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Is the virus threat real?

Posted on 13 Aug 2008 at 11:10

Is there a genuine virus threat or is it security industry scaremongering? Darien Graham-Smith delves the four corners of the web to see what he can catch.

We've all read the warnings: virus infections are growing at an unprecedented rate, legitimate sites are now pumping out malware, net-related credit card fraud is at an all-time high. AV-Test claims to have found five million distinct threats in 2007 alone, a five-fold increase on 2006.

Yet here at PC Pro our virus scanners aren't popping up five times as often as they used to - if anything, they're coming up much less. Web browsers are now far more cautious about allowing remote sites to install software and execute code, and email clients no longer allow attachments to auto-run, leaving email viruses high and dry. So what's going on? Is there a genuine virus threat? Or are the tales of ever-increasing malware simply sharp PR from an industry that relies on scare consumers and businesses? In this feature, we've gone out onto the internet in a variety of real-world guises to discover the truth. We've explored the potential avenues for attack and, with the aid of a range of security and system-monitoring tools, we've uncovered exactly how severe the risk really is.

From casual web surfing to illegal file sharing, from innocent video downloads to offers of free porn, we've fished around the four corners of the web in an attempt to draw out the actual threats a genuine user may face, and rated the level of danger involved in each activity.

Of course, you can't ever be certain that nothing has slipped through the net; but even with that caveat, the results of our tests are illuminating. Read on to find out how worried you really should be about the virus threat.

Casual surfing
Music & video
File sharing
Sex & gambling
The truth about the threat

Author: Darien Graham-Smith