2022 sees over 5000 times new Windows malware vs macOS, over 60 times vs Linux

As the year comes to a close, AV-TEST, one of the major anti-malware solutions assessment firms, alongside AV-Comparatives, has shared some interesting statistics regarding malware growth in 2022. The data shows there were close to 70 million new malware samples on Windows, which dwarfs that on macOS, which only saw around 12,000 samples. Hence, the number of malicious files on Windows is over 5,000 times compared to that on mac. The comparison with Linux is far more favorable for Windows as close to 2 million samples were captured on Linux. However, the Windows numbers are still more than 60 times higher.

Interestingly, while the total malware count is certainly very high for Windows, the growth rate has steadily been declining since September. The right image below shows the monthly growth while the left image shows the total malware and PUA (potentially unwanted applications).

Up next, we have macOS and although the total malware count is low relatively, the growth rate has taken a sharp uptick in November and December.

Linux is probably the most impressive as it seems to have completely killed off new malware. The growth rate has been very low since June and it continues to be so till December.

You can visit AV-TEST's portal to gain more insight via interactive charts.