14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft occasionally reminds everyone that Windows 10 is the most secure Windows version to date, but the text in the title is actually a quote from a security report published by Webroot, which analyzed malware infections on the operating system in 2017.
Webroot says in the case of business users, the number of malware files detected in 2017 declined versus 2016, and just as expected, Windows 10 proved to be a tough nut to track.
Specifically, 15% of the malware samples were detected on Windows 10, while no less than 63% of them were specifically aimed at Windows 7. On average, there were .04 malware files per Windows 10 device, while in the case of Windows 7, this figure is double at .08. Windows 10, however, recorded an increase in volume of malware in August and December when it reached 14% and 12%, respectively.
Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) dropped from .06 in January to .01 in December, proving that the security enhancements implemented in Windows 10 are effective.
Malware aimed at home users
On the other hand, when it comes to home users the difference is even bigger, Webroot says, and Windows 10 is “twice as safe as Windows 7.”
“The occurrence of malware per non-business device at the end of 2017 was .07 for Windows 10, versus .16 for Windows 7 and .17 on Windows XP. The volume of malware per device remained constant throughout 2017, at an average of .55 files per device,” the company says.
The same thing for PUAs, which dropped to .17 in the case of Windows 7, and half this rate for Windows 10.
Windows 10 adoption is increasing, while Windows 7 is obviously losing ground, and this leads to a substantial decline in malware infection rates on Windows systems. The bigger concern now is that many users could stick with Windows 7 beyond the January 2020 end-of-support date, which essentially means their systems would no longer get any updates and security patches.
