According to the most recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, an average of 24 percent of computers worldwide are vulnerable to viruses and cyber attacks. The reason? Simple — the lack of up-to-date antivirus software.

The report says that some people may not realize the importance of installing and maintaining (keeping up-to-date) an antivirus program on their computers. There are also those who only ever rely on the antivirus that comes preinstalled with their computers, which are almost always trial versions that expire after a month or two. Also, there’s the scary possibility that the antivirus installed by these users was disabled by malware, leaving the computer vulnerable to further exploitation.

But how much more protected will installing an antivirus program make your computer, if certain kinds of malware can disable it? Microsoft warns that computers without up-to-date protection are 5.5 more times likely to be infected by viruses. That’s a huge difference when compared to having an effective and updated antivirus installed.

While the report makes no mention of it, there are definitely some people that are simply unaware of the free (and effective) alternatives that are available today. So if you’re one of them, do yourself a huge favor and install an antivirus program on your computer today — free or otherwise. And if you know someone who for some reason doesn’t have one installed on their computer, do a everybody a favor and help them install one!

Who knows, maybe one day viruses will be a thing of the past. It might seem impossible today, but maybe one day. Or maybe not.

Do you have an up-to-date antivirus program installed on your computer? Let us know in the comments!

[via The Official Microsoft Blog, Digital Trends]