March 04, 2008 10:00 ET

Sunbelt Software Announces Top Ten Spyware/Malware Threats for February 2008

Stats From Leading Antimalware Developer Show VirusHeat Threat for the First Time in Top Ten

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire - March 4, 2008) - Sunbelt Software, a leading provider of Windows security and management software, today announced the top ten most prevalent spyware and malware threats for the month of February. The report, compiled from monthly scans performed by Sunbelt's award-winning antispyware tool, CounterSpy™, is a service of the Sunbelt Software Threat Research Center. The VirusHeat threat appears for the first time in the top ten lists and is a rogue security program known for scaremongering, high-pressure advertising practices. The results represent the number of times a particular spyware infection was detected during CounterSpy scans that report back to ThreatNet™, Sunbelt's community of opt-in users of CounterSpy.

The top ten most prevalent spyware threats for the month of February are:

1.      Trojan.FakeAlert                        1.77%

2.      Trojan-Downloader.Zlob.Media-Codec      1.62%

3.      Virtumonde                              1.02%

4.      ClickSpring.PuritySCAN                  0.67%

5.      VirusHeat                               0.45%

6.      Trojan.NewMediaCodec                    0.45%

7.      MyGeek/CPVFeed                          0.38%

8.      Trojan.in-t-e-r-n-e-t                   0.38%

9.      SecurityToolbar.DesktopScam             0.37%

10.     Trojan-Downloader.Gen                   0.33%

About Sunbelt Software's Threat Research Center

The Sunbelt Software Threat Research Center specializes in the discovery and analysis of dangerous vulnerabilities (i.e., security holes, bugs, maligned features or combination of operations) that could be exploited for Internet and email attacks. The research team actively researches new spyware outbreaks, creating and testing new spyware definitions on a constant basis. For detailed spyware research information and to view the top ten spyware in real-time please visit http://research.sunbelt-software.com/.

About CounterSpy

CounterSpy offers the industry's first hybrid antispyware scanning engine that provides unparalleled malware detection, remediation, and real-time protection for today's evolving blended threat landscape. CounterSpy delivers several new features, including VIPRE™ antimalware technology, FirstScan™ boot-level scanning, kernel-level Active Protection, and support for Windows Vista.

Designed to be a one-stop solution to the spyware problem, with an extensive database of current malware threats, CounterSpy aggressively scans, detects, and removes a broad range of adware, spyware and other malware, while providing real-time prevention to reduce the chance of future spyware infections. With the best spyware database in the industry, CounterSpy delivers one of the highest threat detection rates in the industry and has received the Best Buy and World Class Awards from PC World, Editor's Choice Award from Laptop Magazine, a 5-cow rating from Tucows, CNET's Editors' Choice Award and a 5-star rating from CNET's Download.com. A 15-day trial of CounterSpy is available at www.sunbeltsoftware.com.

About Sunbelt Software

Headquartered in Tampa Bay (Clearwater), Fla., Sunbelt Software was founded in 1994 and is a leading provider of Windows security and management software with product solutions in the areas of antispam and antivirus, antispyware, and vulnerability assessment. Leading products include the CounterSpy product line, Ninja Email Security, Sunbelt Exchange Archiver, and endpoint firewall technologies. The company is part of Sunbelt International Group, based in Paris, France.

For more information about Sunbelt Software, please visit the company's website at: www.sunbeltsoftware.com. To learn more about current activities, products, and ideas at Sunbelt Software, please visit Sunbelt's corporate blog at www.sunbeltblog.com.

Copyright © 2008 Sunbelt Software. All rights reserved. All trademarks used are owned by their respective companies.