The danger of corporate computers becoming infected by worms has risen dramatically, a study by Microsoft found.
The study found that, globally, the chances of infection by a computer worm had increased by almost 100 percent when comparing the first half of the year with a year earlier.
The threat is focused mainly on business computers. Private users get off lightly by comparison, partially because they are more likely than corporate customers to make sure their computers have the newest security software.
Germany and Austria both have PC infection rates significantly below the global average of 0.87 percent: 0.3 and 0.21 percent, respectively.
Germany usually performs well in such tests, Microsoft spokesman and security expert Thomas Baumgaertner said.
This is partially because Germany has a high penetration rate for fast DSL lines. This infrastructure insures that computer users regularly update their security software.
Despite the higher risk of worm attacks, the study said worms only make up about 6.7 percent of all attacks, meaning they are only the fourth most predominant threat. Trojan horse attacks claim first place in Germany, with 39.5 percent of all attacks.
These attackers disguise themselves as harmless software, but then insinuate themselves into a computer and allow remote access. Examples include programs like Wintrim and Alureon.
The most predominant worms are Conficker, followed by Taterf, which saw a 156 percent increase in its infection rate, reported the study.
Worldwide, the greatest threat remained attacks via fake security software. More than 13 million such attacks were blocked by computers with the help of Microsoft software in the first half of the year. A year ago, that figure was 16.8 million.
Microsoft presents its Security Intelligence Report twice a year.
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