Microsoft says applications produced by other firms are now responsible for the majority of security problems on Windows PCs. It’s also suggested publicity about viruses could be fueling a rise in ’scareware’ scams involving bogus security software.
The key point of the latest Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, which covers July through December of last year, is that virus creators appear to be turning their attention away from Windows itself and towards individual applications.
According to the report, six out of the ten most common browser-related security threats among XP users involved Microsoft software. However, all the top ten issues on Vista machines involved third-party software.
The report also raises some worrying questions about how many people take advantage of Microsoft’s security updates. Among Office-related security issues, most of which involve people opening infected document files, 91.3 percent involved a security issue for which a fix had been issued at least two years earlier.
There’s also a reminder that security is as much as a physical issue as a technical one. The report quotes figures from the Open Security Foundation which say that 50 percent of all computer security breaches come from equipment being lost or stolen.
Microsoft also noted that seven of the 25 most common security threats across all Windows machines are from ’scareware’: malicious software which is distributed posing as a legitimate security product such as a spyware scanner. The most prevalent such program appeared on 4.4 million computers during the period, a rise of two-thirds over the first half of the year.
The firm says “the rise in awareness among the general public of the threat of malware and other computer-related threats” has contributed to the rise in ’scareware’. That’s led to some reports which suggest media coverage has directly worsened the problem (a claim Microsoft doesn’t specifically make itself.)
It’s certainly true that media reports on major viruses give scammers more opportunities to push fake security software to worried customers. But that’s no reason for journalists to play down genuine threats to security; indeed most of those reporters also regularly cover the dangers of ’scareware’ as well. And it’s worth remembering that many of the major virus stories only came about in the first place because of flaws in Windows and other Microsoft’ products.
Source: Blorge
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