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W32

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

W32 Viruses and Worms

W32 is commonly used as the prefix for many variants of viruses and worms that exploit vulnerabilities in the 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows. The term 32-bit refers to the way a computer’s processor handles information: 32-bit versions of Windows are designed for use in computers with 32-bit processors.

Since 32-bit versions of Windows make up the majority of the operating systems run in the world, virus and worm authors have focused on exploiting vulnerabilities in 32-bit windows operating systems. There have been thousands of viruses and worms over recent years that have had the prefix W32 in their name, and more are being discovered every day. The risk of viruses with the W32 prefix ranges from minimal to highly destructive. Some of the most widespread viruses have had variants with this prefix, including:

Blaster Worm
Sasser Worm
MyDoom Worm (aka Novarg, Dumaru)
ILOVEYOU Virus
W32.Spybot
W32.Klez
Harry Potter Worm
Netsky Worm
Beagle Worm (aka Bagle)
Sober Mass Mailing Worm

W32 Virus & Worm Protection

The majority of W32 viruses and worms are spread online through network services including email, web sites, file sharing systems, and instant messages. Therefore, any computer connected to the Internet runs the risk of of being infected with a W32 virus. To protect computers from being infected, anti virus software should be used. Anti virus software runs in the background of a computer, preventing viruses and other malware from causing harm. Anti virus software utilizes two primary methods for detecting and removing viruses and worms – virus definitions and heuristics.

The virus definition method, the most common technique for detecting viruses, scans all potentially malicious files against a master list known viruses. Most anti virus software includes an auto-updating feature that enables the program to download definitions of new viruses so that it can provide protection from the latest threats.

The second method of virus detection, heuristic virus scanning, identifies threats based on common virus behaviors, enabling protection from viruses that have not yet been added to the software’s defintions. Top anti virus software companies include McAfee, Norton, Computer Associates, and AVG.

For more information on viruses as well as the latest virus threats, see McAfee Virus & Spyware Protection.