Malware multiples to over a million

There are now more than one million malicious programs floating around the internet, according to Drivesentry.

The security company said this was the number of unique signatures of malware that it had managed to identify in less than three years.

Drivesentry’s findings mirror the latest report from security company Symantec. In its Internet Security Threat Report Volume XIII, Symantec announced it had found 1.1 million code threats since it began writing signatures more than 25 years ago. Of these, 711,912 were discovered in 2007 and 499,811 were picked up in the final six months of the year alone.

The malware includes all sorts of attacks including viruses, worms and Trojans. Both Symantec and Drivesentry put the huge growth down to organised crime.

They said the explosion in the number was caused by well-financed criminal gangs. This ensured malware writers were able to launch specially targeted attacks and constantly change signatures to make combating the infections as difficult as possible for the anti-virus community.

Drivesentry chief technology officer John Safa said: “Internet usage has shot through the roof in the past five years and led to the propagation of a new generation of computer viruses and malware.

“The focus on malware has shifted from hackers breaking into a company network to prove to themselves that it could be done, to the more sinister criminal gangs that use unscrupulous methods to obtain personal information to commit identity fraud.

"The company has developed anti-virus security software that it claims protects all removable devices from being infected. Goanywhere, which is sold only at PC World’s stores, is designed to protect gadgets, such as MP3 players, no matter which system they are connected to.