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PandaLabs’ Report Claims Record High Malware Creation in 2011

On January 31, 2012, PandaLabs released the 2011 security report it publishes every year. According to it, there's been a new unprecedented rise in malware development during 2011, with 26m fresh samples circulating, almost 33% of the total malicious programs, which has ever prevailed. PR URGENT reported this on January 31, 2012.

Moreover, the report states that Trojans kept on being the maximum in number amongst the latest e-threats, increasing remarkably. During 2009, Trojans accounted for 60% of the total malicious programs, while during 2010 that rate declined and stood at 56%. Then during 2011, the figure again rose to 73%. Comparing any different malware category with that of Trojans, the former stands beaten as cyber-criminals' weapon-of-preference for hacking and data theft.

Meanwhile, the various kinds of malware developed as also the infections they were responsible for in 2011 didn't have any huge difference other than that the total number of PCs contaminated with spyware/adware was nearly threefold of all fresh spyware/adware samples designed.

Furthermore, PandaLabs elucidates the way malicious programs affect across the geographies. Thus, at present, the total contaminated computers worldwide averages at 38.4%. China leads countries in computer infection at 60.57% followed with Thailand at 56.16% and Taiwan at 52.82%. Except for these three countries, no other country has PC infections exceeding 50%.

More statistics indicate that nearly every continent has countries with high infections. However, USA scarcely bypassed the list, since it was far below on the eleventh position with a little over 39% of its computers contaminated. Moreover, the percentage of infection for this country was greater than the global mean.

Meanwhile, among the nations with the minimum number of contaminated PCs, European countries were in the lead other than Japan and Australia. Sweden, having merely 24% of its computers targeted with malware, was ranked the lowest.

One more category of malware the report mentions is roguewae or spurious anti-virus software -applications, which cyber-criminals develop but pass them like lawful security software as they use them for tricking end-users into believing their PCs have contracted malware and so require paying for the software to disinfect the systems.

Related article: PandaLabs Report Discusses Movie Trojan and Other Worms

» SPAMfighter News - 2/6/2012

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