Sophos, U.K.-based security company, said on Wednesday, July 6, 2005, the length of time an unprotected PC survives on the Internet has shrunk to a measly dozen minutes and estimated that a new PC stands a 50-50 chance of being infected by a worm within 12 minutes of being connected to the Internet !!

Sophos reported that it had pinpointed 7,944 new pieces of malicious software in the first six months of 2005, an increase of 59% compared to the first half of 2004. The firm’s researchers tracked an even larger spike in the number of keylogging Trojan horses, tripled in number.

Quoted:
“We are seeing a large amount of new Trojan horses on a daily basis, representing what may be the most significant development in malware writing,” said Gregg Mastoras, a Sophos senior security analyst, in a statement.

As a result of rapidly increase in viruses, trojan horses, malware, and spyware, there will be a significant decrease in the amount of time an unprotected PC is likely to survive without an infection when connected to the Internet.