Kaspersky Lab experts found active infections on a number of PCs by analyzing data collected by Kaspersky Security Scan, a tool that scans computers to verify the presence of malicious files. Malware were detected even on computers protected by IT security solutions from known providers.
Data analyzed from the beginning of 2013 was offered anonymously by users who installed Kaspersky Security Scan on their computers. The analysis showed that although antivirus programs were installed on a part of the infected computers, they were not able to provide full protection. Kaspersky Lab experts have developed a series of additional checks and carefully analyzed data collected. For example, computers with obsolete security solutions, which could not guarantee a complete system security, were excluded from the survey. Cases where harmful files have been put into quarantine by the security product were also excluded, Kaspersky Security Scan considering that, in these cases, they are no longer a threat. It included only computers on which harmful files were detected in folders critical to the operating system such as Windows, Program Files, Documents and Settings.
More than 25,000 computers which had security solutions installed were included in the analysis. Most computers included in the analysis were from the U.S. and Europe (including Russia and Turkey). Kaspersky Lab experts consider that these samples are representative enough to reflect the real situation.
Total number of malware files undetected by security software varied. This may be an issue for 4 to 5.5% of users, depending on the provider of the security solutions. The number of infections on computers that had antivirus products installed also varied depending on the country. The lowest percentage (less than 3%) was in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A little over 3 percent was recorded in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic. The highest rate of infection recorded on computers that had updated antivirus solutions (over 10%) was found in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, India and Egypt.
Kaspersky Lab has decided not to disclose the names of products or suppliers, or the number of computers affected, since such information may adversely affect the reputation of other security solution providers. This study had constructive purposes, and after the analysis was completed, Kaspersky Lab announced the companies concerned and gave them information about detected threats.
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