Kaspersky Lab: Free, outdated software makes half of Romanian PCs vulnerable to attacks

Around half of PCs in Romania are vulnerable to hacking, according to Kaspersky Lab. For example, 47.4 percent of PCs in Romania run an outdated Winamp player, and all previous versions allow a potential hacker to remotely access their PC. “Most of the time, cracks for pirated software are to blame for the high level of vulnerability for systems in Romania,” said Stefan Tanase, Senior Regional Researcher, EEMEA, Global Research and Analysis Team with Kaspersky Lab.

Looking at the top 3 vulnerabilities in Romania, they come in free software packages. The main reason for the high level of vulnerability to attacks on PCs is the users' lack of understanding of the important of updates, the researcher goes on. The second most dangerous software whose vulnerabilities can be exploited is Java. Users should upgrade to the latest version, free on Java's website, to avoid attacks on their computers. Adobe Flash player ranks third, being installed on 34 percent of PCs in Romania, while Daemon Tools, fourth, with 21.8 percent of users. Check the full list below. Corina Saceanu, corina@romania-insider.com (Table source: Kaspersky Lab)

Vulnerability | Users count / Winamp Multiple Vulnerabilities | 47.40% / Oracle Java SE Multiple Vulnerabilities | 37.27% / Adobe Flash Player Multiple Vulnerabilities | 34.42% / DAEMON Tools "\\.\dtsoftbusctl" IOCTL Denial of Service Vulnerability | 21.82% / Microsoft XML Core Services Multiple Vulnerabilities | 19.09% / Adobe Shockwave Player Multiple Vulnerabilities | 15.71% / WinRAR Multiple Unspecified Vulnerabilities | 14.42% / Apple QuickTime Multiple Vulnerabilities | 11.82% / Microsoft Office OneNote URI Handling Vulnerability | 6.49% / Apple iTunes Multiple Vulnerabilities | 6.36% / Adobe Reader / Acrobat Multiple Vulnerabilities | 6.23% / Mozilla Firefox Multiple Vulnerabilities | 5.06% / Adobe Flash Player Multiple Vulnerabilities | 4.94% / Macrovision SafeDisc secdrv.sys Privilege Escalation | 4.68% / Opera Nested SVG Content Processing Code Execution Vulnerability | 4.55% / BS.Player Playlist Processing Buffer Overflow Vulnerability | 4.42% / KMPlayer MP3 File Processing Buffer Overflow Vulnerability | 4.29% / Skype "skype-plugin:" URI Handling XML File Deletion Vulnerability | 3.90% / TeamViewer Insecure Directory Permissions Security Issue | 3.38% / ACDSee Products Image and Archive Plug-ins Buffer Overflows | 2.86%