Where Does 50,000 Malicious Software (Malware) Come From Each Day?

What is Malware, what is being done about it and why should you care? Malware is actually a combination of terms, malicious and software. Malware is software that is specifically designed to cause harm to your computer systems. There are different types of malware, which include Trojans, Spyware and Viruses.

Recent research shows that, "Anti-virus vendors are getting more than 50,000 submissions of new malware per day now," according to Larry Seltzer at eweek.com.

How is it that anti-virus provider's are getting so many submissions each day? Are there that many forms of malware out there or is more being "created" or written each day? Are all of them effective at harming our computer?

An Inside Look at Creating Malware with Computer Expert Larry Seltzer:

First, it is important to understand that this software is being created every day in an attempt to circumvent any existing security systems you have in place. In order to quickly and easily generate malware, it can either be written (in computer language) or you can purchase a malcode generator. Next malware troublemakers submit this code to a public malware scanning service, like VirusTotal, however there are others available. This is done in an effort to "test drive" the newly designed malware programs and to determine exactly how much undetectable damage this software can do.

If the malware is a good one, it can take some time before it is detected or protection can be designed for it. The effective versions of malware programs are eventually reported and distributed among the many anti virus service providers so the window of opportunity is very small for use and distribution of malicious software.

Why are so many malware programs produced each day? Basically this is because you will catch more fish with a big net. The more malware programs that are submitted and found to be "effective" the more they can generate as well as the more damage that can be done. Many of the ones tested are ineffective, which is great news for consumers, but then malware designers are just back at the keyboard. The turnover is tremendous but yet identity thieves and scammers are vigilant in producing malware hoping to take advantage of uninformed consumers and hit pay dirt.

How can consumers protect themselves from malware? Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer recommends: "Anti-malware needs to be combined with other forms of defense, like a firewall, an intrusion prevention product, running your system with least privileged access and not clicking on links in e-mails (or at least being very careful about doing so)." There's no doubt that today there is more spam and more malware and consumers need to be both more educated and more protected.

Lisa Carey is a contributing author for Identity Theft Secrets - prevention and protection. You can get tips on Identity theft protection, software, and monitoring your credit as well as learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the Identity Theft Secrets blog.