Windows 7: Microsoft: One in 14 Downloads Come Laced with Malware

Hopping around the web downloading programs willy-nilly is a surefire way of putting your PC's security software to the test. Think you're in the clear if you download judiciously? If only! According to Microsoft, 1 out of every 14 programs downloaded by Windows users contains malware. What's worse, even though Internet Explorer 9 has multiple layers of security designed to protect surfers from socially engineered malware attacks, 5 percent of IE9 users blatantly ignore the warnings......

Microsoft: One in 14 downloads is malicious

By Robert McMillan
May 17, 2011 08:25 PM ET

IDG News Service - The next time a website says to download new software to view a movie or fix a problem, think twice. There's a pretty good chance that the program is malicious.

In fact, about one out of every 14 programs downloaded by Windows users turns out to be malicious, Microsoft said Tuesday. And even though Microsoft has a feature in its Internet Explorer browser designed to steer users away from unknown and potentially untrustworthy software, about 5 percent of users ignore the warnings and download malicious Trojan horse programs anyway.

Five years ago, it was pretty easy for criminals to sneak their code onto computers. There were plenty of browser bugs, and many users weren't very good at patching. But since then, the cat-and-mouse game of Internet security has evolved: Browsers have become more secure, and software makers can quickly and automatically push out patches when there's a known problem.

So increasingly, instead of hacking the browsers themselves, the bad guys try to hack the people using them. It's called social engineering, and it's a big problem these days. "The attackers have figured out that it's not that hard to get users to download Trojans," said Alex Stamos, a founding partner with Isec Partners, a security consultancy that's often called in to clean up the mess after companies have been hacked.