04/08/2011 -

China and Thailand lead the world in the percentage of the nation's computers that are infected in malware, according to a recent report.  More than 60 percent of those nations' computers are infected,stated the PandaLabs quarterly report. Malware is malicious software designed to harm or secretly access computer systems without the owner's permission.

The United States has dropped out of the list of the top 20 most infected countries, according to the report.  However, France, Spain, and Ireland have now been added to the list.  

The report found that in the first three months of 2011, there has been a daily average of 73,000 new samples of malware, most of which were Trojan viruses.  That's a 26 percent increase over the same period of time last year. 

Mobile malware is increasing as smart phone sales outpaced PC sales at the end of 2010 for the first time. The report describes some attacks on the Android platform that come from installing malicious applications. 

Cyber wars and cyber espionage were also recorded, with China often being the suspect. 

Also discussed in the report is cyber activism, which rose to new levels earlier this year with the conflicts in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere.

PandaLabs is the anti-malware contingent of Panda Security, which manufactures software.

Photo at flickr byPhilip Jägenstedt