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- Cyber-crooks can remotely control bot-infected computers, using them to send spam, propagate viruses, etc.
- Data compiled from October shows Spain leading ranking with 44.49 percent and United States following with 14.41 percent of computers that are infected with bots |
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Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, today announced that PandaLabs, the company’s laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, revealed that Spain, with an alarming 44.49 percent, tops the global ranking of computers that are infected with bots. These programs, once they have infected a computer, allow hackers to take remote control of the system and carry out a series of actions including sending spam and downloading viruses, worms and Trojans, etc.
Next in the ranking, although a long way behind with 14.41 percent, is the United States, followed by Mexico (9.37 percent) and Brazil (4.81 percent). Those countries least infected include Peru, the Netherlands and Sweden, all with ratios under 1 percent. The data has been compiled throughout the month of October from users of the Panda ActiveScan - Panda Security’s free, online solution - and includes infections caused by any of the various families and variants of bots. A graphical breakdown of the ranking of countries infected by bots can be viewed at Flickr.
According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “Along with rogueware, botnets and zombie computers have increased by more than 30 percent so far this year. This is the simplest way for a hacker to take control of computers to distribute spam or malware, therefore making it more difficult to trace and detect the real culprit. The problem is that owners of these zombie computers will be committing crimes without realizing it, and could face having their services withdrawn by their ISPs or even prosecution.”
Panda Security recommends that consumers have a good antivirus solution installed and up-to-date, as well as get a second opinion on the health of their computers with Panda ActiveScan, a free online scanner, to make sure their PCs are not infected with bots.
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On receiving a possibly infected file, Panda Security"s technical staff get straight down to work. The file is analyzed and depending on the type, the action taken may include: disassembly, macro scanning, code analysis etc. If the file does in fact contain a new virus, the disinfection and detection routines are prepared and quickly distributed to users.
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