China: World’s Malware Leader
© Don Hankins
Malware seems to be everywhere these days. That's probably because (according to a February report by McAfee) the amount of malware out there has almost double in the last year.
Where does it come from? More of the world's malware comes from China than from any other country on Earth. China is the source of about 30% of the world's malware. Romania spews out another 21% – meaning that those two countries account for over half of the world's malware.
Malware is a very broad category that includes computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses, spyware and adware, and other malicious, unwanted forms of software. When viruses first came on the scene in the computer world they were seen as pranks or simple vandalism. But malware has evolved into an industry designed to solicit direct payments from infected computers, take over clusters of PCs and use them for some profitable purpose, or steal data.
