BitDefender: A Look into the BitDefender 2007 Top 10 Malware List

The BitDefender 2007 Top 10 Malware List ranked the Peed bot, otherwise known as Storm Worm or Nuwar, at the top position. The BitDefender 2007 malware list also showed the disturbances and havoc caused by numerous mass mailers, a significant part of which comes from the Netsky family.

The following are included in the BitDefender 2007 Top 10 Malware:

1.    Trojan.Peed.Gen – This ranked first at 33.94%. Signs of an infection include your computer running at a slower pace and an increase in network activity.
2.    BehavesLike:Trojan.Downloader – Ranking second at 24.86%, a symptom of this malware also includes increased network activity.
3.    Win32.Netsky.P@mm – Ranking third at 6.49%, this worm spreads via e-mail and P2P clients.
4.     Trojan.Peed.A – Appearing fourth place at 2.13%, symptoms of this malware include increased network activity and hidden files taking up space in your computer’s directories.
5.     Win32.Nyxem.E@mm – Ranking fifth place at 2.13%, this dangerous threat spreads as a mass mailer through e-mail. It uses its own SMTP engine as well as network shares.
6.    Win32.Sality.M – At 2.06%, this very dangerous polymorphic file-infector alters PE executable files and can spread itself.
7.    Win32.NetSky.D@mm – Also at 2.06%, this has the ability to spread itself through e-mail attachments.
8.    Win32.Virtob.2.Gen – Taking up the eight spot at 1.60%, this is a memory-resident file-infector that is of polymorphic nature and exhibits backdoor behavior. A symptom would include an increase in the size of executable files by 7-10 KB.
9.     Win32.Netsky.AA@mm – Ranking ninth at 1.49%, this one spreads through e-mail.
10.     Trojan.Peed.P – Rounding off the tenth spot at 1.17%, this one also has the ability to disseminate itself via e-mail.
The bot nets have emerged as top threats, with the Peed bot ranking higher than the Trojans. File infectors are also widespread threats.

BitDefender also has a list of the most prevalent spam. Included in the BitDefender 2007 Top 10 spam list are penny stocks spam, drug spam, pornography, replica watches, loans, phishing spam, pirated software, fake job ads, dating site spam and fake diplomas.

Although ranking lower than others, phishing spam has highly dangerous consequences on its victims with cases of stolen bank accounts. Online users would fall into the trap of entering their account information as criminals make them believe that it is for banking security updates. Some also receive threats of account termination if they do not submit their account details. The templates for these malicious e-mails are expertly crafted and very similar to the legitimate forms of banks.
Indeed, viruses, spyware, spam and malware can cause devastating damages. Some viruses may cause the computer to slow down or crash, thus delaying users in school projects or business processes. Identity theft can result to financial damages.

See the full Bitdefender Review for even more info, or keep reading.

BitDefender offers powerful, comprehensive anti-virus software that shields computers from these different types of malware. The award-winning security software protects millions of families and businesses across the globe.

It is indeed wise, practical and crucial to protect computers from the prevalent offenders of the Web. The BitDefender 2007 list of the Top 10 Malware shows the dangers that lurk in the online world.