Novembers virus top 20 is dominated by the Warezov virus despite the surprise return of Nyxem.e, according to Internet security company, Kaspersky Lab. The latest variant, Warezov.gj, accounts for nearly one-fifth (18 per cent) of all viruses in November double the amount accounted for by the nearest non-Warezov variant, Nyxem.e (nine per cent).

The Warezov.gj worm was first detected on 22 November, and took only one week to become the most widespread virus in email traffic monitored by Kaspersky Lab. Only a few malicious programs have shown such record propagation rates in the first month of their existence and all of them remained at the top of the charts for significant periods of time. However, Kaspersky Lab believes this wont be the case this time, and predicts Warezov.gj will probably fall sharply in December as the worm surrenders to the onslaught of its new siblings.

The return of Nyxem.e was a surprise. This worm will soon be celebrating an anniversary of sorts: its nearly a year since it was first detected. It has become one of the most widespread viruses in 2006.

An equally notable comeback is that of the Zafi.b worm, which is annoying PC users again with its messages in 18 languages. Obviously the life cycle of this Hungarian worm is not yet complete.

Octobers leader NetSky.q is once again moving down the charts. The history of this worm is quite interesting. After it first appeared in 2004, it showed considerable impact for a long time and became the most widespread worm of 2004. In 2005, its position was shared with various Mytob variants, and in 2006 it has alternately been prevalent and receded. NetSky.q remains one of the most widespread worms in the entire history of the Internet. Meanwhile, for Sven Jaschan, author of this infamous worm, 16 of the 21 months of his suspended sentence have passed.

These examples demonstrate that worms can be split into two groups: those that circulate for years in traffic, sometimes increasing their share (when there are no other epidemics) and sometimes falling back and those that emerge quickly, top statistics for a short period and then disappear, often completing this cycle in a few weeks.

The list:

1. Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.gj - 18.3 per cent (new)
   
2. Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.ev - 14.9 per cent
   
3. Email-Worm.Win32.Nyxem.e - 9.9 per cent (return)
   
4. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.t - 7.5 per cent
   
5. Email-Worm.Win32.Scano.gen - 6.6 per cent
   
6. Net-Worm.Win32.Mytob.c - 5.7 per cent
   
7. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.q - 5.3 per cent
   
8. Email-Worm.Win32.Zafi.b - 4.4 per cent (return)
   
9. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.aa - 2.8 per cent
   
10. Net-Worm.Win32.Mytob.t - 2.0 per cent (return)
    
11. Email-Worm.Win32.LovGate.w - 1.5 per cent (return)
    
12. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.b - 1.4 per cent
    
13. Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.fh - 1.3 per cent (new)
    
14. Trojan-Spy.HTML.Bankfraud.od - 1.1 per cent
    
15. Net-Worm.Win32.Mytob.u - 1.0 per cent (return)
    
16. Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.gl - 0.97 per cent (new)
    
17. Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.do - 0.87 per cent
    
18. Email-Worm.Win32.Mydoom.l - 0.77 per cent
    
19. Email-Worm.Win32.Bagle.gen - 0.76 per cent
    
20. Net-Worm.Win32.Mytob.w - 0.73 per cent (return)

Others - 12.3 per cent

Related links: (Open in a new window.)
www.kaspersky.com/
chi-publishing.com/index.php?newsID=1303

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