"Cybercriminals are profiting rom spam and 'scareware'"

Source: Jack Schofield, The Guardian, 8 April 2009.

"Scareware" is being used by cybercriminals promoting fake security software to exploit users' desire to keep their computers protected, according to Microsoft's sixth Security Intelligence Report.

Microsoft now reports that around 97% of all the emails sent over the net are unwanted. A MessageLabs Intelligence spokesman put the proportion of spam at 82% for 2008; however MessageLabs offers services only to businesses whereas Microsoft's numbers include a high proportion of consumers.

The Trustworthy Computing initiative of Microsoft seems to be reducing computer infections. Protection software was cleaning infections from 33.6 of every 1,000 PCs runnning the original version of Windows XP. It's only 2.6 of every 1,000 running Vista SP1.