Microsoft: Bangladesh, China assaulted by malware; Hong Kong better protected

China and Bangladesh are facing more malware threats and unwanted software families than ever, while Hong Kong is staying below the average worldwide encounter rate, according to Microsoft's latest Security Intelligence Report.

The report analyses data collected in March 2017 from administrators who have opted to share information from Microsoft security programs and services running on their computers.

26.6% of computers in Bangladesh; 19% of computers in China and 6.4% of computers in Hong Kong S.A.R encountered malware, compared to the overall March worldwide encounter rate of 7.8%.

The level of Trojan activity peaked at 22.28% in March, more than four times higher than the global average of around 6%.

Worms affected 6.78% of Bangladesh computers; also far higher than the global average. Viruses rounded out the third most common form of malware; encountered by 3.06% of computers – a slight drop from 3.64% in February.

The top three malicious families in Bangladesh by encounter rate are:

• Win32/Skeeyah (Trojan) – 3.66%
• Win32/Fuery (Trojan) - 3.15%
• Win32/Vigorf (Trojan) - 2.63%

The Win32/Skeeyah and the Win32/Vigorf are both generic detections for threats that display Trojan-like characteristics, while Win32/Fuery is a cloud-based detection for files for files that have been automatically labelled malicious by Windows Defender.

Software bundlers and browser modifiers rounded out the top software families by encounter rate in Bangladesh.

Around 86% of Bangladesh computers were protected by Microsoft's real-time security software during March 2017.

China's malware encounter rate in March reached 19%, more than double the average worldwide encounter rate of 7.8%.

The rate was driven by exposure to Trojans and browser modifiers, which were spotted more often in the region than worldwide.

11.69% of computers in China encountered Trojans in March, up from 10.63% in the previous month and almost double the 6% global encounter rate.

Viruses affected 1.54% of all computers in China, up from 1.42% in February. Worms affected 1.28% of computers, also an increase from 1.09% in February.

The top three malicious families in China by encounter rate are:

• Win32/Spursint (Trojan) - 2.84%
• Win32/Vigorf (Trojan) - 1.36%
• Win32/Fuery (Trojan) - 1.15%

Win32/Spursint is a cloud-based detection for files for files that have been automatically labelled malicious by Windows Defender.

Seven percent of computers in China encountered browser modifiers; compared to around 1.6% of computers worldwide. The top browser modifier was Win32/Xiazai, a program that installs unwanted software on a computer without the user's consent.

Around 89% of computers in China were protected by Microsoft's real-time security software during March 2017, about the same as the worldwide statistics.

Hong Kong fared under the global worldwide encounter rate from malware, with 6.4% of computers encountering it compared to the 7.8% global average.

Once again Trojans took the top spot for malware, followed by downloaders and droppers; and viruses.

5.19% of all computers encountered Trojans in March, an increase from 4.34% in February. 0.6% of all computers encountered downloaders and droppers, up from 0.4% in February. 0.48% of computers encountered viruses, also up from 0.38% in February.

The top three malicious families in Hong Kong by encounter rate are:

• Win32/Spursint (Trojan) - 0.93%
• Win32/Skeeyah (Trojan) - 0.71%
• Win32/Fuery (Trojan) - 0.51%

Browser modifiers were also the most common unwanted software families by encounter rate in Hong Kong. They affected 1.78% of computers, a slight drop from 1.89% in February. Software bundlers and adware rounded out the top three. Win32/Xiazai was also the most encountered browser modifier.

Around 88% of computers in Hong Kong were protected by Microsoft's real-time security software during March 2017, about the same as the worldwide statistics.