About 50% of all computers scanned around the globe in January were infected with some kind of malware, according to Panda Security.
This data was gathered from Panda's free online anti-virus Panda ActiveScan. According to the security company, as for the most damaging malware threat, Trojans caused the most incidents (59% of all cases), followed by traditional viruses (12%) and worms (9%).
The list of most prevalent malware threats is topped by generic Trojans, Panda says, followed by down-loaders, exploits and adware.
“It is also worth mentioning the presence of Lineage, an old Trojan that continues to spread and infect systems,” the company says.
Thailand, China, Taiwan, Russia and Turkey occupy the top positions in the ranking of countries with the largest number of infections (over 50% of scanned computers infected with malware), while other traditional 'malware paradises' like Brazil or Poland have slipped down the list this month, it adds.
“We don't see many significant changes regarding the number of worldwide infections from month to month”, says Luis Corrons, technical director of Panda Labs.
This, he reckons, just reflects the reality of the current situation.
“Everyday we receive some 61 000 new malware samples at our laboratory, and unless you have a solution that provides latest protection technologies with near real-time protection, it takes too long for traditional solutions to incorporate new malware signatures.”
This lapse in time, he says, leaves users unprotected against new threats.
“While South Africa doesn't occupy the top positions with regards to infections, we are seeing a steady increase in the amount of malware aimed at African users”, says Jeremy Matthews, head of Panda's sub-Saharan operations.
“This malware usually takes the form of money related scams, targeted at new or inexperienced Internet users”, he concludes.
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