MessageLabs released their 2009 Annual Security Report, and here is what they have to say about the malware that plagued us in the passing year.

1 of every 286.4 emails carried a virus, which is a decided improvement on 2008, when there was one in every 143.8 emails. This drastic decline is due to a greater variety of malware – more variants – that is delivered in lesser numbers per strain than before. 15 percent of emails had a malicious link inside, rather that malware in the attachment.

The great majority of malware that we have seen recently aims to achieve one of three things (or a combination of them):

* Fraud
* Theft of personal information
* Infection of the machine and harnessing it into a botnet.

Read more here.