PandaLabs detected 463% more banker trojans last year than in 2006. This increase in detection rates has been possible thanks to the development of an innovative security system called ‘Collective Intelligence’.
The system is based on the collection of information concerning malware from the Internet community and the automated processing of this data in new datacenters. The data is correlated and used to offer greater detection ratios and improve the security of Panda customers, who thanks to the Collective Intelligence, now have more efficient and easy-to-use products.
“There are currently thousands of new malware samples appearing every day. Before developing the Collective Intelligence system, it was difficult to analyze and classify all the information. But now, the analysis and collection process which determines if a file is malware or legitimate, is done automatically, allowing us to protect our customers quicker and more efficiently against the latest threats,†explained Luis Corrons, Technical director of PandaLabs.
The spectacular increase in the amount of banker trojans corresponds to the new malware dynamic. Cyber-crooks no longer seek fame or notoriety with their infections, but financial benefits. In this sense, banker trojans are a very efficient tool for cyber-crooks, since these malicious codes are designed to steal bank details, account numbers, etc. which are later used to empty users’ bank accounts.
To avoid falling victim of these trojans, PandaLabs recommends installing an efficient and up-to-date security solution with proactive technologies, such as Panda’s TruPrevent technologies, which detect unknown threats.
It also suggests avoiding carrying out unsafe actions, such as opening mail from unknown recipients, opening links that arrive through mail or instant messaging programs instead of typing them in the browser, or downloading suspicious files through P2P networks.
PandaLabs wants users to keep the programs installed on the system up-to-date, to prevent vulnerabilities from being used to insert malware on the computer and also to scan the computer for malware with an online solution such as TotalScan (http://www.pandasecurity.com/totalscan). These tools have access to a larger knowledge base and can therefore detect more malware than the solutions installed on the computer.
