Computer malware threats still rising

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 23 (UPI) -- Malware threats against PCs are at the highest levels in four years and are on the increase on Macs and Android devices, computer security firm McAfee says.

In the past quarter McAfee collected 83 million pieces of PC malware samples, up from 75 million samples collected by the end of last year, CNET.com reported Wednesday.

McAfee also reported a significant increase in malicious software targeting the Android platform and Mac computers.

A total of 8,000 mobile malware samples were collected this quarter, of which nearly 7,000 were Android threats, mainly from from third-party app markets, it said.

With the United States being the primary source of cyberattacks, malware threats could reach the 100 million mark this year, a release from McAfee said.

E-mail continued to be a medium for targeted attacks along with an increase of so-called rootkits, a form of "stealth" malware, it said.