Virus top 10: MyDoom takes top spot in seven days

Viruses made headlines in January, with even members of the tech elite such as Gates and McBride unable to dodge the fallout. Malware mechants pulled out all the stops to see the MyDoom storm to the top of the month's top 10.

The old favourites in the virus league - the seemingly indestructible Klez-H, which has been doing the rounds for nearly two years, and Mimail, which spawns new versions faster than rabbits on Viagra - are still putting in a good showing, but they've been pipped by the new boys.

The two most-reported viruses in January, according to antivirus company Sophos, were the fashionably late arrivals MyDoom and Bagle - both found in the wild in the relatively small hours of January.

The SCO-bashing MyDoom-A virus was first detected on 26 January, but by the close of the month had managed to make up 25 per cent of all viruses reported to Sophos; while the Bagle-A virus turned up mid way through January and managed to add 16.3 per cent of all malware-infection scalps to its tally.

MyDoom-B, gearing up to bring down Microsoft on Tuesday, seems likely to be a strong contender for next month's chart. Looking to make a splash similar to that of its predecessor, the MyDoom-B variant was first sighted on 29 January - too late to squeeze into the top ten. Don't expect a long-lived career for Bagle, however - it was programmed to become dormant on 28 January.

January's virus chart in full:

1. MyDoom-A 25.1 per cent

2. Bagle-A 16.3 per cent

3. Sober-C 9.9 per cent

4. Dumaru-A 5.3 per cent

5. Mimail-J 3.1 per cent

6. Mimail-A 2.7 per cent

7. Mimail-K 2.6 per cent

8. Mimail-C 2.2 per cent

9. Mimail-I 1 per cent

10. Klez-H 0.8 per cent

Others 31 per cent