‘Sality’ Virus Contaminated over 4.2m PCs across Vietnam
According to researchers working with the Bkav Security Company, over 4.2m PCs across Vietnam contracted infection from the W32.Sality.PE virus during 2011, with a mean 11,000 PCs getting additionally contaminated every day. Also, fresh malware strains that surfaced counted an estimated 38,961, reports SOHA THONG TIN on January 12, 2012.
Evidently, the Sality virus virtually penetrated the entire system of PC networks within Vietnam. As a matter of fact, during Bkav researchers' examination of any computer in the country, they largely found Sality's presence on them. Meanwhile, in addition to the virus getting disseminated the maximum during 2011, its explosion and consequent impact is expected on millions of PCs hereafter.
This expected explosion and dissemination of W32.Sality.PE on the numerous computers is due to the virus' capability for utilizing genetic algorithms for self-propagation. For, once the infection sets on any PC, it breeds increasing number of variants of ever more complexity; as a result, anti-virus software finds it more and more difficult in detecting and removing the malware strains.
Moreover, aside W32.Sality.PE, Bkav cataloged additional malware programs on its 2011 Top Five List of viruses. These include W32.AutoRunUSB.Worm, W32.Vendor.PE, W32.StuxnetQKY.Trojan and W32.StarterYY.Trojan, serially which contaminated more or less 5,627,000 computers.
Furthermore, the security company also observed that towards the end of 2011, the foremost virus series that surfaced disseminated through Facebook chat. Albeit it isn't new to find such tricks, still the malware proliferated pretty fast among most members. Additionally, during the same year, within social-networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook, several fake celebrities too surged with deceptive motives.
The researchers remark that hackers are using online or social-networking chat as a highly successful tool. Thus, Web-surfers utilizing this communication route must be cautious with the information they receive.
Meanwhile, as per the security company, the Internet security industry found June 2011 as its most busy month when almost 200 websites that a single server hosted became contaminated.
Conclusively, Bkav advises end-users that they require protecting themselves from embedded web-links or files received as well as call the contacts incase they're asked for sensitive information or money during a chat session.
Related article: “Loopholes did not cause online banking thefts”: ICBC
» SPAMfighter News - 21-01-2012