Only 3% of users know how to distinguish spyware

Spreading speed of adware and spyware continues to grow exponentially. This is the conclusion given in the latest report by security firm McAfee.

The statistics from this report show that there is still only one out of 33 web users - that is, only 3% of users - that it is possible to correctly distinguish which site is safe and Which website is not.

" This means that a lot of users are still" innocent "of accessing malicious websites, making their PC systems infected with adware, spyware or other unwanted software. there , "McAfee said.

Not only that, but search engines on the Internet, with some special keywords, sometimes result in sites containing malware. That rate of "malicious results" can sometimes reach 72%.

This result poses an urgent need to focus on and further strengthen the work of preventing the spread of these malicious software.

In the period 2000-2002, the Internet security world only discovered 40 lines of adware software. But only four years later that number has increased more than 10 times - reaching more than 450 lines of adware software with more than 4,000 different variations.

Another surprising result is the origin of spyware and adware. Most users assume that these types of malicious software often hide under pornographic websites. McAfee's statistics give a completely different result. Leading the list of dangerous malware sites is the world famous stars or beauty websites (16.3%). Coming in second is websites that offer screensavers with 11.5%. Sites with pornographic content only ranked third with 11.4%.

Adware and spyware storage has now become a very attractive business. This is the reason why the number of adware and spyware software continues to increase so fast. A case reviewed by McAfee in the report is that an adware programmer could earn $ 0.15 for every infected PC system. In fact, adware programmers can earn about $ 10,000 a month. Meanwhile, adware and spyware software is becoming more and more intelligent.

" Adware or spyware software now incorporates legitimate and illegal advertising solutions. This makes it difficult for users to erase the category between malware and unwanted software. want and legitimate software , "McAfee said.

McAfee recommends that security companies and law enforcement companies make more efforts to combat the spread of these types of malware.

Hoang Dung