Major Snowstorms in Syracuse Mean Major Computer Virus and Malware Infections

As the snow begins to pile up this week in the northeast, something else will be piling up as well, computer virus and malware infections. The cause, lots of people stuck inside their homes going online.

EnigmaSoftware.com reports that in the last five major snowstorms in Syracuse, malware infections spiked an average of 25%. We analyzed thousands of infection reports from its customers in Syracuse in the days after large snowstorms in January, two in February, one in March and the one right before Thanksgiving last month. We then compared those numbers to typical infection rates. Every time the snow came down, the infections went up.

"The storm that hit right before Thanksgiving last month saw a 50% spike in infections," says Patrick Morganelli, Enigma Senior VP of Technology. "It's a sign that there was a high concentration of people online on those days compared to typical days. That's something you might expect when thousands of people are stuck at home with no place to go."

Other major snow events in Syracuse in 2014 had infection spikes of 13%, 10%, 20%, and 30% respectively. And it's not just in Syracuse where this phenomenon happens. When that major storm dumped several feet of snow on Buffalo last month, we've noticed a 61% increase in infections there.

What kind of online activity could have caused the spike in infections? One of the biggest sources of spyware and malware is people looking at adult content online. Other potential sources for infections could include online shopping. Many malware makers send spam emails with bogus links purporting to offer hot holiday gifts at very low prices. Often, people searching for deals online may run into a link that gets them infected. In fact, in the days surrounding Cyber Monday infections in Syracuse spiked 56%. Nationwide they jumped 40%.