At the end of December 2022 and January 2023, the AV-TEST statistics tool AV-ATLAS registered more than 1 billion malware samples for Windows. However, the increase continues rapidly with 7 to 10 million new malware samples per month.
The number of more than 1 billion malware samples for Windows is staggering. The monthly growth figures are also absolutely frightening. As of the date of the article, the tool counted exactly 1.014.313.024 samples - again an increase of over 14 million. Just for comparison: With this number of malware samples, there is now statistically about 1 sample per Windows 10 user. Because according to experts, around 1 billion users are currently using the Windows 10 version. In addition, of course, there are a few hundred million users of other Windows versions.
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Malware: From 10 million to 85 billion in 1 years
🔎 At the turn of the year 2022/2023, AV-ATLAS registered more than 1 billion malware copies for Windows (Image: AV-TEST).
Already at the beginning of 2013, the experts were shocked by more than 85 million pieces of malware for Windows. No one expected the monthly and annual growth figures to soar. Even more unbelievable is the fact that the laboratory experts from AV-TEST not only registered each of these pests in their mega database with all the important information, but also saved it as a file - with high security, of course.
Malware only - no PUAs
Some experts also count the "Potentially Unwanted Applications" - PUA for short - among the dangerous programs. However, since the experts are arguing at this point as to what is only undesirable or what is already harmful, all PUAs are listed separately in AV-ATLAS. If these programs were all counted as dangerous, then the database already knows 1,25 billion programs.
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All malware samples have already been examined and cataloged by the experts. What had to be recorded manually in the first few days is now done almost automatically by internal scanners and virtual machines that work day and night AV-TEST CEO Maik Morgenstern found out.
Another important note: the use of the AV-ATLAS platform is possible for everyone - and free of charge. In addition to malware and PUA statistics, you will also find current information on the threat situation, the latest spam campaigns, dangerous URLs and current global attacks on IoT devices. While visitors only see a constantly updated section of the data, customers can run entire streams into their defense systems.
About AV-TEST
AV-TEST GmbH is an independent provider of services in the field of IT security and anti-virus research with a focus on the identification and analysis of the latest malware and its use in comprehensive comparative tests. The fact that the test data is up-to-date enables the quick-response analysis of new malware, the early detection of virus trends, and the investigation and certification of IT security solutions. The results of the AV-TEST Institute represent an exclusive information base and serve manufacturers for product optimization, specialist magazines for the publication of results and end customers for orientation in product selection.
The company AV-TEST has been operating in Magdeburg since 2004 and employs more than 30 people with profound specialist and practical experience. The laboratories are equipped with 300 client and server systems in which more than 2.500 terabytes of self-determined test data of harmful and harmless information are stored and processed. Further information can be found at https://www.av-test.org.
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