Almost two-thirds of spam, viruses and other computer security threats delivered around the world in 2006 originated either in the US or China, AFP reported. Computer security firm Sophos said 34.2% of 'malware' originated in the US while 31% came from China. Russia was in third place as the originator of 9.5%. The company identified some 207,684 threats, from spam to viruses, trojans (which download programs that infect computers) and ransomware (which kidnap data by encrypting it and providing a password after a ransom is paid). The vast majority of spam, 90%, is relayed from zombie computers. The US and China were also the top two sources of spam, with the US accounting for 22% and China 15.9%.
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