Watch out for “dirty” websites

In a previous post, we pointed out how just browsing the web these days can possibly infect your PC with malware. To show how dangerous surfing can become, Symantec recently released their list of the “Dirtiest Websites of Summer” – the top 100 infected sites on the Internet based on number of threats detected by their software as of August 2009. The list identifies websites that could compromise security with risks including phishing, malicious downloads, browser exploits, and links to unsafe external sites.

Some interesting findings from the study:

• The average number of threats per site on the Dirtiest Websites list is roughly 18,000, compared to 23 threats per site for most sites
• 40 of the Top 100 Dirtiest Sites have more than 20,000 threats per site
• 48% of the Top 100 Dirtiest Web sites feature adult content
• 3/4 of the Top 100 Dirtiest Web sites have distributed malware for more than 6 months
• Viruses are the most common threat represented on the Dirtiest Websites list, followed by security risks and browser exploits

You can read more about this research at Symantec’s website. If you suspect your PCs are at risk, or if you want to ensure your website doesn’t get hijacked by cybercriminals, contact us. We can help.

Related articles:

• Symantec lists “Dirtiest Web Sites”
• Virus Security By Leveraging Community And Clouds
• Smartphone users need more security