Windows, Android malware still greatly outnumber those on Apple's platforms

More than 34 million new malware samples have been discovered to date in 2022, with both Windows and Android remaining the most at-risk platforms compared to Apple systems like the Mac.

Malware authors have been creating more than 316,000 new malware threats daily in 2022, according to data from Atlas VPN. The team's information is based on analysis of data from AV-Test GmbH, an independent antivirus and security vendor.

January saw the largest jump in new malware developments, with 11.41 million new malware samples registered in the first month of 2022. February saw 8.93 million malware samples, while March saw 8.77 million.

By the end of the first quarter of 2022, newly discovered malware threats reached 29.11 million.

The data was last updated on April 20, 2022. By that count, at least 5.65 million new malware samples were discovered so far in the month of April.

As far as the breakdown between platforms, Windows has seen 25.48 million new malware samples in 2022. At least 536,000 never-before-seen Android malware samples have also been discovered.

Apple platforms appear less affected, with macOS seeing 2,000 new malware samples in 2022.

Despite the relative rarity of macOS malware, Apple still finds the number of threats on the platform "unacceptable" compared to iOS. Vulnerabilities and exploits are not unheard of on iOS, but are rarer still than on macOS.

The prevalence of malware on competing platforms like Android and Windows has been a core argument from Apple against opening up its platforms. Apple has repeatedly argued that antitrust legislation in the U.S. and European Union could do real harm to user privacy and security.

10 Comments

jas99 168 comments · 11 Years

About 2 years ago

Apple’s approach to security is working.

Leave it alone, regulators. You simply don’t know what you’re doing.

blastdoor 3565 comments · 15 Years

So Windows has 50 times more than Android, Android has 250 times more than Mac, and iOS is too small to report? Am I interpreting these numbers right?

Seems like maybe Apple is doing something right.

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

And I don’t think the old troll meme “security through obscurity” holds water anymore either. With macOS and iOS users having significantly more disposable income it would be logical for the bad guys to go after those users with great focus. But they don’t... or can’t.

lkrupp said:

And I don’t think the old troll meme “security through obscurity” holds water anymore either. With macOS and iOS users having significantly more disposable income it would be logical for the bad guys to go after those users with great focus. But they don’t... or can’t.

Also, Windows is more 'obscure' than Android, yet it would seem that Windows has far more malware (unless I'm misinterpreting the numbers).

illrigger 39 comments · 2 Years

Ugh. What a load of clickbait BS. How many attack vectors are coming into any given platform doesn't matter nearly as much as how effective those vectors are, and the most successful ones are hitting every platform all at once.

I do information security for a living, and I will tell you one very important thing: all it takes is one successful vector, and you are hosed. It doesn't matter how much more the other guys are getting attacked than you are, you still need to act as if you are constantly being attacked - because you really are. That means:

Get everything that talks to the Internet (hardware and software) up to date as quickly as you can as updates are released. That includes your router!
Replace that router that you "got a great deal on" back on Black Friday in 201x with a modern one that is well reviewed by a site that primarily/only reviews network stuff. If you are unsure, just get something from Asus that has at least 3.5 stars on Newegg.
Limit exposure from the outside as much as possible and turn off uPnP on your router.
Practice network isolation: keep equipment that doesn't need to be on the same network as your personal date on its own subnet, especially IoT stuff like lighting hubs and smart home gear that doesn't get updated often.
If something you have connected to the Internet hasn't gotten an update in a year, consider replacing it entirely (once again, that includes your router!), and don't buy no-name stuff from Amazon, Wish, AliExpress, etc., and put it on your network with the your PCs. Getting "Linarsefft" smart bulbs because they are so cheap is a BAD idea - they will never get updated and will almost certainly have some sort of security flaw in them eventually.
Stop going to that site you know you shouldn't be going to. You know which one I am talking about - it's the one that you immediately thought of when you read that. Stop going to the rest of the ones you know are risky as well. Or, at the very least, build a VM, put it on its own network, and use that to go there instead.

As a reader, you should be finding articles like this offensive to you. They play to your ego to make you feel superior so they can make a bit of money from your clicks, but they are actually giving you a false sense of security. You ARE being attacked constantly and relentlessly - your network is getting pinged hundreds of times a day from countries far and wide (and by that I mean mostly Russia), looking for their way in. Don't listen to anyone who tells you you aren't, and act accordingly to minimize the risk of them actually getting in.