Malware Doubles in 2007
Sophos, an antivirus and anti-spam company, reports that researchers have discovered 23,864 new threats within the first three months of this year. Last year in the same period they had discovered 9,450. That's more than twice the number of threats which is quite alarming.
What is also alarming is the fact that more virus writers are using malicious Web sites to accomplish their misdeeds. In the past most malware had been hidden in malicious attachments to email, but this practice seems to be declining in favor of malicious Web sites. It seems that hackers are adapting to the increasing knowledge that computer users have about email-based malware.
Researchers found that 70% of the malware incidents from Web sites were legitimate Web sites that were vulnerable to attack because of poor coding and maintenance. Most Internet users presume that sites are safe to access if they are from established businesses or companies. But, any Web site can become victim to malware infection if it is poorly coded, unpatched, and not maintained correctly. In February, hackers infected the Miami Dolphins Web site right before the Miami football stadium was set to host the Super Bowl. This affected a large number of users who were visiting the site for game information.
Scary, isn't it?
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