There are many forms of malware, such as Trojan horses, viruses, and spyware. Those are just a few of the names, but they all have one thing in common: You don’t want them on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. It can be devastating to your system. The following article explains the latest malware statistics, including some little-known facts about this hi-tech menace.
Malware Statistics and Data
Every day, 560,000 new malicious programs are identified. The spread of malware is terrifying. Institutions that provide anti-malware services keep track of the malicious programs they discover in their malware database. Every day, hundreds of thousands of files are infected with malware on computers and websites. These infections are usually the result of prior infections that continue to spread like epidemics. According to the most recent data, more than 17 million new malware instances are registered monthly.
The ILOVEYOU Virus
The ILOVEYOU virus was the most destructive computer virus in history, causing over $10 billion in damages in 2009. ILOVEYOU is a must-learn lesson in malware history. This worm is the most destructive computer virus of all time. It renamed all files ‘iloveyou’ until the system crashed, doing one simple thing. It affected roughly 10% of all PCs worldwide, although the exact scope of the attack was never made public. It still to this day leaves a minor lasting effect on PCS throughout.
AdWare
According to a report from Lookout, AdWare is the most common form of mobile malware, with RiskTool infections being the most common form of mobile malware. AdWare alone accounts for 48% of all malware, and RiskTool infections account for 20%. These apps function like can openers, allowing harmful malware to infiltrate your smartphone.
Google’s Malware Detection on Websites
Google finds around 50 websites every week that include malicious code. In recent years, malware has consistently been one of Google’s biggest concerns. Websites that link to malicious content or contain hacker utilizable code are compromised on average 2,500 times each week. Only 1.6% of websites that contain malware, or around 50 each week, are, in fact, contaminated.
Google recently discovered 7% of the websites it examined were infected with malware, down from prior years when the infection rate exceeded 100,000 percent. Since late 2007, more than 100,000 websites have been infected by malware. Despite the fact that the trend continues, the start of the COVID-19 epidemic resulted in a significant increase in the number of malware websites.
Crypto Jacking On the Rise
A sharp rise in cryptojacking incidents was recorded by the end of 2020. The malicious practice of stealing other people’s computers to mine cryptocurrencies has once again become a popular trend amongst hackers. Symantec’s virus statistics reveal why cryptojacking has become increasingly popular: They reveal a strong link between the value of Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) and cryptojacking’s popularity. There was a 163% increase in cryptojacking attempts in 2020.
Android Devices Are More At Risk
Android devices are 50 times more likely to be infected with malware than iOS devices, according to malware statistics for iOS and Android. The results are clear: Android is the mobile platform with the highest malware infection rate, with 47.15% of devices infected, while iOS has the lowest infection rate at less than 1%.
Deploying Malware via .exe Files
Despite the fact that .exe files are the most common files to obtain, they’re the most likely to catch a computer virus and they continue to be distributed through them. Viruses account for 53% of viruses distributed through .exe files, whereas .pdfs account for only 6%, according to recent computer virus stats. In addition, 21% of all infected files sent via email are sent via executables, the most frequently infected email attachments.
Malware Attacks and Non-Standard Ports
Attacks on non-standard ports fell by 10% in SonicWall’s 2022 report. The port was the most common target for attackers in 2021, with just nine percent of attacks targeting tens of thousands of non-standard ports. This is a significant decline from last year and the lowest rate of incidence since 2019. While most attacks will remain a problem for standard ports, such as HTTP port 80 (port 80), the majority of attacks will still be a problem (and probably will remain a problem).