Sunday, April 24, 2011

Europe's virus victims revealed






Security firms have seen an increasing number of viruses targeting mobile devices
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Almost one third of internet users in the European Union caught a PC virus despite the majority having security software installed, statistics show.
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Viruses were most prevalent in Bulgaria and Hungary, the survey of 30 countries reveals.
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The 2010 figures, released by the EU's statistics office to mark Internet Safety Day, show the safest countries were Austria and Ireland.
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The figures also detail financial losses online.
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They show that 3% of net users in the 27 EU states lost money due to phishing attacks or fraudulent payments.
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EU countries with highest virus infections
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Bulgaria (58%)
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Slovakia (47%)
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Hungary (46%)
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Italy (45%)
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Estonia (43%)
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Source: Eurostat
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Phishing involves using fake websites to lure people into revealing details such as bank accounts or login names.
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Latvia recorded the highest rate of this kind of fraud with 8% of its internet users affected, followed by the United Kingdom (7%), Malta and Austria (both 5%).
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The survey covered more than 200,000 computer users across the 27 countries in the European Union and was conducted during the second quarter of 2010.
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The EU statistics office said the survey results were probably lower than actual infection rates as the numbers only included users who realised they had an infection.
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Although the EU figures focus on viruses that infect PCs, security firms have warned that other devices now face similar threats.
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EU countries with lowest virus infections
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Austria (14%)
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Ireland (15%)
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Finland (20%)
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Germany (22%)
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Netherlands (23%)
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Source: Eurostat
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In its fourth-quarter threat report for 2010, security firm Mcafee said that it has seen a 46% increase in malware that targets smartphones, compared to the same period in 2009.
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Numbers suggest that smartphones are becoming more widespread than PCs, meaning they are becoming an increasingly lucrative target for scammers and hi-tech thieves.
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Manufacturers shipped 100.9 million smartphones globally in the fourth quarter, compared to 92 million PCs, according to research firm IDC.
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Much of the malware targeting smartphones was spread via PDFs and Flash software, Mcafee said.
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However, the number of infections targeting mobile devices is still relatively small, with just 967 threats recorded by Mcafee in the fourth quarter of 2010.
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In early January, according to some estimates, the number of viruses targeting PCs hit 50 million.

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