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December 1, 2009

Symantec lists 100 dirtiest websites of 2009

Fake antivirus sites are most common threat

Carrie-Ann Skinner

Websites offering fake antivirus software are prominent in a new '100 Dirtiest Websites of 2009' list compiled by Symantec.

The security firm used its website safety rating service, Norton Safe Web, to compile a list of sites available on the web today that contain the most threats.

The average number of threats per malicious site is 23, but those that made the list have a staggering average of 18,000 threats per site.

In fact, 40 of the 100 dirtiest websites have more than 20,000 threats per site and 75 percent have distributed malware for more than six months.

Symantec's Dirtiest Sites 2009

Symantec says that visiting one of these sites, without downloading or clicking on anything in particular, could put you at risk of exposing your computer to infection, and worse, put your identity, personal and financial information into the hands of cybercriminals.

Multimedia sites and adult sites also feature heavily in the list. However, the remainder of the dirtiest sites cover subjects ranging from laser engraving and gaming cheats, news sites and glove retailers.

The US hosts the majority of these 'dirty sites' but was closely followed by China, Germany, Canada and the UK.

"As the results suggest, online threats are constantly evolving as cybercriminals continue to look for sneaky and more complex ways to trick people into giving out personal details, targeting their money, identity and assets," explains Con Mallon, EMEA consumer product marketing director.

Symantec said it has chosen not to publish the list due to the explicit nature of the URLs.

PC security advice

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See also: Symantec reveals the web's 100 dirtiest sites

Free whitepaper: Phishing for victims - Truth, myth and cybercrime

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Comments received


Tom said on Wednesday, 02 December 2009

This article is useless, just like the last on this subject, since it doesn't reveal even the root URL of the sites so they can be added to my blocked list. News without content is junk.

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