The Worm That Won’t Go Away

A variant of the Klez worm was not only the most frequently occurring worm
for the month of February, but it’s become the most persistent worm ever,
according to a new report by an anti-virus company.

“A worm with altogether more substance is this month’s number one — the
Klez-H,” says Chris Wraight, a technology consultant at Sophos, Inc.
“In its various guises, Klez has now been hanging around the chart for 13
months, making it the most persistent worm ever. People infected by the
Klez couldn’t have updated their virus protection in quite some time.”

Rounding out the list of the top worms and viruses for February were the
Sobig worm, a variant of the Avril worm, a Yaha variant and the Bugbear
worm. The much talked-about Lovgate worm only hit the ninth spot on
Sophos’ list.

The anti-virus company reports that it detected 541 new viruses, worms and
Trojan horses in February. The total number of malicious code in the wild
adds up to about 80,079.

And for the 10th month in a row, the JDBGMGR was the top hoax in
February. It’s followed by the WTC Survivor, Meninas da Playboy, Bonsai Kitten and
Budweiser Frogs Screensaver.

“JDBGMGR is quickly becoming the hoax of all time,” says Wraight.
“JDBGMGR is right up there with Klez when it comes to creating computer user
confusion, but this needn’t be the case. People receiving this message
should simply delete it and not be tempted to forward it to all their
contacts ‘just in case’ it is a real virus warning.”