Top ten viruses for May

The Homepage bug topped the virus charts last month, according to a report from anti-virus vendor Sophos.

Homepage, a non-destructive Kournikova variant, accounted for over a third of all virus instances for May, with the Magistr virus claiming runners up spot.

Eric Chien, chief researcher at Symantec, said: "The Magistr virus also sends out 'clean' copies of itself. So when people get an unexpected attachment, they're wasting their time by being scared when there's nothing to be scared about."

One of the new entrants for May was the destructive Mawanella worm, named after the Sri Lankan town from which it is reported to have originated.

The mass mailer is released by clicking on an email attachment and subsequently sends itself to each contact in a victim's Outlook address book.

The Sophos list below highlights the most frequently occurring viruses for May 2001:

1. VBS/VBSWG-X 37.5% (Homepage)
2. W32/Magistr-A 24.5% (Magistr)
3. W32/Hybris-B 7.1% (Hybris variant)
4. W32/BadTrans 6.9% (Badtrans)
5. W32/Apology-B 4.4% (Apology variant)
6. VBS/Kakworm 3.9% (Kakworm)
7. VBS/VBSWG-Z 2.1% (Mawanella)
8. WM97/Marker 1.5% (Marker)
9. W32/Bymer-A 1.0% (Bymer)
10. W32/FLCSS 1.0% (FunLove)

In a separate Dirty Dozen virus poll conducted by American AV firm Central Command, the Hybris-B variant with the subject line 'Snowhite and the Seven Dwarfs - The REAL story!' reached the summit.

One of the most complex internet worms, Hybris-B has the capability to evolve by continually upgrading various parts of its code. It received a fifth of all votes.