As Internet becomes the order of life for more and more Indians who depend on emails to stay in touch, their computers face an increasing virus threat with one in every 28 emails being infected, a recent study says.
A study by messaging security and management services provider, MessageLabs, reveals that the number of malicious websites are on rise and a new virus StormWorm, which uses virtual postcards and YouTube video for its attack, are affecting computers.
According to the study, an estimated 1.8 million computers have been affected by StormWorm worldwide.
In August, India remained the most vulnerable region in terms of virus attacks with one in every 27.8 emails being infected. However, spam attacks (or unsolicited bulk emails), during this period, accounted for only 29.5 per cent of the total emails received in the country, the study said.
It also found that there was a rise in emails containing links to virtual postcards and YouTube video invites. On August 15, there was a significant outburst of new malicious websites comprising 6,00,000 emails, which were distributed in just 24 hours.
As a result of this latest StormWorm activity, the number of emails which contained links to malicious code increased significantly in August to 19.5 per cent, a rise of 19 per cent from the July figure of 0.5 per cent.
The analysis on web trends also reveals the steep rise in the number of new malicious websites appearing every day. In August, a daily average of 1,772 new malicious sites were identified and blocked, an average increase of 783 per day since July.
Courtesy : Expressindia.com
A study by messaging security and management services provider, MessageLabs, reveals that the number of malicious websites are on rise and a new virus StormWorm, which uses virtual postcards and YouTube video for its attack, are affecting computers.
According to the study, an estimated 1.8 million computers have been affected by StormWorm worldwide.
In August, India remained the most vulnerable region in terms of virus attacks with one in every 27.8 emails being infected. However, spam attacks (or unsolicited bulk emails), during this period, accounted for only 29.5 per cent of the total emails received in the country, the study said.
It also found that there was a rise in emails containing links to virtual postcards and YouTube video invites. On August 15, there was a significant outburst of new malicious websites comprising 6,00,000 emails, which were distributed in just 24 hours.
As a result of this latest StormWorm activity, the number of emails which contained links to malicious code increased significantly in August to 19.5 per cent, a rise of 19 per cent from the July figure of 0.5 per cent.
The analysis on web trends also reveals the steep rise in the number of new malicious websites appearing every day. In August, a daily average of 1,772 new malicious sites were identified and blocked, an average increase of 783 per day since July.
Courtesy : Expressindia.com