Central Command Releases Its Dirty Dozen -- Top 12 -- Viruses For May 2001.

Business & High-Tech Editors

MEDINA, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2001

Central Command, a leading provider of PC anti-virus software and computer security services, and its partners today released its' monthly listing of the top twelve viruses reported for May 2001. The report, coined the "Dirty Dozen," is based on the number of virus occurrences confirmed through Central Command's Emergency Virus Response Team tracking.

The table below represents the most prevalent viruses for May 2001. The ranking is determined by the amount of virus occurrences reported, number one being the most frequent.

Rank    Virus Name          Percentage

1.      I-Worm.Hybris.B     20.6%

2.      VBS.Homepage.A@mm   16.7%

3.      W32.Magistr.A@mm    11.4%

4.      I-Worm.MTX          5.8%

5.      I-Worm.Hybris.D     5.2%

6.      W95.CIH             3.2%

7.      I-Worm.Hybris.E     3.0%

8.      VBS.Plan.B          2.7%

9.      VBS.SST.A           2.2%

10.     I-Worm.Badtrans     2.1%

11.     VBS.Mawanella.A@mm  2.1%

12.     VBS.Loveletter.A    2.0%

        Others             23.0%

"The month of May was once again dominated by mass mailing viruses," said Steven Sundermeier, product manager at Central Command, Inc. "Unfortunately, it only takes a few careless users that don't have up-to- date virus protection for these viruses to spread rapidly worldwide," stated Sundermeier.

The most frequent virus reported for the month of May was I-Worm.Hybris.B, one of the most complex Internet Worms known today. "Its affiliation with Snow White is just another prime example of the social engineering trick used today by virus writers," concluded Sundermeier. VBS.Hompage.B@mm, a mass mailing worm generated using the (K)alamar virus creation toolkit and W32.Magistr.A@mm rounded out the top three reported viruses for the month.

A new addition to the Dirty Dozen was VBS.Mawanella.A@mm, a politically driven e-mail worm also generated using the (K)alamar virus creation toolkit as its source. Additionally, a virus hoax involving the file Sulfbnk.exe started circulating worldwide, causing much panic and confusion amongst computer users.

For additional descriptions and removal techniques of the viruses listed in this release, please visit www.centralcommand.com.

AntiVirus eXpert starts at $38.95, and a free 30-day trial version may be downloaded from www.centralcommand.com or obtained by contacting Central Command toll-free at 877-943-8287.

About Central Command:

A leader in the anti-virus industry, Central Command, Inc., a privately held company, was founded in 1990 and serves home PC users and industrial, government, financial, education and service firms with virus protection software, services, and information. The company services customers in over 65 countries and is headquartered in Medina, Ohio.

Central Command, EVRT, Emergency Virus Response Team are trademarks of Central Command, Inc. AntiVirus Expert is a trademark of Softwin SRL, Romania. All other trademarks, trade names, and products referenced herein are property of their respective owners.