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Netsky, Mytob Still A Threat
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-07-10
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The figures for the first six months of 2006 as collected by the Sophos security firm show variants of the Netsky and Mytob worms continue to make the rounds of the Internet.
 | | Netsky, Mytob Still A Threat |  |
Netsky-P topped the list compiled by Sophos of malware moving across the globe. Netsky was first noticed in March 2004, but apparently not everyone has downloaded the fix for it.
"The Netsky-P worm continues to cast a long shadow over the list of most widespread malware, and its sad to think that there are still computers out there which aren't protected against it," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
The Mytob mass-mailing worm has also persisted to be a pest on a global scale. Four of the top ten worms recorded by Sophos were variants of Mytob. It is thought that over a hundred variants of the worm have been created and distributed.
These worms have infected thousands of computers, usually those of home PC users. Many machines may be unpatched due to their owners not being savvy enough to update their systems or run antivirus software.
Many of these worms circulate by email, and could be stopped by antivirus programs or the simple effort of not opening attachments from unknown senders. Another problem associated with email has been the long-time practice of sending hoax messages and encouraging the recipient to forward it to others.
The same email figured in one in eight appearances of hoax messages. Called the Hotmail Hoax, the message contends that growing demand for Hotmail will lead to inactive accounts being deleted. The only solution, the hoax claims, is to forward the message to a bunch of other Hotmail users.
Many hoax emails can be easily uncovered through a web search, or a quick look for the email's topic on Snopes. To summarize: Hotmail is working just fine; there is no Olympic torch virus that will burn down your hard drive; and Bill Gates is not going to send you a check for forwarding an email.
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Tag: Netsky
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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