Dirty Dozen -- Top 12 -- Viruses For May 2001

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 attached 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.