Klez Tops Charts for 2002

Thanks to Anthony Fernando for mailing us.

Klez is the most abundant virus for 2002, according to Sophos, the anti-virus software firm

The second most common virus is the Bugbear worm, which made the number two slot even though it was only detected in October 2002. In third place comes Badtrans, the password-stealing worm which was first detected in November 2001.

During the year, Sophos detected 7,189 new viruses, worms and Trojan horses, bringing the total number of bugs on its books to more than 78,000. On average, the Sophos virus labs claim to produce detection routines for more than 25 new viruses each day.

Sophos has also published its list of top 10 virus hoaxes for November. The most prolific was an e-mail commonly called JDBGMGR, which accounted for 22 percent of all fake viruses in the month. As with many viruses hoaxes, JDBGMGR tries to trick users into deleting a file on their computer to protect themselves from a supposedly real threat, typically the Bugbear worm.

"...All too often, users receiving e-mail warnings of viruses circulate them to all their contacts in the mistaken belief they are doing good,"

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