Over 10 per cent of all malware detected in March 2008, were identified as files containing information on programmes to be run automatically when removable media, typically a USB memory stick, was inserted into a computer.
"Portable storage media started to become a noticeable threat last summer," commented Paul Brook, managing director, ESET UK. "Since then it has gathered pace and continues to grow as a popular infection vector with malware writers and it's easy to see why. It's been drummed into users for so long now that email is the main source of infection that users have forgotten the threats from yesteryear when media such as floppy disks were the main concern. Consequently, basic desktop protection is now often overlooked, particularly by home users."
Top 10 Threats for March 2008 include: INF/Autorun (10.30 per cent), Win32/Adware.SearchAid (4.42 per cent), Win32/Adware.Virtumonde (2.81 per cent), WIN32/Toolbar.MyWebSearch (2.07 per cent), Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.KGV (1.74 per cent), Win32/IRCBot.AAH (1.67 per cent), Win32/Adware.Virtumonde.FP (1.55 per cent), Win32/Agent.NHE (1.32 per cent), Win32/Agent (1.26 per cent), and Win32/Pacex.Gen (1.23 per cent). |
