Security Advisor
Infection Rate for Vista On the Rise
Microsoft clarified this week on a finding in its latest Security Intelligence Report (SIR) that saw a dramatic uptick on the malware infection rate of systems running Windows Vista SP1.
According to Microsoft's study, not only did those infected dramatically increase, but it outpaced the infection rate of Microsoft's Windows XP SP3.
What's the difference between the two OSes? One is still receiving Windows support, while the other is all alone in the wild. Bet you can guess which one is still receiving support.
Microsoft's figures have systems running Vista SP1 clocking in 17 percent more infection rates than XP SP3.
The good news is that Microsoft has an obvious fix to alleviate this issue: update your system.
"If you are still running systems with Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista SP1 in your environment, you need to install the latest service pack on these systems immediately as they are no longer automatically receiving security updates from Microsoft," wrote Tim Rains, a director with Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, in a blog post.