9 out of 10 PCs are infected with spyware

The results of a new study show that 9 out of 10 PC systems are infected with spyware.

The latest anti-spyware report by Webroot Software shows that after the decline in 2005, the rate of spyware infection has started to rise again and reach a record high since 2004 back here.

' Less than a year ago, Internet security experts believe that spyware is on the decline and the rate of infection will quickly drop to almost zero - marking the extinction of this malware stream , 'C David Moll - Webroot's executive chairman - said.

' At the time, the rate of spyware infection was exactly what experts predicted. But our statistics for the first 6 months show that spyware is not extinct , 'Moll said.

In the second quarter of this year, Webroot's researchers found that up to 89% of PC users were infected on average 30 different types of spyware software. Compared to the average of the first quarter of 2006, the number of spyware types only increased slightly.

What is the cause?

According to Webroot, the main cause of the spike in spyware infection rate is that from new online channels, spyware technology has become more complicated and users have been more than willing to rely on antispyware software. free.

In addition, spyware has found a fertile ground to multiply and find new victims. That's from social sites like MySpace. Along with that, spammers have recognized the profit from installing spyware on phishing emails.

As for cyber criminals, they are also massively bringing a huge amount of spyware onto the Internet through websites. Webroot has discovered a total of 527,136 malicious websites containing spyware in the past. Compared to the first quarter of this year, the figure has increased by 100,136.

In terms of spyware technology, the new generation of this type of malware has been equipped with additional detection capabilities thanks to new advanced technologies such as rootkits, trojans downloaders, keyloggers . These technologies have helped they bypass free anti-spyware software - the types of software that users still trust to use.

' Spware is a profitable hazard. That's why, until it can make a profit, the criminals use it , 'Moll said. ' Users should install highly validated antispyware software with proactive protection against even the latest spyware technologies '.

Not only users are infected with spyware but also businesses. In time, there were more than 40 security flaws that helped spread this type of malware in the corporate network that was discovered. Although about 70% of businesses use antispyware solutions, once again the rate of spyware infection proves the inability of those solutions.

Hoang Dung