Antivirus developer estimates 59 percent of computers worldwide are infected with malware

Malware worldwide grows 15 percent in September [CNET News]

Antivirus developer Panda Security has released a report that indicates a spike in the number of computers worldwide that are infected by malware. From August to September of this year, the number of infected PCs rose by 15 percent. The firm estimates that a stunning 59 percent of PCs have a malware infection worldwide. Numbers by country vary from 69 percent infected in Taiwan to 39 percent in Norway. The U.S. came in ninth place, with just over 58 percent of computers suffering from malware in Panda Security's report.

The report also details the types of infections plaguing computers, with trojans being the most common at over half of all malware infections. Adware infestations came in second, followed by worms and viruses. The company attributed the significant number of trojan infections to the proliferation of that type of malware designed to sniff out unsuspecting users' financial information and pass it along to criminals.

If you're an Insight customer, we offer free security software to protect against these types of malware threats, available for download at MyInsight.com.  I strongly recommend that you take us up on it or purchase your own security to protect your data.

Comments

[Shawn Smith]

I have found that many of those who have these viruses do not fully understand what a virus is and how it works, this is how it spreads. On top of that, there are new malware out there that cannot be seen by the most popular anti-viruses. The most common is the "Windows Security Virus" which tells users they are infected, but needs to buy their product to get rid of it.

I think there needs to be some education on viruses in general to the public. Maybe integrate it into the public school itinerary.

[Ryan]

I get calls on computers affected with malware daily and as Shawn said above, most people just aren't aware. It is also difficult because sometimes with a virus/malware if it's not seen by a persons current anti virus, they don't know how to fix it.