31.98 percent of all computers scanned around the world revealed malware infections and the addition of 2012’s numbers, saw the grand total of all malware samples in PandaLabs’ database reach approximately 125 million, with researchers estimating that at least 27 million new strains of malware were created in 2012 alone.

These figures demonstrate cyber-criminals’ sheer capacity to automate the creation of new malware variants, further evidenced by the average number of new threats created and released every day increasing to 74,000. This malware avalanche can be stopped with Panda Security’s Collective Intelligence technologies, a cloud-based proprietary system that automatically detects, analyses and classifies 99.4 percent of all malware received by PandaLabs.

In 2012, 76% of malware infections were caused by Trojans, growth which can possibly be attributed to the increased use of exploit kits such as Black Hole, capable of exploiting multiple system vulnerabilities to infect computers automatically without user intervention. Viruses came second (8 percent), whereas worms dropped to third place accounting for 6.44 percent of all infections.

The countries leading the list of most infections are China, South Korea and Taiwan, with 54.89, 54.15 and 42.14 percent of infected computers respectively. On a positive note, the proportion of infected computers around the world decreased significantly. For example, the number of infected computers in China dropped from 56 percent in 2011 to 54.89 percent in 2012, whereas in Taiwan the decrease was even larger (from 52 percent to 42.14 percent).

The countries with the fewest infections are Sweden (20.25 percent of infected PCs), followed by Switzerland (20.35 percent), and Norway (21.03).

In the mobile phone industry, Android’s market share continued to rise to the point that it is now the platform most frequently targeted for cyber-thieves.

Social networking sites are also covered extensively in the report. Facebook and Twitter continue to be among the most popular social media sites, and are exploited by cyber-thieves to trick users, infect their computers and steal confidential information. Linkedin, a tool that is increasingly becoming a key part of job searches, also suffered a massive breach that led to the theft of 6.5 million user passwords.

Ransomware also grabbed the headlines in 2012 with the ‘Police Virus’ infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, using fear and blackmailing techniques to extort money from computer users.

Looking to the future, cyber-crime and social media attacks will continue to hog the limelight in 2013. Special care will have to be taken to protect networks against operating system and application vulnerabilities, as it has become increasingly common to see cyber-criminals and national intelligence agencies exploiting security flaws to silently compromise systems. In addition, Android users will face a growing number of attacks. Cyber-espionage and cyber-war will also be on the rise in a year that presents itself full of challenges in the computer security world.

The full report is available at: http://press.pandasecurity.com/press-room/reports/ and on the PandaLabs blog.

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Panda Security has obtained Microsoft’s ‘Windows 8 Compatible’ logo for Panda Cloud Antivirus, its cloud-based free antivirus product. So, users of Microsoft’s new operating system will continue to benefit from the protection offered by Panda Cloud Antivirus, version 2.1.1.

The new Panda Cloud Antivirus 2.1.1 includes improved heuristic detection and anti-exploit technologies, which detect and neutralize malware that exploits zero-day vulnerabilities in legitimate applications like Office, Adobe or Java as an infection vector. Panda Cloud Antivirus is designed to upgrade itself to the new version automatically and transparently to users, keeping them protected at all times.

“Obtaining Microsoft’s ‘Windows 8 Compatible’ logo is a big step and rewards our efforts in ensuring the high quality of our solutions,“ says Panda Security’s Jeremy Matthews. “We offer users maximum security with minimum resource usage, regardless of the operating system they are using.”

This certification confirms the Windows 8 compatibility announced by independent testing labs AV-Comparatives.org and Av-Test.org for Panda Security’s products in their recent tests.

For more information, please visit www.cloudantivirus.com.

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Be on the lookout for unusual emails and links downloading romantic greeting cards, gift ideas and special Valentine’s messages warns PandaLabs technical director, Luis Corrons.

Remember the following:

- Never run attached files from unknown sources. Remain alert for files claiming to contain Valentine Day’s messages, etc.
- Don’t open emails or messages received on social networks from unknown senders.
- Don’t click any links included in email messages, even from reliable sources. Rather type the URL directly in the browser and close the browser if you don’t recognize it. This applie to messages received through any mail client, as well as those in Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks or messaging applications, etc.
- Always treat downloads with suspicion – even if the page seems legitimate. If you download and install any type of executable file and see unusual messages, you’re likely to have been infected with malware.
- When purchasing online, type the address of the store in the browser, rather than going through any links sent to you. Only buy online from sites with a solid reputation and which offer secure transactions, encrypting all information that is entered in the page.
- Don’t use shared or public computers, or an unsecured WiFi connection, for transactions or operations that require you to enter passwords or personal details.
- Most important: Always have an effective security solution installed, capable of detecting both known and new malware strains.

Panda Security offers several free tools for scanning computers for malware, like Panda Cloud Antivirus.

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http://lifehacker.com/5980126/5-security-holes-almost-everyones-vulnerable-to?

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According to the Russian publication, “the Panda Cloud Antivirus tool is a regular on the list of software recommended by PC Magazine/RE. It currently holds an important position among computer protection systems. It is a very simple, light and free product. The new version includes cloud-based malware detection and disinfection, a behavioural analysis module and protection without an internet connection. It also includes a specific module for monitoring processes.”

This award joins others recently won by Panda Cloud Antivirus, such as the Advanced+ rating for malware removal/cleaning from AV-Comparatives, being the only free product to achieve it and the AV-Test Certified stamp as number one in usability.

The Pro version of Panda Cloud Antivirus also achieved VB100 Certification from Virus Bulletin last September, after detecting 100% of the samples included on the In the Wild list. The Pro and free editions share the same detection engine.

Last month, Panda Security announced the launch of the new version 2.1 of Panda Cloud Antivirus, with new anti-exploit technologies. This new protection, included in both the free and pro editions, detects and neutralizes malware that exploits zero-day vulnerabilities in legitimate applications like Office, Adobe or Java as an infection vector before they are known to antivirus firms.

Panda Cloud Antivirus 2.1 provides real-time protection for Windows 8 applications, as well as improvements to its interface. It also offers improved performance to maintain the characteristic lightweight footprint of Panda Security’s free cloud-based antivirus.

More information about the product at: www.cloudantivirus.com.

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More information on those tests is available at: http://press.pandasecurity.com/news/panda-cloud-antivirus-pro-achieves-virus-bulletin-vb100-certification/, http://press.pandasecurity.com/news/panda-cloud-antivirus-ranks-1-in-usability-in-recent-av-test-org-evaluation/ and http://press.pandasecurity.com/news/panda-cloud-antivirus-achieves-highest-advanced-rating-from-av-comparatives/

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How cybercriminals secure confidential business information

The latest quarterly report by PandaLabs, Panda Security’s antimalware laboratory, demonstrates how cybercriminals set about securing confidential business information from their targets. Be warned!

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Fake Cristiano Ronaldo Twitter profile with more than 15,000 followers: http://press.pandasecurity.com/usa/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/CR7.jpg

The US President, Barack Obama, also has a fake profile on the social network – and despite this including a link to a Russian page, “he” has managed to attract more than 91,000 followers.

Fake Obama profile on Twitter: http://press.pandasecurity.com/usa/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/OBAMA.jpg
However, the undisputed King of Fake Profiles right now is Justin Bieber. The young teen idol has many fake profiles created by his fans; yet others have been created that do not have such innocent objectives. It seems that simply including the singer’s name in a Twitter profile is synonymous with an avalanche of followers. Some of his profiles, with just two tweets from over three years ago, have more than 491,000 followers.

Fake Justin Bieber Twitter profile with more than 491,000 followers: http://press.pandasecurity.com/usa/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/JUSTINBIEBER.jpg

“Due to its huge popularity, Twitter is one of the social networks on which more attacks are launched to compromise the security of users’ computers. Cyber-criminals take advantage of the popularity of some celebrities to attract followers to whom to send malware and spam through their tweets,” says Corrons. “If you’ve received this type of message from the account of a celebrity that you follow, it’s advisable not to open it under any circumstances; rather unfollow the sender of the message and scan the computer using an antivirus.”
To make sure you are following a legitimate person ensure that the page features a blue verification badge alongside the profile. The badge will appear in the top right of the user profile just above the name, location and bio. Remember, if it appears anywhere else on the profile page of a user (such as in the avatar or in the background) then the account has not been verified! Twitter is constantly proactively verifying accounts, focusing on the most searched for users and does not accept verification requests from the general public.

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Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition was the only free antivirus solution to achieve the Advanced+ rating (3 stars) in the Malware Disinfection Test, performing better than solutions from Avira (Advanced rating – 2 stars), and AVG and Avast (Standard rating – 1 star).

This seal of approval is thanks to technological improvements to the 2.0 version of the product. An advanced disinfection engine with heuristic capabilities enhances the program’s capacity to disinfect the PC completely, thereby enabling it to fight against new malware even before it is known. The new Panda Cloud Antivirus also includes cloud-based disinfection routines which enable Panda Cloud Antivirus to be more flexible and efficient in its cleaning all traces of malware.

Andreas Clementi, Chairman of AV-Comparatives.org, was particularly impressed to see that Panda has improved its disinfection capabilities so significantly, especially in the area of dangerous malware families such as rogue AV and others tested by AV-Comparatives.org.”This indicates a very good focus by Panda in dealing with the most problematic malware for end users and companies,” he says.

The AV-Comparatives.org test examined malware removal and disinfection capabilities, evaluating the solution’s actual ability to eliminate malware strains from infected or compromised systems, including the infamous ‘Police Virus’. The full report is available at: http://www.av-comparatives.org/comparativesreviews/removal-tests/246-removal-test-november-2012

“This certification is the result of the excellent work done by everyone in the PandaLabs and Development teams,” says Pedro Bustamante, Senior Research Advisor at Panda Security. “Our priority in the last few months has been to further improve detection and disinfection ratios with a new cloud-based engine, and winning this award has proven that it was well worth the effort.”

Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 2.0, which launched last July, incorporates a series of improvements aimed at defending users from an increasingly sophisticated and diverse set of threats including rogueware and ransomware, neutralising malware capable of getting past antivirus programs. It further optimises security through its inclusion of behaviour-based scanning technologies, a feature previously only available in the Pro Edition (paid version), and removes all malware traces after neutralisation thereby increasing its disinfection capabilities. Scanning more than 50 percent faster than earlier versions of the program in on-demand scans, the program places much less demand on system performance.

Since Cloud Antivirus’ initial release in 2009 as the first free ‘in the cloud’ security service for home users, millions around the world have benefited from its award-winning free antivirus protection and incredibly lightweight footprint. The latter is a major benefit of Collective Intelligence, Panda’s proprietary technology for automatically collecting and processing millions of malware samples in the cloud instead of locally on the user’s PC.

For more information about Panda Cloud Antivirus or to download the product, please visit: http://www.cloudantivirus.com

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