most active last month, in first place comes Downloader.MDW. This malicious code downloads other malware onto compromised computers. Second and third places in the list are occupied by two new malicious codes: the ZLFake.A.drp Trojan and the virus ZlFake.A.

Name Previous position

Trj/Downloader.MDW 1 =

W32/ZLFake.A.drp New

W32/ZlFake.A New

Trj/Lineage.BZE 3 Down

W32/Brontok.H.worm 2 Down

Application/SuperFast 10 Up

W32/Sdbot.ftp.worm 5 Down

W32/Puce.E.worm 9 Up

Trj/Dropper.UN 7 Down

Trj/Perlovga.A 8 Down

In fourth place, down one spot from last month, is Lineage.BZE, a Trojan designed to steal passwords. Similarly, Brontok.H, in fifth place, has dropped down the ranking since the previous month.

On the other hand, the SuperFast PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) has moved up four places from tenth to sixth.

Sdbot.ftp, the script used by Sdbot worms to infect computers, has dropped down to seventh place. The Puce.E worm is another malicious code that became more active in August, and is now in eighth place.

Finally, two Trojans, Dropper.UN and Perlovga.A came ninth and tenth in the list.

~~jaz_martin~~ · 09-19-2007, 02:36 AM

By the way?

How many of you think that the same companies or their subsidiaries that sell antiviruses and antispyware

produce these computer viruses warms etc... just to keep the ball rolling and expanding???

I know some might say that there is enough out there to do just that without them joining in right?

But why not? Imagine their resources........Think about it and feel free to put your Two Cents here please.

**Cellus** · 09-19-2007, 01:37 PM

AV companies do produce viruses, such as zoo viruses (viruses not on the Wildlist) and so forth, specifically to test and enhance the detection capabilities of their AV products, as well as other kinds of malicious code made in-house to develop their products. However with that said, the companies do not distribute them on the Internet for malicious purposes - they use them specifically for developing a defense against them and related kin. This technique is nothing new - pharmaceutical and biotech labs, even the CDC, work with viruses and bacteria generated in-house for the sole purpose of developing a treatment for them. However in this case, it is developed for "electronic bugs" instead of biological ones. It's nothing new and is recognized and accepted by the security community as a matter of practice.

09-18-2007, 11:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~jaz_martin~~ Register user Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago/Fortaleza Brazil Posts: 140 OS: windows xp	Trojans and adware, the worst threats in August, reports PandaLabs 9/3/2007. According to data from the Panda ActiveScan online antivirus solution, Trojans and adware were the most active threats in August. Specifically, they were responsible for 25.92% and 24.81% respectively of all infections detected. This once again underlines the strategy of cyber-criminals to use this type of malicious code for financial gain. Worms, responsible for over eight percent of infections, were the third most active type of malware. The other types of malicious code to attack users' systems were backdoors (3.59%) dialers (3.03%), spyware (2.96%) and bots (2.51%). “The figures in August are similar to those observed in July, suggesting that the prime financial motive of malware creators is unchanged”, explains Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, who adds: “The versatility of Trojans makes them ideal for this purpose. It’s therefore no surprise that these threats head the ranking of the most active threats”. With respect to the specific strains of malware that were most active last month, in first place comes Downloader.MDW. This malicious code downloads other malware onto compromised computers. Second and third places in the list are occupied by two new malicious codes: the ZLFake.A.drp Trojan and the virus ZlFake.A. Name Previous position Trj/Downloader.MDW 1 = W32/ZLFake.A.drp New W32/ZlFake.A New Trj/Lineage.BZE 3 Down W32/Brontok.H.worm 2 Down Application/SuperFast 10 Up W32/Sdbot.ftp.worm 5 Down W32/Puce.E.worm 9 Up Trj/Dropper.UN 7 Down Trj/Perlovga.A 8 Down In fourth place, down one spot from last month, is Lineage.BZE, a Trojan designed to steal passwords. Similarly, Brontok.H, in fifth place, has dropped down the ranking since the previous month. On the other hand, the SuperFast PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) has moved up four places from tenth to sixth. Sdbot.ftp, the script used by Sdbot worms to infect computers, has dropped down to seventh place. The Puce.E worm is another malicious code that became more active in August, and is now in eighth place. Finally, two Trojans, Dropper.UN and Perlovga.A came ninth and tenth in the list.

09-19-2007, 02:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~jaz_martin~~ Register user Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago/Fortaleza Brazil Posts: 140 OS: windows xp	Re: Trojans and adware, the worst threats in August, reports PandaLabs By the way? How many of you think that the same companies or their subsidiaries that sell antiviruses and antispyware produce these computer viruses warms etc... just to keep the ball rolling and expanding??? I know some might say that there is enough out there to do just that without them joining in right? But why not? Imagine their resources........Think about it and feel free to put your Two Cents here please. Last edited by jaz_martin; 09-19-2007 at 02:37 AM.

09-19-2007, 01:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cellus Moderator Networking Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,664 OS: Windows Vista Business SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3 My System	Re: Trojans and adware, the worst threats in August, reports PandaLabs AV companies do produce viruses, such as zoo viruses (viruses not on the Wildlist) and so forth, specifically to test and enhance the detection capabilities of their AV products, as well as other kinds of malicious code made in-house to develop their products. However with that said, the companies do not distribute them on the Internet for malicious purposes - they use them specifically for developing a defense against them and related kin. This technique is nothing new - pharmaceutical and biotech labs, even the CDC, work with viruses and bacteria generated in-house for the sole purpose of developing a treatment for them. However in this case, it is developed for "electronic bugs" instead of biological ones. It's nothing new and is recognized and accepted by the security community as a matter of practice. __________________ TSF Networking Team Virus/Trojan/Spyware Removal Help Donate!