14 DAY TRIAL // Statistics provided by Microsoft show that Windows is becoming more secure with every new version, so right now, Windows 8.1 is the best you can get in terms of security on the Windows platform.
And Aryeh Goretsky, researcher at ESET, has explained on the company's blog that such a thing is perfectly normal because, with every new version of Windows that sees the light of day, Microsoft blocks threats that were used against older releases, so the newer the Windows version, the lower the chances to get hacked.
Cybercriminals trying to trick users
But is this enough to make sure you're protected against the latest threats? Not at all, as in most of the cases, cybercriminals turn to tricks or malicious apps that can help disable security features introduced in the latest versions of Windows to make them less secure.
“Every version of Windows is more secure than the previous version, because each new version builds on Microsoft’s experience of defending and building threat models for the previous version. That doesn’t prevent someone from disabling security features in a newer version of Windows to make it less secure, or taking steps to increase the security in an older version of Windows in order to make it more resilient to attacks,” the security expert points out.
At this moment, Windows 7 is the most attacked Windows version on the market, he reveals, mostly because it's number one. Statistics show that more than 53 percent of the world's PCs are powered by Windows 7, so cybercriminals are always looking at the most popular software in order to find new victims.
There are ways to remain protected against these attacks, and Microsoft itself is developing new technology to block them, including SmartFilter and UAC, but in most of the cases, cybercriminals attempt to get users on compromised websites or to convince them to install malicious software to take control of their PCs.
So before anything else, make sure that you avoid clicking or opening anything coming from suspicious sources. Antivirus and security software can protect you, but it can't do that if you open the door to hackers on purpose.