The latest Sober virus (known as W32.Sober.X@mm, Sober.Y and W32/Sober@MM!M681) has passed its January deadline for updates without incident.

The Sober virus and its variants have been one of the most prolific of 2005 and has topped the charts again in recent months. In early December, anti-virus vendors cracked the algorithm the virus uses to search for updates, allowing the next set of Web sites to be blocked and Web hosting companies to be notified. The virus was set to search for updates from thirty unique websites, fifteen each on January 5th and January 6th.

This week Sober has plummeted in virus rankings and has effectively ceased to spread, thanks to the combined effort by anti-virus firms and security professionals worldwide. Existing infections will continue to search for updates; ISPs are advised to watch traffic patterns and notify customers they are still infected.

In an unusually positive twist, the Sober virus was responsible for catching a 20-year-old child-porn predator in Germany. However the virus was also responsible for Nazi-like hate spam earlier in the year.
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