"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan, US astronomer. (On June 16, 1983, the Ariane rocket was launched)
Madrid, June 16, 2007 - This week highlighted new was published on June 12: 500 million computers infected by the end of 2008. According to a report by Forrester, by the end of 2008 a thousand million computers will be in use worldwide, and this figure will have doubled by 2015.
This data, together with the infection statistics provided by Panda Software, present a worrying scenario: by the end of 2008, over 500 million computers will be infected by malware. According to Panda Software, around 60 percent of computers are infected by some type of malware, including computers with antivirus protection installed.
This data is obtained thanks to the TotalScan and NanoScan tools, which allow users to carry out a free malware scan of their computers in very little time.
Other news were:
- New beta version of Panda Antivirus 2008 (06/11/07)
Panda Software has presented the beta version of Panda Antivirus 2008, the lightest solution in the company’s consumer product line. This version offers improved detection capacity, low-level rootkit detection and blocking of malicious web pages. It is also Windows Vista-compatible (64-bit). Users can download it.
- Microsoft security updates (06/13/07)
As it does every second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft has published different security bulletins to fix problems in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office and Visio. Among these bulletins, MS07-030 to MS07-035, four are considered ‘critical’, one is ‘important’ and the other is ‘moderate’.
- Worm uses a video on YouTube (06/14/07)
A new worm, SpreadBanker.A, uses a YouTube video to trick users and spread, according to PandaLabs. The worm has two components. When the user runs the first of these, it connects to the YouTube page and displays a video. The problem is that at the same time it is downloading the second part of the worm. SpreadBanker.A is programmed to steal passwords entered in several online banks. Similarly, it can steal the login details for a range of games including Age Of Mythology, GTA, Unreal Tournament, WarCraft or Final Fantasy.
- PandaLabs discovers a new tool for controlling computers infected with bots (06/15/07)
A detection of the LdPinch Trojan was the clue that led PandaLabs to discover a new server hosting a previously undiscovered tool for controlling botnets. This tool displays two screens. The first of these shows the number of computers controlled by the ‘bot herder’ in each area. The second, called ‘Botnet controller’, enables a series of actions to be taken on infected computers. These include downloading and running files or blocking access to URLs. It also allows the bot herder to upload files to an FTP site, before downloading them onto infected computers.