Oct 30, 2013 (Wed): According to Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report volume 15 released on Tuesday, the top three worldwide threats for those running Windows XP are Sality (Malware family that can steal personal information and lower a PC’s security settings), Ramnit (Malware that infects Windows executable files, Microsoft Office files and HTML files) and Vobfus (Family of worms that can download other malware onto a PC; it can be downloaded by other malware or spread via removable drives, such as USB flash drives).
The report also found that in the first half of 2013, nearly 17 per cent of computers worldwide running up-to-date, real-time security products from Microsoft encountered malware. Although Windows 8 encountered a similar amount of malware as Windows XP, computers running Windows XP were six times more likely to actually be infected with those threats.
Tim Rains, director of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing said that modern operating systems such as Windows 8 include advanced security technologies that are specifically designed to make it harder, more complex, more expensive and, therefore, less appealing for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities.
Rain added that once security updates for Windows XP stop on April 8, 2014, security risks associated with continuing to use the outdated software will increase as cybercriminals seek to exploit newly discovered vulnerabilities.
