How Many Computer Viruses Are Found Each Day? AV-TEST Institute identifies more than 350,000 new viruses and malicious programs each day. This includes malware, viruses, and unwanted applications. Millions of existing viruses continue to be identified every single day as well. In 2021, AV-TEST estimates a total number of 1191+ million total malware out there. Security researchers and antivirus software providers cannot keep up with the onslaught of new viruses. Creating and releasing a new virus requires little capital and little effort. It can take antivirus software months to catch up with current viruses. Nonetheless, the importance of a capable antivirus program cannot be overstated. Consumers need to protect themselves from viruses whenever possible.
100 Mind-Blowing Malware Facts
Over 6,000 new computer viruses are created and released every month. This number has drastically risen since 1990, at which point there were only 50 known computer viruses. Today, 90% of emails contain some form of malware, and most people don’t know about it.
The Number of Malware Attacks is Still Increasing. In a recent 2022 report by SonicWall, the number of virus and malware attacks expanded by 2% in 2022, recording 5.55 billion attacks.
Each Day, More Than 560,000 Malware are Spotted. Every day, antiviruses globally detect over 560,000 malware attacks.
No Antivirus is 100% Safe for All Kinds of Malware. Regardless of their high efficiency, no antivirus has been able to detect and battle all forms of malware.
Iran is the Country Most Impacted by Malware Infections Shared by Mobile. A Kaspersky Labs research showed that Iran had the highest number of malware attacks in the second quarter of 2022 out of all its mobile antivirus users.
Every Year, the Number of Malware Variants Steadily Decreases. Since 2017, the number of malware variants globally has steadily decreased. The number of malware variations was 669 million but fell to 246 million in 2020. Some causes for this are enhanced antivirus programs and a rise in the use of cloud computing software.
About 30.69 Million Antivirus Customers Used the Platform Daily in 2024. Over 30.69 million antivirus users use their software every day to scan for malicious files and folders. Some software programs run automatically, and some run in the background daily. So far, the most common kinds of malware are ransomware, adware, and Trojans.
Windows is the Most Susceptible Computer Operating System to Virus and Malware Attacks. While considering the statistics of computer operating systems based on cybersecurity, the Microsoft Windows OS was found to be the most vulnerable to malware, having 54.4% of all computer cyberattacks. Following the Windows OS was Linux, which has about 39.4%, and macOS, with 6.2%.
About 1.3 Billion Smartphones have Antivirus Software Installed. With the increasing number of malware on smartphone devices, there is a growth in users’ awareness of the need for updated antivirus apps. In 2013, there were 325 million smartphones with antivirus apps installed, but that number has grown to 1.3 billion smartphones with antivirus apps.
60% of the Overall Malware Attacks Were Distributed Using Encrypted Traffic. Cyberattackers prefer to distribute malware attacks via encrypted SSL/TSL traffic. It appears to be a preferred option, as encrypted channels make it hard for the malware to be detected or mitigated, as reported by WatchGuard.
Only 49% of Mobile Users Use an Antivirus App. Despite being very prone to malware attacks, less than half of smartphone users globally have installed antivirus apps. It shows that cyberpunks still target many smartphones.
About 3.9 Billion Internet Users have Experienced a Malware Attack. This massive number shows how much malware is a deadly threat to Internet users. Interestingly, users can get these malware files by tapping on a malicious link, downloading a file, or opening a malware-infected file.
Cybercrime has Increased by 600% Since Covid-19. According to a Cybersecurity Ventures report, there has been a staggering 600% increase in cyberattacks since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some possible reasons include the rise in remote working, the rise in malware, and the rise in online activity.
RiskTool is the Most Popular Mobile Malware, Responsible for More Than 54.06% of all Infected Gadgets. Though it’s not entirely malicious, it’s worth noting that RiskTool makes your mobile device vulnerable to breaches. It accounts for 54.06% of all infected machines, followed by Trojan-Dropper in 17.21% of infected gadgets.
Over 970 Million Pieces of Malware are Distributed Across the Internet. The growth of malware seems to have no end, as over 970 million copies of malware are circulating the Internet. Every year, malware keeps increasing by nearly 100 million.
McAfee, ZoneAlarm, and Kaspersky Record the Highest Detection Rate Among Antivirus Software Programs. A test was conducted on 24 antivirus software with many malware. Impressively, McAfee, Kaspersky, and ZoneAlarm detected all the malware samples.
Avast Antivirus Blocked 35.4 Billion Malware Attacks in 2022. Avast’s 2022 Threat Report showed that the Avast Antivirus detected and blocked 35.4 billion malware attacks in 2022. In 2021, the antivirus blocked 28.8 billion malware attacks, leading to an increasing number of malware attacks.
94 per cent of malware is delivered by email. (Verizon)
In the first month of the pandemic, Google blocked 18 million daily malware and phishing emails related to the coronavirus. (Google)
The most expensive part of a hack is the lost information (Accenture): According to Accenture’s report on the costs of cybercrime, the most expensive component of any breach is a loss of information. The los of information costs around $5.9 million, Accenture notes. What’s more, the number of hacking attacks focused on targeting specific people or personal data is increasing. Malware and web-based hacking have increased significantly in recent years. RiskBased Security found in 2020, data breaches exposed around 36 billion records in the first half of the year – double the number of records exposed in all of 2019.
46% of organisations received malware via email in 2020 (Verizon): Hacking strategies can take place in a range of environments. According to Verizon’s annual data breach investigation, around 46% of organisations received malware intended to give hackers access to their servers through email. 96% of social actions were also delivered by email, whereas only 3% were delivered through a website.
According to research released by BlackBerry, 51% of IT decision-makers believed a successful cyber attack would be credited to ChatGPT within a year, and it happened. Multiple firms have also reported ChatGPT’s ability to create malware.