[HairOfTheDog]

I little over 2% of the computers tested had some kind of malware.

That's not very many.

""Can the results found in the sample be extrapolated to the general population?"

Well, probably not. Those users who were tested are probably those who have legitimate software and keep it up to date. Those who do neither of those things might have a higher incidence of garbage on their machines.

But, what it really tells me is the whole malware issue is overblown if people are reasonably responsible with their computers and what they choose to install. I've always believed this to be true.

[Swordmaker]

It is amazing the degree of ignorance the MSM can demonstrate. I always prefer to go to the actual report. Here is what Microsoft ACTUALLY said:

• Combining the data shown in Figure 1 with that shown in Figure 3 allows us to determine that, in the most recent release of the MSRT (March 2006), the rate of infected computers per executions of the tool was 0.28 percent. In other words, the tool removed malware from approximately one in every 355 computers on which it ran. The average rate across all releases from June 2005 to March 2006 is similar, at 0.32 percent, or approximately one in every 311 computers. This infection rate has remained relatively constant across the measurable releases, with the high being 0.4 percent in August 2005 and the low being 0.24 percent in September 2005.

That would make these articles, and the erroneous interpretation of the statistics, FUD.