SleepyEgg

Monday saw the release of the eighth edition of Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report, a sizable examination of malware trends and software vulnerability data, covering the second half of 2009. The 248-page report makes interesting reading, and paints a detailed picture of the malware patterns seen around the world. It also contains information on the efficacy of various strategies to mitigate the malware problem.

The report, the first to include Windows 7 in its analysis, makes interesting reading. It shows that the security improvements that Microsoft has made in Windows Vista and Windows 7 appear to be working well, and that even though users are now tending to update the core operating system, applications (both first- and third-party) are often lagging behind, remaining unpatched for years.