Malware Spikes, Spam Plummets, Says Report

PCWorld - It has been the busiest quarter on record for malware according to a new report from McAfee. The McAfee Threats Report: First Quarter 2011 claims six million unique malware samples were recorded during the first quarter of 2011, and also points out that spam traffic is down, and mobile malware threats are on the rise.

A McAfee press release points out, "Fake anti-virus software had a very active quarter as well, reaching its highest levels in more than a year, totaling 350,000 unique fake-alert samples in March 2011." That was before the recent scourge of rogue AV scareware on Mac OS X--which doesn't show any sign of slowing down either.

 

The McAfee Threat Report: First Quarter 2011 is now available.McAfee also released a white paper today titled Downloading from Mobile App Stores is Risky Business, which focuses on the rise of mobile malware and the security risks of mobile app stores--specifically alternative, third-party app stores. McAfee says that most Android smartphones and tablets allow "side-loading" of apps, and Android devices are not restricted to just the Google Android Market, so there is no central clearinghouse where Google--or anyone else--can check apps to verify they are safe and clean of any malware.     Read More