The numbers of malicious programs have reached "epidemic"
proportions
The number of malicious programs found online has
reached an unprecedented high, say security firms.
Reports vary but some estimates suggest there were five times as many
variants of malicious programs in circulation in 2007 compared to 2006.
Security company Panda Software said it was getting more than 3,000
novel samples of so called malware every day.
Criminals pump out variants to fool anti-virus programs that work, in
part, by spotting common characteristics.
Security software testing organisation AV Test reported that it saw
5.49 million unique samples of malicious software in 2007 - five times
more than the 972,606 it saw in 2006.
A spokesperson for Phase 2 computer services in Warwickshire said the
problem is also affecting profitability for IT firms as the time cost of
removal is now higher than the market can withstand and charges would
inevitably need to rise to reflect the real time cost of removal.
