Botnets on the decline? And just how do you think the vast majority of spam is distributed? What do you think rootkits are for? They're publishing self serving surveys.

The "survey" is published by a firm which makes money from end-users who buy anti-virus software. Independent testing shows that "for-cash" AV software is inferior to "for-free" AV software in overall effectiveness, security, and PCU-time usage. Frankly, if it weren't bundled with a lot OEM Windows installs, I don't think the stuff would make enough money to keep them afloat.