A recent blog post from Microsoft details socially engineered malware attacks and shows how these malicious programs are designed to trick users into running them.  Attacks of this nature are more common than attacks on security vulnerabilities, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft reports that one out of every 14 programs downloaded by Windows users contains malware.  You may be selective in what programs you choose to download, but without the proper care, downloading the wrong program can put your security software to the test.  Internet Explorer 9 features multiple layers of security designed to protect users from such malware attacks, but many users choose to outright ignore these warnings.

“IE9 adds another layer of defense against socially engineered attacks that now looks at the application being downloaded – this is in addition to the URL-based protection… This new layer of protection is called SmartScreen Application Reputation,” Microsoft explains. “When it comes to program downloads, other browsers today either warn on every file or don’t warn at all. Neither of these approaches helps the user make a better decision. Application Reputation also addresses a limitation present in all block-based approaches that happens at the beginning of new attacks, before a Web site or program has been identified as malicious.”

It looks like Microsoft’s new security protocols are working.  While five percent of IE9 users may choose to ignore malware warnings, 95 percent delete the malware laden program or don’t run it at all.

With the Application Reputation system, Microsoft hopes to prevent over 20 million infections per month.  The 20 million goes above and beyond the existing SmartScreen URL reputation blocks already in place.

Click here to read the entire post from Microsoft.

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