Worms Slip Down to Make Place for Trojans & Adware

According to security firm PandaLabs, the more notorious malware like the trojans and adware have outnumbered worms. Currently, these malicious codes combine to account for 49% of total infections detected.

PandaLabs reported that in terms of numbers, worms came down to a rate of 8.31% of all virus detected during October 2007 compared to some previous months when it was at 12.11% in January 2007 and at 18.4% in November 2006. In contrast, trojans and adware maintained a high rate of corruption accounting for 23.37% and 25.97% of infections respectively.

The malware that made the most specific impact was the Trojan called Downloader.MDW, trailing behind which was the adware PC-Prot that made its first appearance in the list of rankings and occupied the third position.

The gradually declining worms have given way to more effective malware that make strategic attacks. This approach of attack resembles a guerilla style where specific items of malware are designed to attack a specific company or network. While such forms of malicious code can be unbelievably strong in efficacy and destruction for the target, they remain fully harmless to other computer networks.

According to Dominic Hoskins of Panda Security UK, while having networks completely halted as a result of malware infection means substantial financial loss, this form of activity no longer appeals or hugely benefits malware creators. ComputerWeekly published Hoskins' statement on November 9, 2007.

In today's world of cyber crime, notoriety has become subservient to financial gain. Now the only motive to create a new malware is to gain financial benefit through the practice of stealing confidential and sensitive information, Hoskins said.

Technical Director at PandaLabs, Luis Corrons, explained that there can be huge profits through the application of trojans where cyber criminals commit online fraud on the basis of stolen data. BCS published this in news on November 7, 2007.

Adware also has high potential for profits as is evident from unscrupulous marketing organizations that pay the malware creators for distributing unsolicited advertisements, Corrons said. The greedy online fraudsters are adopting tactics that are least erroneous and more professional while they create and spread malware.

Related article: Worms and Trojans Make November Malware List

» SPAMfighter News - 11/27/2007