Rated Top Ten

Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against viruses, spyware and spam, has revealed the top ten viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world during the month of March 2006.

The report, compiled from Sophos’s global network of monitoring stations, reveals that whilst the chart is dominated by long-established threats, a Trojan horse has penetrated the top ten for the second consecutive month. This entry of Clagger-I demonstrates that cyber criminals are continually developing new multi-pronged attacks and mass-spamming campaigns to generate illegitimate income.

The top ten malware in March 2006 were as follows:

1. Zafi-B 17.3%
2. Netsky-P 15.3%
3. Nyxem-D 7.9%
4. MyDoom-AJ 4.1% Re-entry
5. Mytob-EX 3.6%
6. Clagger-I 3.4% New entry
7. Mytob-BE 3.1%
=8. Netsky-D 3.0%
=8. Mytob-FO 3.0%
10. Mytob-Z 2.8% Re-entry

Others 36.5%

The top ten hoaxes and chain letters in March 2006 were as follows:

1. Olympic torch 16.2%
2. Hotmail hoax 11.1%
3. Music Top 50 9.9% New entry
4. Bonsai kitten 5.7%
=4. Budweiser frogs screensaver 5.7%
6. Meninas da Playboy 4.6%
7. MSN is closing down 4.5%
8. A virtual card for you 3.3%
9. Paying for MSN 2.3% New entry
10. Bill Gates fortune 2.1%

Others 34.6%

"The hoax chart has received a shake-up this month, with the Hotmail hoax finally being toppled off the top spot after 20 months, and the arrival of two new entries that seem to be fooling users," said Cluley. "The Olympic torch chain letter, which warns recipients that their hard disk will be ‘burned’ if a certain attachment is opened, has gathered momentum, leaping up the chart to number one. By instilling panic in users about the safety of their computers, the hoaxer has clearly hit on a raw nerve."

For more details see this press release here at the Sophos.com website.

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The Register reports here: The UK has stormed into the top ten of the world’s IT nations, according to a report by the World Economic Forum, which attempts to assess the success of countries using IT and the net to increase competitiveness and economic growth. While the UK is up two places to 10 in the Global Information Technology Report (GITR), the US has once again regained its number one slot (the third time in five years) "maintaining its eminent position as a leader in the area of innovation and confirming its position as an information and communication technology powerhouse".

The top ten countries are:

1. US
2. Singapore
3. Denmark
4. Iceland
5. Finland
6. Canada
7. Taiwan
8. Sweden
9. Switzerland
10.UK

Yahoo News writes here: Panasonic said on Tuesday it will start selling a Blu-ray high-definition disc player in September for under $1,500 and sees up to 5 million of these new DVD players sold industry-wide in their first year.
Panasonic’s Blu-ray player will compete against other Blu-ray players from Samsung Corp., Pioneer Corp. and Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). as well as players supporting rival HD DVD, championed by Toshiba Corp. The battle between the two formats has divided Hollywood and the computer industry and is being likened to the Betamax/VHS war of over 25 years ago, which led to customer confusion and widespread company losses. While more Hollywood studios and electronics makers have sided with the Blu-ray camp, led by Sony, last fall Microsoft Corp. revived HD DVD when it said would support Toshiba’s technology.