09April 2012

Bitdefender QuickScan Detects 100,000 Infected Systems in First Quarter

Keyloggers, spyware and rapidly mutating e-threats require cloud-based verification for efficiency

Bitdefender QuickScan, the free online malware detector created by the leading antivirus company, detected 100,000 infections on systems in the first quarter of this year, another indication of the accelerating growth of malware worldwide.

The infections were detected during checks of more than 1 million systems between the start of the year and the end of March, meaning 10 percent of the systems checked harbored a malware infection. The percentage serves as a reminder of the importance of checking systems regularly for malware.

Malware is growing not only ever more advanced, but is also undergoing a dramatic surge in the number of samples. Although they are the forefront of malware detection and removal, traditional, signature-based antivirus utilities need help from the cloud to offer state-of-the art protection. The number of malware grows at a rate of 55,000 new unique malware samples per day, meaning a new e-threat is born every two seconds, according to AV-Test, the independent anti-virus testing organization.

Among the top e-threats detected on users’ computers by the cloud scanning service are the notorious Win32.Virtob, Win32.Ramnit and Win32.Sality, three families of file infectors that attach their code to any executable files on the computer. Of particular importance is the Sality botnet, which is comprised of more than one million active computers worldwide and which is responsible for pushing spam, stealing passwords, and attacking other users connected to the Internet, amongst others.

According to the QuickScan data, a significant part of the scanned computers have been rigged with keyloggers, surveillance applications that monitor keystrokes, websites visited and take screenshots of the user's desktop. Using a computer infected with a keylogger can result in privacy invasion, financial loss or even identity theft, which is why we recommend running a QuickScan prior to logging into a public or shared computer.

Traditional, signature-based antivirus utilities have constantly proven that integration with the cloud enhances detection and minimizes the time and resources needed for completing the scan job. The cloud-based QuickScan antivirus scanner can accurately detect active infections in less than 60 seconds. QuickScan is a pillar of all Bitdefender security solutions, but it’s also available as a stand-alone utility for free at http://quickscan.bitdefender.com/.