Trend Micro warned that 2010 has already seen a substantial increase in the number of infected PCs in the Middle East, with experts saying the reason lies with a lack of adequate security software.

According to the company’s Smart Protection Network technology, which can monitor the number of infected machines in the region, infected PCs increased by 116 percent last year.

Approximately 740,000 machines have been affected across the Gulf region since April this year.

“Our dependence on the Web raises our vulnerability and most of us are not even aware of our machines being compromised,” said Dave Rand, CTO of Trend Micro.

Rand added that ensuring PCs are protected while surfing the Internet does not have to complex. 

“We just need to use professional security software that can do regular scanning, block threats and help exercise personal caution,” he said.

According to Trend Micro, the latest rise in threats is part of a trend that has started to heat up, with an eight percent increase in infections over the last five years.

Saudi Arabia, the security giant said, reported a 45 percent increase of infected systems over the same five period. Following the Kingdom was Oman with just under nine percent, then Bahrain with six percent, the UAE with 4.5 percent, Qatar with 4 percent and Kuwait with 1.5 percent.

“The number of compromised machines is a key indicator of how well the cyber criminals are doing in stealing from the region,” said Ian Cochran, marketing manager at Med, Middle East and Africa.

“The visible infections have been increasing, more than doubling in less than a year. The bad guys are winning because in this region we are not taking security seriously.”

He added that the number of infected PCs in the Gulf region would continue to grow unless the region starts to recognize that it is vulnerable and takes steps to protect itself.