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Adware biggest offender in Q1
1 April, 2008
By Chris Talbot |
Adware was the worst offender for causing malware infections in the first quarter of 2008, but Trojans were close behind the as the second most active category.
According to the Panda Software's PandaLabs Q1 malware analysis and detection report, adware was the cause of 28.58 per cent of all infections, making it the leading cause of infections during the first three months of the year. Trojans followed closely behind with 25.46 per cent of all infections.
"Adware is a type of malicious code that shows ads while users surf the Web. Besides being annoying, many variants can compromise the computer's security or performance, so users should take precautions," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, in a statement.
After adware and Trojans, the figures dropped significantly. Worms accounted for 9.94 per cent of all infections, representing the third worst offender in the first quarter of 2008.
In terms of new malware strains that appeared in the first quarter, there were more new Trojans than anything else (62.16 per cent of new malware strains detected in Q1 were Trojans), followed by adware (20.34 per cent) and worms (8.87 per cent).
"The huge amount of new Trojans put in circulation every month indicates that cyber-criminals are interested in creating new strains more frequently, making detection increasingly difficult for security solutions, which will be unable to update signature files in time, leaving users unprotected," Corrons said.
The two most active viruses in the quarter were adware. Comet topped the list as the most active virus, followed by NaviPromo. After that, the most active viruses were, in descending order, W32/Bagle.HX.worm, W32/Bagle.RC.worm, W32/Bagle.RP.worm, SaveNow (adware), Starware (also adware), W32/Puce.E.worm, Zango (adware) and Virtumonde (spyware).
The report also included a special section on threats to cell phones, smartphones, iPhones, etc. PandaLabs stated the three biggest threats to such devices are worms, Trojans and spyware.
"Their behavior and features are similar to those of malicious codes for computers," said Corrons. "Trojans designed to steal confidential data like e-mail passwords, instant messaging contacts, etc., are the most prevalent, with 54.48 per cent of all infections. This shows attacks against cell phones are becoming increasingly sophisticated."
The most common effects of malware for cell phones include cell phone blocking, battery consumption, sending of SMS to premium numbers, deletion of folders and messages, and theft of phone numbers, SMS or other sensitive data stored on the devices.
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