Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 3, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
February brought no real changes to Kaspersky Lab’s malware top 20 this year. The same candidates share the podium as in January; only the third-placed contender swapped places with the runner-up. Even if the raw figures do not show it, the epidemic of the Trojan downloader Diehard continued unabated in February.
In January, Kaspersky Lab’s virus laboratory identified four variants of Diehard among the 20 most widespread malicious programs in email traffic. In February, only one new modification appears in the top 20, in 12th place. However, this does not mean that the virus analysts have brought this malware under control. Quite the contrary: the Diehard family grew rapidly in February, with around 50 new variants discovered within a month. This is remarkable considering that Diehard produced a total of “only” 100 versions in the four months since October 2007. Kaspersky Lab recorded at least one Diehard mass mailing per day. Adding together the percentage shares of all variants of this Trojan produces a higher figure than that of the nominal leader, the NetSky.q worm.
Otherwise, things remained largely unchanged: downloader Small.hsl, the month’s second new entry, jumped straight into fifth place. Kaspersky Lab’s virus experts see it as a harbinger of a new dangerous family in the monthly statistics.
It is unusual that only two of the four currently active families with epidemic potential, Diehard and Bagle, are represented in the February statistics. Zhelatin and Warezov seem to have taken a short break; the former did, however, make extensive use of Valentine’s Day to deliver its regular shipment of malware.
Overall, 0.61 percent of all emails checked by Kaspersky Lab’s analysis systems were infected. The other malicious programs active in email traffic account for a not insignificant share of 5.12 percent of the total number of malicious programs intercepted.
Further information:
- Kaspersky Lab
