GeraGuard · Computer misuse
Computer virus
Computer virus covers malware infecting your device — viruses, ransomware, spyware and other malicious software — typically delivered through malicious downloads, email attachments, or compromised and malicious websites and ads.
Quick answer
The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 128,000 incidents of computer virus in year ending March 2025 — about 2.6% of all fraud and computer-misuse incidents that year.
128,000
Estimated incidents · Computer misuse · year ending March 2025
How to protect yourself
- Keep your operating system, browser and apps fully patched and up to date.
- Only install software from official app stores or the vendor's own website.
- Do not open unexpected attachments or click links in unsolicited messages.
- Block malicious ads and scripts in your browser, and keep regular backups so ransomware cannot hold your data hostage.
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Install freeFrequently asked questions
How common is computer virus in the UK?
The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated about 128,000 incidents of computer virus in year ending March 2025 — around 2.6% of all fraud and computer-misuse incidents measured that year.
What is computer virus?
Computer virus covers malware infecting your device — viruses, ransomware, spyware and other malicious software — typically delivered through malicious downloads, email attachments, or compromised and malicious websites and ads.
Where does this figure come from?
Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), fraud and computer misuse. fraudandcomputermisuseappendixtablesyemarch25final.xlsx (Tables 1 and 2), reference period April 2024 to March 2025, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3). Retrieved 2026-06-27.
Other offence types
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), fraud and computer misuse. fraudandcomputermisuseappendixtablesyemarch25final.xlsx (Tables 1 and 2), reference period April 2024 to March 2025.
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3) © Crown copyright. Data retrieved: .