A list of spyware most frequently detected by Panda Active Scan has been recently published by PandaLabs. The 1st place has been “awarded” to Gator adware, which offers to use their program for free if users agree to view their pop-ups. Additionally, Gator may replace banners on visited websites with its own advertisements.
Wupd and Ncase took the second and third places respectively. Both are adware parasites that use the same strategy as Gator – offering to use their programs for free if users agree to view their displayed ads. However, Wupd and Ncase also gather private user data to display personalized pop-ups and banners. Moreover, these threats mess up users’ search options and hijack their homepages, replacing them with their own.
CWS “wins” the fourth place. It is another adware application, and infiltrates systems without their victims’ knowledge and/or consent. The fact that CWS uses intricate methods of escaping detection by anti-spyware tools adds to the danger factor of this parasite.
The fifth place belongs to Emediacodec, which is very similar to CWS in its functions.
The multi-purpose adware Lop took the sixth place in the Panda’s Top 10, with its numerous capabilities to avoid detection. It generates pop-ups and hijacks search results.
WinAntiVirus, a rogue anti-spyware parasite, enjoys the seventh place on the list. IT infiltrates computers by using middleware Downloader.LHW and web browser security loopholes.
CWS.Searchpmeup ranks as the eight placeholder in the Top 10. It is a browser hijacker that replaces the Internet Explorer homepage and changes users’ search results with its sponsor’s.
Winfixer2005 made it to the ninth place, being the second rogue anti-spyware parasite to reach Panda’s top spyware list. It displays fake security notifications and tries to scare users into buying its full version.
The last but not least in the list is New.net, a spyware parasite that installs a toolbar to IE web browser and gathers users’ private information to later send it to third party servers for advertising purposes.
The main factor exposed by this Top 10 shows the dominance of adware in the broader malware category. Moreover, past researches indicate the growth of the role of adware in typical system infection cases.
The appearance of rogue anti-spyware in the Top 10 also shows the increase of this type of malware activity. WinAntivirus2006 and Winfixer2005 are perfect examples of such threats, and the frequency of their detection indicates that rogue anti-spyware is a growing force in the world of malware.
If you want to find out if your PC has been infected by any of the above listed parasites, you are welcome to use the free ActiveScan version.
Top 10 Spyware by Panda
1. Adware/Gator
2. Adware/WUpd
3. Adware/nCase
4. Adware/CWS
5. adware/emediacodec
6. Adware/Lop
7. Application/Winantivirus2006
8. Adware/CWS.Searchmeup
9. Application/Winfixer2005
10. Spyware/New.net
