While most of us were relaxing over the Labor Day weekend, the folks at
McAfee were finishing up the security firm's second quarter
Threat Report (PDF) for 2012. In it, McAfee Labs noted a 1.5 million increase in malware since the previously quarter, as well as a number of new threats like mobile "drive-by downloads" and using Twitter to control mobile botnets. All combined, McAfee detected the largest number of malware in four years.
"With very few exceptions, almost all areas of malware are up this quarter from last (and last quarter had record growth in some areas). One thing is certain: To continue to take the same steps is absurd," McAfee stated in its report.
Fake antivirus remains a popular choice among malware writers, with over 800,000 such samples noted in the wild in Q2. However, Windows PC users aren't the only ones who need to be on their toes.
