There was once a time when people used to trust Macbooks the most because of its severed protection against malware. However, that now seems to be changing as according to a new study the malware threats developed for macOS have been on the rise in the year 2020. Figuratively, it grew up by 1,100% when compared head to head with 2019.
On the other hand, if the numbers are compared with Windows, then surprisingly the total was also only less than 1% of the new malware which were found on the most widely used operating system in the similar time period.
The report has been prepared by Atlas VPN based on AV-TEST data to investigate that around 1,847 new threats of malicious malware were raised for Mac every day in the year 2020.
This made the total figure for the year reach 674,273 new malware found for Mac but more concerns regarding the malware started when the numbers were compared to 2019 and all the other years of the past.
The numbers for Mac malware during last year were 55,556 and that meant there was a massive 1,092% increase in the year of pandemic, 2020.
Looking at the trends of all other previous years, macOS dealt with 92,570 new malware in 2018, 28,949 for the year 2017, and there were only 5,208 new malware in 2016, as stated in the study.
According to Atlas VPN, the number has gone up in an unbelievable way mostly because of ready-made malware. Besides that, there is also now a fact how new malicious software is easier to engineer. Hackers are no longer required to possess advanced level programming skills and instead, they can easily rely on ready-made malware codes which are customized to their needs. So, a tiny bit of knowledge regarding coding can do the job of creating a completely new threat.
But with that being stated, the number for new macOS malware in the year 2021 has just only been 2,474.
Moreover, it makes up as almost 250,000 new Windows malware every single day, and even before the ending of Q1, the investigation team has already caught over 33 million new malware threats for Windows in the current year 2021.
Read next: In 2020, ransomware hackers multiplied their average payment to $312K and the situation is only getting worse
On the other hand, if the numbers are compared with Windows, then surprisingly the total was also only less than 1% of the new malware which were found on the most widely used operating system in the similar time period.
The report has been prepared by Atlas VPN based on AV-TEST data to investigate that around 1,847 new threats of malicious malware were raised for Mac every day in the year 2020.
This made the total figure for the year reach 674,273 new malware found for Mac but more concerns regarding the malware started when the numbers were compared to 2019 and all the other years of the past.
The numbers for Mac malware during last year were 55,556 and that meant there was a massive 1,092% increase in the year of pandemic, 2020.
Looking at the trends of all other previous years, macOS dealt with 92,570 new malware in 2018, 28,949 for the year 2017, and there were only 5,208 new malware in 2016, as stated in the study.
According to Atlas VPN, the number has gone up in an unbelievable way mostly because of ready-made malware. Besides that, there is also now a fact how new malicious software is easier to engineer. Hackers are no longer required to possess advanced level programming skills and instead, they can easily rely on ready-made malware codes which are customized to their needs. So, a tiny bit of knowledge regarding coding can do the job of creating a completely new threat.
But with that being stated, the number for new macOS malware in the year 2021 has just only been 2,474.
Where Does Windows Stand?
To be precise, Windows is still struggling big time with the problem of malware as in the similar study conducted by Atlas VPN, over 91 million new threats have been found taking place in 2020. That, overall, is 135 times more than what is discovered for macOS.
Moreover, it makes up as almost 250,000 new Windows malware every single day, and even before the ending of Q1, the investigation team has already caught over 33 million new malware threats for Windows in the current year 2021.
Read next: In 2020, ransomware hackers multiplied their average payment to $312K and the situation is only getting worse
