Android and Windows are the operating systems with the most malware. According to a study, hackers mainly target terminals that run on these two OS. On the other hand, computers running macOS are currently immune to viruses.
In a report published on April 20, 2022, Atlas VPN researchers claim to have found “over 34 million new malware samples” on the web since the beginning of the year. On average, the cybercriminal community creates more than 316,000 computer viruses per day.
From year to year, the amount of malware circulating on the Internet increases. According to the experts behind the study, these are always Windows computers that are most vulnerable. With “25.48 million new Windows malware samples detected since the start of the year”PCs running Microsoft’s OS are prime targets for hackers.
Also read: Android is years behind iOS in the field of security
Why Windows is the favorite target of malware?
In most cases, viruses targeting Windows are Trojans (or Trojan horses). A Trojan horse is software that appears legitimate and harmless, but contains a piece of malicious code, such as Anubis or Octo. For Atlas VPN, the proliferation of malware on Windows is primarily explained by the immense popularity of the operating system. According to Microsoft figures, 1.5 billion PCs worldwide run on Windows.
75.88% of machines run on the Microsoft OS, reveal data from StatCounter published in early 2022. It is interesting for a hacker to develop Windows viruses in order to reach many Internet users. The researchers also point to the many faults identified “in different versions of the operating system, making it an easy target for cybercriminals”.
Android, Google’s mobile operating system, is also a favorite target for hackers. More than 536,000 new Android malware samples have been found online since the beginning of 2022. At the latest, 69.74% of smartphones worldwide are running Android.
For its part, macOS, the OS that equips Apple’s Macs and MacBooks, seems relatively spared from the explosion of viruses. Atlas VPN experts only found 2000 new malware targeting macOS since early 2022. According to StatCounter, macOS is still much less common than Windows. The Apple OS represents only 18.17% of computers in the world. This is partly why hackers don’t focus on macOS.
