August Malware: INF/Autorun Tops Stats Globally; HTML/ScrInject.B Threatens Europe Win32/Qhost, New to Top Threat List

In August, for the fourth month in a row INF/Autorun was the top malware worldwide − with a 4.62% infection rate globally, placing fourth on the malware list in Europe with a 2.99% share. ESET LiveGrid® − a cloud-based malware collection system utilizing data from users of ESET solutions worldwide − has put HTML/ScrInject.B in second spot worldwide with 3.55%, and first in Europe with 4.17%. Win32/Conficker was third globally with 3.06%, while a newcomer to the top ten list, Win32/Qhost, was third in Europe with a 3.23% infection rate and eight globally (1.45%).
INF/Autorun stands for a variety of malware using the file autorun.inf as a way of compromising a PC. This file contains information on programs meant to run automatically when removable media (often USB flash drives) are accessed by a Windows PC user. HTML/ScrInject.B is a generic detection of HTML web pages containing an obfuscated script or iframe tag that automatically redirects the user to the malware download. The Win32/Conficker threat is a network worm originally propagated by exploiting a vulnerability in the Windows operating system. HTML/Iframe.B denotes a generic detection of malicious IFRAME tags embedded in HTML pages, which redirect the browser to a specific URL location containing malicious software.


Win32/Qhost copies itself to the %system32% folder of Windows before system boot-up. It then communicates over DNS with its command and control server. Win32/Qhost spreads through e-mail and once it infiltrates a system, gives control to an attacker.
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Global Threats According to ESET LiveGrid® Statistics (August 2012)

Threats in Europe According to ESET LiveGrid® Statistics (August 2012)

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About ESET LiveGrid®

ESET Live Grid® is ESET’s cloud-based malware collection system utilizing data from users of ESET solutions worldwide.  This continual streaming of information provides ESET Malware Lab specialists with  real-time accurate snapshot of the nature and scope of global infiltrations. Careful analysis of the threats, attack vectors and patterns serves ESET to fine-tune all heuristic and signature updates  –  to protect its users against tomorrow’s threats.

About ESET

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