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Computers vulnerable to spyware, malware

DERBY, England - Prevx, leaders in Automated Malware Research, this week announced the results from checks for active spyware and malware on nearly 300,000 PCs during the last 30 days. The scans were performed by users who downloaded its free Prevx Computer Security Investigator (CSI). The results show that of 290,647 PCs scanned a staggering 45,251 (15.6 percent) had one or more active spyware or malware infections.

"Internet users must be more vigilant while top security firms find more effective solutions to provide adequate protection," said Jacques Erasmus, Director of Malware Research at Prevx.
The infection rates among computers that did not employ any type of security software were 60 percent higher than those using popular security products; the number of active infections on those systems was markedly higher.

Prevx, which recently discovered a powerful information-stealing Trojan that had bypassed all of the top security products and infected the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as several major U.S. corporations, says that this is a serious wake-up call to Internet users and to the large security firms.

Prevx's CEO, Mel Morris stated: "It is time that the major security firms owned up to the fact that their products are failing to protect consumers and businesses from a myriad of dangerous spyware and malware and the threats these pose to their customers and shareholders. It is also time that businesses began to speak out, even if anonymously about the thousands of breaches they are experiencing every day. The reality is that computer security is looking weaker by the day. There are a number of major security firms that appear to be focused on breadth rather than depth of protection."

Further research by Prevx shows a worsening trend in detection rates by four of the top five popular security products for the last three months, with Microsoft storming ahead day on day in the last two weeks.

"The volume of new malware we are processing each day is rising geometrically...

Prevx research shows that the declining detections for the major vendors are massively sensitive to the rise in new spyware and malware volumes. As the volume of new malware rises, their detection scores falter, indicating that many of the major security vendors are operating at or close to their malware research capacity.