Internet surfing is becoming more perilous by the day claims online security expert Sophos PLC, which has this week highlighted the shocking growth rate attributed to the spread of Web page malware, reports PC World.
More pointedly, a new threat report released by the Oxfordshire-based anti-virus software maker points out that malware infections on the Web have risen by a massive 600 percent since the start of 2007.
According to Sophos’ report, it detected some 30,000 newly-infected Web pages every day throughout the month of June, which marks a huge proliferation spike when measured against the 5,000 daily pages it registered back in January.
Worrying, Sophos also revealed that most of these infections were found on otherwise respectable and aboveboard Web sites which wouldn’t generally arrouse caution in the unsuspecting user. Sophos offers that some 8 out of every 10 instances of malware are now found on perfectly legitimate sites that have been unknowingly hijacked.
"Simple measures such as keeping up to date with security patches will go a long way towards thwarting this problem; the fewer holes in server setups, the lower the risk of infection," advised Graham Cluley, a senior tech consultant at Sophos regarding how Web site owners should help close the vulnerabilities currently being exploited by hackers. "Hosts not behaving responsibly must bite the bullet and take better care of their sites," he added.
In terms of infected site share attributed to differing server destinations, the Sophos report outlined that around 51 percent were to be found on open-source Web server Apache, while Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) server was responsible for 34 percent.
"Web security solutions must go beyond blocking sites based simply on category," suggested Cluley, who also noted that the report clearly defined malware as a problem not just attributed to Microsoft. "A gambling site may seem more of a threat, but sometimes the most innocuous sounding site can pose the greatest danger."
The Sophos threat report was amassed by assessing 1 million online sample pages and evaluating them for malicious or illegal content. The company offers that some 28.8 percent (roughly one-in-three) of tested Web pages attempted to transfer malware, while 19.4 percent forced spam, and 4.3 percent hosted illegal content including pirated software.
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