Popularity is becoming a two-edged sword for Linux.

The open source operating system has become a key component of the Internet's infrastructure, and it's also the foundation for the world's largest mobile OS, Google's Android.

Widespread use of the OS, though, has attracted the attention of hackers looking to transfer the dirty tricks previously aimed at Windows to Linux.

Last year, for example, ransomware purveyors targeted Linux. Granted, it wasn't a very virulent strain of ransomware, but more potent versions likely will be on the way.

The Baidu Web browser for Windows and Android exhibits behavior that could easily allow a security researcher to categorize it as an infostealer virus because it collects information on its users and then sends it to Baidu's home servers.

In second place was Conficker - first discovered in 2008 - which again allows remote control and malware downloads. Together, these two families were responsible for nearly 40% of all malware attacks detected in 2015.

Conficker meanwhile continued in its position as King of the Worms, remaining the most prevalent malware type and accounting for 25% of all known attacks during the period. Conficker is popular with criminals thanks to its focus on disabling security services to create more vulnerabilities in the network, enabling them to be compromised further and used for launching DDoS and spam attacks.

"Thanks for letting us know about this! We'll get it fixed immediately!" said almost no company ever.

There's a long, but definitely not proud, tradition of companies shooting the messenger when informed of security flaws or possible breaches. The tradition continues.

uKnowKids is monitoring software parents can install on their children's cell phones that allows them to track their child's location, as well as social media activity, text messages and created media. As such, it collects quite a bit of info.