PandaLabs Second Quarter Security Landscape Report

In a rather surprising statement, PandaLabs, in its 2011 Second Quarter Security Report, makes the point that there’s a challenging grey area between “Hacktivism” (LulzSec and Anonymous), and Criminality. Frankly, I don’t subscribe to this “blurry lines” view.

I see the issue in rather simpler terms – if security holes exist in critical systems which enterprise, or government, are either unwilling, or unable to address – ultimately creating a host of innocent victims – then I encourage LulzSec and Anonymous to continue their campaigns of outing non-responsive, and non-responsible organizations. I’m more than a little tired of being placed at risk due to organizational ineptness, or failure to adhere to common sense security practices.

Some key findings from Panda’s report (determined from data collected through Panda ActiveScan) include:

Every minute, 42 new malware strains were created.

Trojans constitute 70 percent of new malware followed by viruses (10 percent) and worms (8.53 percent). Surprisingly, Adware, which only represents 1.37 percent of all malware, accounted for more than 9 percent of all infections.

China, Thailand and Taiwan continue to lead infection rankings.

Top 10 least infected countries.

So, should these statistics hold any relevancy for you? Should you be preoccupied, or overly concerned, with these numbers? The answer, it seems to me, depends on how aware you are of the overallInternet security landscape, and where you fit into the following user groups.

• Those who know.
• Those who think they know.
• Those who don’t know, that they don’t know.

Hopefully, you are in that small group who can confidently say – “I know”.

Broken record time:

I’ll risk sounding like a broken record, once again, and repeat what I’ve said here numerous times –

“Controlling malware intrusion, while surfing the Net, through the use of a  “virtual” environment rather than operating in a “real” environment, makes sense given the escalating level of cyber criminal activity on the Internet.”

BufferZone, is a particular effective and easy to use freeware virtualization application (perfect for casual users), which creates an isolated environment called the Virtual Zone, while you surf the Internet. You can read more about BufferZone, here.

About PandaLabs:

Since 1990, PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware research laboratory, has been working to detect and classify malware in order to protect consumers and companies against new Internet threats.

To do so, PandaLabs uses Collective Intelligence, a cloud-based proprietary system that leverages the knowledge gathered from Panda’s user community to automatically detect, analyze and classify the more than 73,000 new malware strains that appear every day.

This automated malware classification is complemented through the work of an international team with researchers specialized each in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and other attacks) to provide global coverage.

The full report (PDF), is available here.

Follow Panda on Twitter and Facebook.

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NEW – Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.5 Released

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.5, Panda Security’s newest release (June 20, 2011), of it’s popular cloud-based antimalware application, should be even more effective at keeping the bad guys at bay with it’s newest enhanced features.

New features include – improved scanning speeds, less CPU consumption, advanced configuration options for exclusions of files based on file extensions, and a new activity monitor which shows information such as scanned file details, and previous viruses detected.

Panda Security obviously pays attention to its users recommendations for improved product features, since a number of these new features were suggested by the user community.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is based on Collective Intelligence, a system for detecting and disinfecting viruses and other threats that feeds off the knowledge shared by millions of users. The computers that are part of the Panda Community – instantly share and benefit from all the information stored in the cloud.

Testing anti-malware applications takes considerable time in order to get to the heart of the matter – does an application work in the “real world?”

Will the application do what an average user expects – does it block malware effectively and efficiently? Particularly new, or emerging, malware threats.

Is the interface crafted in such a way that an average user doesn’t need to digest an instruction manual in order to navigate the application?

Is the application capable of providing adequate protection without stressing system resources?

I’ve been running Panda Cloud Antivirus, on a secondary system, since April 2009, and in this extensive testing, Panda Cloud Antivirus has met, or exceeded, all of these requirements. So, I’m looking forward to giving this new release a workout.

Installation:

Pay particular attention at the Install screen. Once again, you’ll be asked to accept a Toolbar and a change in your Homepage – annoying as hell. As well, on this screen, you can choose your language.

Panda is obviously convinced that the “more is less” GUI approach, is suitable for most users. Kudos – I couldn’t agree more.

The optimized scan screen.

Scan time: under 5 minutes – 19,873 files.

The settings menu is accessed via the tool icon – as shown at the “hand icon” in the above screen shot. I found this “hideaway” a little awkward.

Despite an abundance of settings you’ll find some settings are only available in the Pro version.

At less than $30 for the one year Pro Edition license, you might consider jumping up to this version. Frankly though, I’m no fan of one year licenses.

Not when one considers that a lifetime license for Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware, both of which are outstanding applications, can be purchased for less than $30 – considerably less when on sale.

Fast facts:

Light – Only works where necessary. It’s so light you won’t even notice it.

Easy – Don’t worry about complicated decisions ever again. Panda Cloud Antivirus will make the best decisions for you to keep your PC protected.

Secure – Panda Cloud Antivirus is based on Collective Intelligence, a system that continuously collects and analyzes viruses and other threats gathered from the community of millions of Panda users around the world.

Free – No tricks! Panda Cloud Antivirus has a free version that protects you against viruses and malicious websites.

Note: Panda’s Collective Intelligence servers have analyzed 175,569,053  (and counting) viruses, and known goodware.

System requirements: Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows XP 32-bit,  Windows XP 64-bit.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is available in 20 languages.

Download at: Panda Security

Backed by more than two years experience running Panda Cloud Antivirus in various editions, I have no hesitation in recommending Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.5 as a front line antivirus application.

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Panda Security’s Collective Intelligence Says 20 Million New Strains Of Malware In 2010

It may well be, that malware creators have discovered the same principal that countries involved in the the nuclear arms race have come to know – once you have enough weapons; you have enough.

According to Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs – “so far in 2010, purely new malware has increased by only 50 percent, significantly less than the historical norm. It seems hackers are applying economies of scale, reusing old malicious code, or prioritizing the distribution of existing threats over the creation of new ones.”

Complacency though, is not in the cards , at least not yet, since Corrons went on to say –  “This doesn’t mean that there are fewer threats or that the cyber-crime market is shrinking. On the contrary, it continues to expand, and by the end of 2010 we will have logged more new threats in Collective Intelligence than in 2009.”

The evolution of malware – 2010:

The average number of new threats created daily has risen from 55,000 in 2009 to 63,000 in 2010 to date.

The average lifespan of 54% malware has been reduced to just 24 hours, compared to a lifespan of several months that was more common in previous years.

34% of all active malware threats were created this year.

20 million strains of malware have been created already this year; the same total for the year of 2009.

Many malware variants are created to infect just a few systems before they disappear. As antivirus solutions become able to detect new malware more quickly, hackers modify them or create new ones so as to evade detection.

Graphic courtesy of PandaLabs.

So, should these statistics hold any relevancy for you? Should you be preoccupied, or overly concerned, with these numbers? The answer, it seems to me, depends on how aware you are of the overall Internet security landscape, and where you fit into the following user groups.

• Those who know.
• Those who think they know.
• Those who don’t know, that they don’t know.

Hopefully, you are in that small group who can confidently say – “I know”.

About PandaLabs:

Since 1990, PandaLabs, the malware research division of Panda Security, has led the industry in detecting, classifying and protecting consumers and businesses against new cyber threats.

At the core of the operation is Collective Intelligence, a proprietary system that provides real-time protection by harnessing Panda’s community of users to automatically detect, analyze, classify and disinfect more than 63,000 new malware samples daily.

The automated classification is complemented by a highly specialized global team of threat analysts, each focused on a specific type of malware, such as viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware and other exploits, to ensure around-the-clock protection.

Learn more about PandaLabs and subscribe to the PandaLabs blog here. Follow Panda on Twitter and Facebook.

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PandaLabs: April to June 2010 Malware Report – Trojans Lead The Pack

PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security, the company responsible for Panda Cloud Antivirus, released its quarterly report today, detailing cyber-threat activity from April to June 2010.

Some of the key findings include:

Trojans once again topped the rankings, accounting for nearly 52 percent of new malware identified by PandaLabs during the quarter.

Traditional viruses have continued their revival since the onset of 2010, now accounting for nearly 25 percent of all new malware, up from 15 percent in Q1 after showing a decline in previous years.

Taiwan once again remains in the No. 1 position for infection rankings by country.

The discovery of Tabnabbing in May poses a new and potentially dangerous phishing threat to users.

Social networking continues to be an increasingly popular threat vector.

Knowledge is power, and we, as computer users, need as much power as we can get in order to stay safe on the Internet. So, I encourage you to read the highlights of this just released report so that you are aware of the numerous vulnerabilities discovered over the last three months.

Download the PDF full report here.

About PandaLabs:

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security’s new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 99.4 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), who work 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog.

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