herakles
02-06-2008, 05:14
For your interest:
An OECD study into online crime says that increased activity by cyber criminals has left an estimated one-in-four US computers infected with malware.
"It is estimated that 59 million users in the US have spyware or other types of malware on their computers," the OECD report said.
(I wasn't able to fnd the data for other countries but I assume it is much the same)
Using agents with names ranging from "zombies" and "worms" to "botnets," "Trojan horses" or "money mules," criminals can wreak havoc, usurping identities, recruiting and organising cohorts of computers for coordinated attacks, and even steal data for ransom.
Some studies estimate that about 80 per cent of web-based malware was hosted on "innocent but compromised" websites and one report found 53.9 per cent of all malicious sites were hosted in China, followed by the United States with 27.2 percent.
An association of British banks estimated malware losses at £12.2 million in 2004 but £33.5 million in 2006.
One defensive action every computer user can take is to install a firewall and anti-virus software to keep subversive agents out, and to react quickly when invasion is suspected, the report advises.
Note: not all anti-virus software checks for malware.
I use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware as one protection. It is free. I also use RUBotted which keeps a constant check on my system to see if a bot tries to install itself. I also use Comodo Firewall Pro which is not only free but the best firewall available.
An OECD study into online crime says that increased activity by cyber criminals has left an estimated one-in-four US computers infected with malware.
"It is estimated that 59 million users in the US have spyware or other types of malware on their computers," the OECD report said.
(I wasn't able to fnd the data for other countries but I assume it is much the same)
Using agents with names ranging from "zombies" and "worms" to "botnets," "Trojan horses" or "money mules," criminals can wreak havoc, usurping identities, recruiting and organising cohorts of computers for coordinated attacks, and even steal data for ransom.
Some studies estimate that about 80 per cent of web-based malware was hosted on "innocent but compromised" websites and one report found 53.9 per cent of all malicious sites were hosted in China, followed by the United States with 27.2 percent.
An association of British banks estimated malware losses at £12.2 million in 2004 but £33.5 million in 2006.
One defensive action every computer user can take is to install a firewall and anti-virus software to keep subversive agents out, and to react quickly when invasion is suspected, the report advises.
Note: not all anti-virus software checks for malware.
I use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware as one protection. It is free. I also use RUBotted which keeps a constant check on my system to see if a bot tries to install itself. I also use Comodo Firewall Pro which is not only free but the best firewall available.