Catching a Virus On the Web

If you want to avoid catching the flu, stay out of public buildings and airplanes. If you want to keep your computer from catching malware, avoid web sites.

Seems drastic, right? But a recent report by Dasient identifies 640,000 web sites and 5.8 million web pages as being infected by malware.


If that's not frightening enough, how about this handy information?

Meanwhile, the Google blacklist of malware infected sites has more than doubled in the last year, registering as many as 40,000 new sites in one week.

Most of the malware is delivered via JavaScript or iFrames injected into otherwise legitimate sites, which means two things - first, that web developers are still doing a crappy job of securing their code, and second, you can't even trust mainstream sites.

That means it's time for me to again rant about using a browser other than Internet Explorer, advise you to keep your Windows OS (if you insist on sticking with Microsoft) and any applications fully patched at all times (Secunia PSI is a good choice, especially for peripheral apps), and run a recognized antivirus product that's updated at least daily.

Oh, and if you're using your computer for online banking, financial transactions, or shopping, you may want to check out my posting here on using a Live CD to keep malware from stealing your information.

Via cnet Insecurity Complex

Image via Wikimedia Commons