One topic that I get asked about each time we release a new volume of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report is malware infection rates for operating systems and service packs. We released new data late last year in volume 13 of the report (SIRv13). Accordingly, I am dedicating a couple of articles to discussing the new malware infection rate data for operating systems and service packs.
The latest data published in SIRv13, focusing on the first half of 2012, shows that newer operating systems, such as Windows 7 and Windows Vista, continue to have lower malware infection rates than older operating systems like Windows XP Service Pack 3. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 had the lowest infection rates in the second quarter of 2012. The infection rate for Windows XP Service Pack 3, the oldest supported operating system from Microsoft, is the highest by a significant margin.
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