McAfee Urges Solid Shield for Computing Devices as Virus Risks Rise Further
More risks are out there on the net as mobile computing continues to explode, according to a new report by internet security specialist McAfee Labs, with malware authors now training their attention to Android and iOS, currently the dominant platform in the mobile Web universe.
The thriving cyber universe that is ruled by Apple and Google inevitably lures web misfits that have sharpened their skills though years of attacking vulnerability holes on Microsoft's Windows operating system, McAfee said on Tuesday.
"Attacks that we've traditionally seen on PCs are now making their way to other devices," McAfee Labs chief Vincent Weafer said in the report.
As of the second quarter of 2012, McAfee has already recorded eight million newly-hatched malicious software that were filled on the security firm's virus database it nicknamed 'The Zoo'.
On the average, cyber criminals unleash about 100,000 malwares every single day and it is likely that by September this year 100 million 'naughty apps' would be out there, or at least those that were registered on McAfee's cage.
Its present 'pet' samples now number 90 million and briskly adding up, McAfee noted on its report.
Equally alarming is the proliferation of Web sites that were being employed by malware authors as springboard for their creations, which mainly dispatch coded worms that were designed to hijack computer and devices used in accessing the sites, the McAfee report said.
There are abut 36 million malicious domains that have been duly referenced by McAfee, CIO Today reported on Tuesday.
And even if a computer or gadget is temporarily disconnected to the World Wide Web, the machine can still be rubbed on by an infection, no thanks to the ubiquitous thumb drive which has become a viable launch pad for Autorun worms, McAfee said.
This virus usually hides deep inside a system to siphon off important data such as account names and password then fires off whatever were collected the moment an Internet connection is detected, the report warned.
According to McAfee, the most targeted platform for now is Android owing to the millions of gadgets running the platform and malwares that were presently intruding into the system were described by the firm as "SMS-sending malware, mobile botnets, spyware and destructive Trojans."
From these crops, Ransomware rose, which criminals use to hostage a device or a machine in order to extract cash from their owners in exchange for regaining control of their files, McAfee said.
Targeted victims can be individuals or companies with deep money reserves, the report added.
"Android malware shows no signs of slowing down, putting users on high alert," Mr Weafer cautioned, adding that Apple users should not be complacent as well.
While infections recorded on the iOS and OS systems were fairly low when compared to Android and Windows, malwares geared for the Apple world has consistently jumped in the past 12 months leading to end of June, the McAfee report said.
Bottom line is, "this report highlights the need for protection on all devices that may be used to access the Internet," Mr Weafer stressed.