Microsoft has claimed in its fifth Security Intelligence Report that
Windows
Vista is giving hackers a much harder time.
Using data collected from computers worldwide, the company found that when it
comes to browser attacks - the most common type - only six per cent targeted the
Vista operating system, compared to 42 per cent with Windows XP.
"We have seen significant improvements in Vista with vulnerabilities," Bret
Arsenault, general manager of the National Security Team at Microsoft, told
vnunet.com.
"We are seeing very good improvements with the newer software. These results
show just how good it is, particularly as the data has been normalised between
the two operating systems in light of the installed base."
The report also found that, although malware rates are up 43 per cent so far
in 2008, malware that targets the operating system is an increasingly small part
of the overall problem. More than nine out of 10 vulnerabilities found in the
first half of 2008 were for applications, not operating systems.
The most common forms of malware Microsoft detected are still Trojans, but
the sophistication of code is increasing. Arsenault said that the firm had
detected some polymorphic code that changed itself 571 times in a single day to
avoid detection.
Viruses are increasingly uncommon, he said, as hackers look to financial
rewards rather than kudos from their peers. Brazil still has a significant
problem with worms, however.
But it is China that is now at the forefront of malware attacks. Nearly half
of all browser-based exploits were found in the country, compared to under a
quarter in the US.
Overall, enterprises are getting much better at deploying patches quickly,
Arsenault said, but there is still a job to do in educating users.
"Guidance is as significant as technology," he said. "You have to look at it
across the spectrum, so we have developed an
educational
awareness programme with
free
kits and assessment tools to teach people how to be safer."
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