Summary: The scale of click fraud from Windows zombies reaches an all-time high

WE previously showed that almost half of all Windows PCs are compromised, costing the economy trillions of dollars. Another potentially-new component of this cost emerges with a release of the following figures:

Botnets accounted for 42.6 percent of all click fraud in Q3 2009, more than doubling in the past two years and up from the 27.5 percent reported for the same quarter last year.

More in The Register:

Botnet click fraud at record high

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Malware-infected computers are increasingly being used to perpetrate click fraud, according to a study released Thursday that found their contribution was the highest since researchers began compiling statistics on the crime.

Suffice to say, these botnets take advantage of Windows flaws and according to other reports, this is increasingly becoming a national issue which goes all the way to the top:

NEVER ONE to let the urgency of a potential cyber war speed up its processes, the EU has decided to deal with a European Commission report on cyber war by holding another inquiry.

If Australian ISPs get their way, Windows PCs may gradually be taken off the Internet. Vista 7 has not resolved anything in that regard, despite deceptive advertising in Australia. ⬆