Microsoft says 64-bit versions of Windows are harder to infect
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Members of Microsoft's security team write that 64-bit editions of Windows are much less susceptible to malware attacks, but outside experts caution that 64-bit malware could be the next big thing in cyber crime.
Joe Faulhaber, writing on the Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog, cites recent research from the company's Security Intelligence Report to show that 64-bit versions of Windows XP were 48 percent less likely to suffer from malware infection than the 32-bit version, and that Vista's 64-bit editions were 35 percent less malware-infested than Vista 32-bit.
However, Immunet researcher Alfred Huger asserts that the lower rates of malware infection in 64-bit versions of Windows is due less to any actual security advantages and more to the overwhelming prevalence of 32-bit Windows systems, according to Computer World. Huger warns that, as more and more users shift to 64-bit Windows, the OS will become proportionately more attractive to malware authors.
Many less-used operating systems gain a slightly misleading reputation as "malware-proof," but suffer serious attacks when they grow in popularity.
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