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

Business Editors & Technology Writers

MEDINA, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 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 March 2001.

The report, coined "the dirty dozen," is based on the number of virus occurrences confirmed through Central Command's Emergency Virus Response Team (TM) tracking.

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

Ranking          Virus Name               Monthly Percentage


1                I-Worm.Hybris.B                19.6%
2                I-Worm.MTX                     14.2%
3                VBS.Plan.B                      9.6%
4                I-Worm.Hybris.D                 9.3%
5                VBS.SST.A                       6.6%
6                VBS.LoveLetter.A                4.2%
7                O97M.Tristate.C                 3.4%
8                W97M.Thus.A                     3.3%
9                I-Worm.Hybris.E                 3.1%
10               I-Worm.Navidad.B                2.5%
11               Win32.Magistr.A@mm              1.8%
12               W97M.Ethan.A                    1.7%
Others                                          20.7%

"The month of March has been quite predictable," said Steven Sundermeier, product manager at Central Command, Inc. "We once again saw a high volume of Internet worms both new and old. Therefore, with the large quantity and their high distribution rate, they occupied a large portion of our top twelve slots," said Sundermeier.

The most frequent virus reported for the month of March was I-Worm.Hybris.B, one of the most complex Internet Worms known today. "Was the temptation of an explicit story on Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs that great that the world couldn't resist the allure of a seductive Snow White once again?" concluded Sundermeier. I-Worm.MTX, another Internet Worm, and VBS.Plan.B rounded out the top three reported viruses for the month of March.

Some new viruses for the month of March included: I-Worm.Naked.A, an Internet Worm thought to have pornographic pictures of another man's wife and VBS.Staple.A, an Internet Worm that displays a politically driven message.

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

AVX Professional starts at $38.95, and a free 30-day trial version may be downloaded from www.avx.com or obtained by contacting Central Command toll-free at 866-2-GET-AVX (866-243-8289).

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. AVX and AntiVirus eXpert are trademarks of Softwin SRL, Romania. All other trademarks, trade names, and products referenced herein are property of their respective owners.