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Ransomware on the Rise – PandaLabs Quarterly Report

18 Sep , 2015 No Comments

The second quarter of 2015 shows that there was an average of 230 000 new malware samples created daily, totaling 21 million from April to June. This is a 43% increase in comparison to the second quarter of 2014.

Trojans continue to be the most common type of malware and are the main source of infection, with 76.25% of users infected. This quarter also showed the proliferation of PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) which accounted for 14.39% of infections.

There has been a dramatic increase in ransomware over the last few months. What users don’t realise is that these kinds of attacks will continue to grow, as long as companies and consumers succumb to paying the ransom – this should be a last resort.

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Mac-Viruses

The Reality of Mac Viruses

28 Aug , 2015 No Comments

For years, Mac users have been safe in the knowledge that their platform was relatively protected against malware. A combination of the lower number of users on the platform, less attention from security researchers and fewer exploited security holes in the operating system than Windows, has led to a generally virus and malware free experience. Windows also represents a far larger target than Mac for profit-seeking virus and malware authors, due to their greater market share.

But in quick succession, two new serious vulnerabilities have been discovered in Mac OS X.

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Panda 25

Panda Celebrating 25 Years!

30 Jun , 2015 No Comments

Panda Security has reason to celebrate. The multinational developer of security solutions designed to protect the digital lives of individuals and organizations alike is celebrating 25 years in the vanguard of IT security.

2015 saw the company  adopt a new corporate identity that reflects Panda’s commitment to simplify the complex, through the concept of ‘Simplexity’. This concept underpins the company’s effort to provide new and improved solutions to safeguard users’ digital lives.

 

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Q1-2015-Results

PandaLab’s Results for the First Quarter of 2015

25 Jun , 2015 No Comments

PandaLabs published its Quarterly Report for Q1, analysing the IT security events and incidents from January through March 2015. The anti-malware laboratory detected over 225 000 new malware strains per day in the first quarter of the year, with peaks reaching 500 000. This record-breaking figure represents a 40% increase over Q1 2014 and is well above the average for the entire year, which stood at approximately 205 000 new malware samples per day. Most of these specimens were variants of known malware, conveniently modified by virus writers to evade detection by antivirus laboratories. Trojans continued to be the most common threat type, representing 72.75% of all new malware and the main source of infections  at 76.05% of the total.

The first months of the year were dominated by ransomware attacks – especially CryptoLocker. Ransomware has become cyber-criminals’ preferred method to make money from companies’ stolen information. Ten companies in the oil and gas maritime transportation sector,  fell victim to this type of attack, as revealed by Panda Security in a report on a hacking campaign dubbed “Operation Oil Tanker: The Phantom Menace” which targeted oil tankers.

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Q3-Image

PandaLabs Q3 Results: Trojans exceed PUPs in the third quarter

18 Dec , 2014 No Comments

The results for the third quarter show that malware continues to break records, averaging at 227 747 new samples created daily.

The last four months has seen large high profile organisations fall victim to cyber-attacks; companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Target, Home Depot and online services such as Dropbox and iCloud.

The most recent victim is Sony. The hack on the company led to upcoming films and workers’ personal data, such as social security numbers and salaries being leaked online. The malware used in the attack was undetectable by industry standard antivirus software and was damaging and unique enough to cause the FBI to release a flash alert to warn other international organisations of the critical threat.

Trojans continue to be the most common malware during Q3, accounting for 75% of infections, compared to 62.80% in the previous quarter. PUPs ranked second, representing 14.55%of infections, decreasing since Q2. Adware/spyware comprises 6.88% of infections, worms at 2.09% and viruses at 1.48% – down since the second quarter.

The global infection rate increased from 36.87% in Q2 to 37.93% in Q3. The results for each country shows that China is still at the top, reaching an infection rate of 49.83%. China is followed by Peru at 42.38% and Bolivia at 42.12%.

Europe remains the region with the lowest infection rate, with nine European countries ranking in the top ten most secure countries.

The full report is available here.

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Quarterly-Report-Q2-2014_cover-image

PandaLabs Q2 2014 Results: PUPs on the increase

06 Oct , 2014 No Comments

The Q2 2014 results from PandaLabs show that Malware is still being created at record levels, roughly 15 million new samples were generated – an average of 160 000 daily.

Trojans remain the most common type of malware, accounting for 58.20% of new malware and 62.8% of infections. This figure is significantly lower compared to the previous quarter at 71.85% and 79.9%. The difference is however not due to a decline in the number of new Trojans, but rather a substantial increase in PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs). In recent months there has been a notable increase in software bundlers, which install PUPs – without the user’s consent – along with the original program. According to the report PUPs account for 24.77% of infections. In most instances these programs change browser settings, display unwanted advertising or install additional programs that the user may or may not want.

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