Top 10 malware list shows rise of fake anti-virus

While Trojans and bots are the most prevalent forms of malware circulating the web, cyber criminals' use of rogue anti-virus software is steadily increasing.

So claims Sunbelt Software, which released its list of the top 10 malware threats in April. The rankings were largely unchanged from March apart from the entry of a loader for a rogue security product named SecurityTool.

The FraudTool.Win32.SecurityTool (v) threat took the final place in the top 10, removing Virtumonde from the list.

A recent report from Google claimed that fake anti-virus software now accounts for 15 per cent of all malware on the web.

"Trojans and bots are very prevalent. We also have an indication that rogue security products continue to spread," said Sunbelt Software research centre manager Tom Kelchner.

"In recent months many security researchers at antivirus companies have been noticing a slow but steady increase in rogue activity. It's becoming a very significant source of income for the bad guys," he added in a statement.

Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT was ranked as the most prevalent form of malware threat by Sunbelt, with a 33.74 share, far ahead of Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen in second place on 3.41 per cent.

Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.

He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.