The number of web pages infected with viruses continues to climb. Between January and March 2008, US-based IT security company Sophos discovered a newly-infected website every five seconds on average.
A year ago, that figure stood at "just" every 14 seconds, the company reported from its Mainz offices. "Anyone who calls up infected websites can count on attacks by malicious programs," explains Matthias Gaertner from the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology (BSI) in Bonn.
No matter what the content, cyber-criminals attack specific security holes in web sites. Even reputable Internet pages are not impervious to this.
"Hackers look very closely to see where they can cause the most damage. They undertake highly targeted surveillance of security holes on heavily trafficked web sites," the computer experts say.
To protect against malicious software, Gaertner advises the use of both anti-virus software and a firewall. Regular application of security updates, known as patches, is also crucial. Even better protection is offered by programmes that query users before allowing potentially dangerous Websites to be called up. The majority of infected websites in the first quarter of 2008 were based in the US (42 percent), followed by China (30.1 percent) and Russia (10.3 percent), the Sophos analysis found. Germany held fourth place with 2.2 percent.
One major source of malicious software are games and expansion packs being traded on what are known as P2P networks, warns software maker G Data. A current study by the company found that of 1,000 files taken under the microscope, 65 percent were virus infected. Six months ago that share lay at only 30 percent.