Online viruses on the risePosted 30/07/2004
The number of new computer viruses in the first half of 2004 was up by more than a fifth on the same period last year, a new report has revealed.
The main motivation behind the boom is the money to be gained from hacking into bank accounts and credit cards, antivirus company Sophos said.
"There's a greater interest in writing viruses than ever before," said senior technical consultant Graham Cluley told TechNewsWorld.
"The reason for that is that virus-writing is increasingly about making money."
Many viruses are also designed to open up backdoors in computers to allow hackers control of computers and cause mischief, senior technical consultant Graham Cluley told TechNewsWorld.
Around 30 new viruses appear every day, he estimated, although most get quickly stopped by antivirus software.
With the exception of the most common virus in the last six months, Sasser, all the top viruses were spread through e-mail attachments. © DeHavilland Information Services plc
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