Report: Adware supplies one third of all malware

Shown is one of many fake antivirus products seen by Panda Security recently.

(Credit: Panda Security)

On Thursday, Panda Security released its report for the third quarter stating that adware is responsible for one third of all new malicious software. In particular, the security company cited increased use of fake antivirus scanners.

The fake scanners typically report a computer infection and suggest downloading an application to remove the malware. Once downloaded, the scanners then ask computer users to purchase the application before it can remove an infection that never really exists. The goal of these attacks is financial gain.

In addition to seeing increasing amounts of adware, Panda Security reported that Trojan horses account for almost 60 percent of all malware samples analyzed between July and September. Worms and spyware, once the bane of every computer user, were nominal during the period at only 4.53 percent and 2.93 percent respectively.