BitDefender Lab's Top 10 Malware List for April Dominated by Malware Packers

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Repacking Malware Is a Technique That Is Sticking Around

BitDefender®, a global provider of award-winning antivirus software and data security solutions, announced today that malware packers have gained even more popularity in the month of April, as three of the positions on BitDefender's April 2008 Top Ten Malware list are occupied with malware packed by such software. According to BitDefender Labs, the three are all packed with the same type of packer (NSAnti) which has caused problems in previous months.

"It seems repacking malware to attempt avoiding detection, rather than spending time and energy writing new viruses from scratch is a technique that's here to stay," said Sorin Dudea, Head of BitDefender AV Research.

Straightforward packers aren't the only tools used for this purpose. The fourth position on the list is a sophisticated malware loader, dubbed by BitDefender researchers as "Loader.N." Loader.N runs decrypts and enables two other packed pieces of malware (a Trojan, Kobcka and a Trojan, Downloader.Agent) which transforms the infected machine into a spam relay.

"The loader serves two purposes: the encryption prevents antivirus software from detecting the payload in transit, while the unpacking and loading part ensures that at no point does the payload get written to disk -- eliminating another inception point," Dudea explained. "Of course, the exercise is pointless, as we can still detect the decryptor itself."

The rest of the top ten is, yet again, pretty well-populated with mass mailer viruses, with the Cutwail Trojan, another tool turning machines into spam bots, appearing in the 6th position.

BitDefender's April 2008 Top 10 malware list includes:

1.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.AD        33.71%
2.      Win32.Netsky.P@mm                7.48%
3.      Win32.Worm.Sohanad.NAW           4.56%
4.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.AG         2.86%
5.      Trojan.Loader.N                  2.25%
6.      Trojan.Dropper.Cutwail.F         2.04%
7.      Win32.Netsky.AA@mm               1.98%
8.      Win32.NetSky.D@mm                1.98%
9.      Packer.Malware.NSAnti.Z          1.87%
10.     Win32.Nyxem.E@mm                 1.65%
11.     OTHERS                          39.62%

About BitDefender®

BitDefender is the creator of one of the industry's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified security software. Since our inception in 2001, BitDefender has continued to raise the bar and set new standards in proactive threat prevention. Every day, BitDefender protects tens of millions of home and corporate users across the globe -- giving them the peace of mind of knowing that their digital experiences will be secure. BitDefender solutions are distributed by a global network of value-added distribution and reseller partners in more than 100 countries worldwide. More information is available at www.bitdefender.com.

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BitDefender Lab's Top 10 Malware List for April Dominated by Malware Packers

Repacking Malware Is a Technique That Is Sticking Around