In 2012, nearly a third (31.98 percent) of all computers scanned around the world was infected with malware, according to the 2012 Annual Security Report from PandaLabs.

In addition, the total of all malware samples in PandaLabs’ database has reached approximately 125 million, and researchers estimate that at least 27 million new strains were created in 2012 alone, a press release states.

Cyber criminals can automate the creation of new malware variants, creating and releasing approximately 74,000 new strains a day.

In 2012, Trojans were still the most frequent attacks – three of every four malware infections were caused by Trojans (76.56 percent). Viruses were second (8 percent), and worms only account for 6.44 percent of all infections.

Countries with the most infections include:

• China (54.89 percent of computers infected)
• South Korea (54.15 percent)
• Taiwan (42.14 percent)

However, the proportion of infected computers worldwide has decreased significantly – in China the number of infected computers dropped to 54.89 percent from 56 percent in 2011, the release says.

Countries with the fewest infections are Sweden (20.25 percent), Switzerland (20.35 percent) and Norway (21.03).