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Jackson's death being used by malware distributors

People who produce malware and Trojan programs are using current events in the public eye to spread their malicious viruses, a new report shows.

The Q2 2009 Internet Threat Trends Report by Commtouch found that millions of email viruses managed to bypass anti-virus software during the second half of the second quarter.

According to the firm, malware distributors have used high-profile events including the swine flu epidemic and the death of Michael Jackson to spread their malicious programs.

The study showed that 376,000 zombie PCs were activated each day during the period to spread malicious activity.

Amir Lev, chief technology officer of Commtouch, said that during the second quarter of 2009, malware distributors "introduced large quantities of new variants" which did not have "generic signatures".

Recent research by Panda Security found that 58 per cent of small businesses globally have been affected by malware.

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