If we asked you which websites you thought most viruses come from, what would you say? We think that many of you would say pornography websites, but actually blogs are the worst offenders! (Not PC PAL's blog though....we keep it clean!).
New reports from Symantec showed that a massive 20% of blogs are infected by viruses compared to just 2% of pornography sites. Blog sites usually contain a massive variety of text, images, links and adverts and have clearly now become highly targeted as easy ways to spread viruses.
Blogs/Web Communications | 19.8% |
Hosting/Personal Hosted Sites | 15.6% |
Business/Economy Sites | 10.0% |
Shopping | 7.7% |
Education/Reference | 6.9% |
Technology Computer and Internet | 6.9% |
Entertainment and Music | 3.8% |
Automotive | 3.8% |
Health and Medicine | 2.7% |
Pornography | 2.4% |
Symantec has also warned Mac users, advising they are not immune like once thought. Reports have shown a massive increase in threats including Trojans such as MacDefender, a fake anti-virus program that looks convincing to the eye. Social Media sites were also reported as being a big threat with millions of people sharing external links as well as personal data.
The report also indicates the biggest threat for the next few years will be with smartphones. With people accessing online banking, various email accounts, down-loading applications, public Wi-Fi and storing masses of data. Mobile malware can cause a number of serious problems. A mobile virus can drain your phone’s battery extremely fast, delete your personal and important business information and even render certain features completely nonfunctional. Not only can a virus disable a function on your phone, snoopware may also take control of it, turning your mobile device into a walking tape recorder. It can even turn your camera on, take pictures and display them online.
For more information on staying safe online and general secutity, check out our otherblog articles below
For any other advice or concerns you may have about viruses or security online, contact you local PC PAL engineer.