Cyberattacks on Windows 7 Surge by Over 71%

As is widely known, Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 in a few months, with the final update for this operating system scheduled for release on January 14, 2020. According to researchers from Webroot, the number of cyberattacks targeting Windows 7 has increased by more than 71% compared to 2018. Overall, computers running Windows 7 are twice as likely to be infected as those using Windows 10.

Home PC users running Windows 7 are at the greatest risk, as 64% of infections are aimed at these devices. “There are many factors contributing to these numbers, not least because most corporate devices are protected by business-grade firewalls, while home user devices may be less secure. Secondly, the average person is more likely to exercise caution when browsing the web on a work device owned by their employer,” the researchers explain.

In attacks on Windows 7 devices, most malware hides its files in locations that are harder to find. For example, 41% of malware samples hide in the temporary folder, 24% move their files to appdata, and about 11% reside in the system cache folder.

Approximately 30% of all computers worldwide are still running Windows 7.