Shocking Windows 10 warning will make you wish you owned a MacBook
New research has revealed the true extent of online threats, and it makes for worrying reading if you own a Windows-powered PC. According to the team at Atlas VPN, a whopping 59.58 million new Windows malware samples were detected in the first three quarters of 2022. That’s a scary amount of threats and means that Microsoft users faced over 160,000 attacks every single day.
If that wasn’t scary enough, Windows malware accounts for 95.6 percent of all new threats targeting the world’s computers. By comparison, there were just over 1.7 million strikes against Linux and just 8,000 pieces of malware pushed out to compromise Apple’s range of MacBooks and desktops.
Of course, the reason hackers go after Windows users more than Mac owners is sheer volume, and Microsoft’s OS remains far more popular than all of its competitors.
By targeting the world’s most popular software, there is clearly a greater chance of an attack being successful.
While these new statistics are quite frightening, there is some slightly better news as it appears that new threats being created are actually lower than last year’s numbers. In fact, new threats found in October and November are almost 60 percent less than at the same time last year.
READ MORE: This year’s best smartphone revealed, but has Android or iPhone come out on top?
Despite this reduction, now is not a good time to fail, as the threat of an attack is still incredibly high, and it’s especially important to keep your PC up to date if it happens to be running Windows. It’s an important thing to remember and is causing massive headaches for millions of Windows 8 users next month with Microsoft confirming that it will no longer support this aging software. If your PC is running Windows 8, it’s probably time to install Windows 11 or buy a new machine.
“While there is a clear downward trend in new malware samples, the number of threats remains exceptionally high,” Atlas VPN said in a blog post.
Malware threats are constantly evolving and there are multiple ways malware can get onto your device.”
If you’re worried about these new threats, here are some great tips to keep things safe.
NOT
• Open unknown links or attachments that may download malware to your device
• Download apps from third-party sources and unofficial websites, as they may already be infected with malware;
• Leave your devices unattended or loan them out, as attackers can install malware by physically interacting with your device, such as with an infected USB drive.
DO
• Use reputable antivirus software to protect your devices
• Update the software as soon as possible to correct any remaining vulnerabilities
