Symantec got its hands down in the muck Aug. 19 with a list of the “Dirtiest Web Sites of Summer 2009.”
These are the worst of the worst:100 sites dirty enough to make a malware author smile. According to Symantec, the average number of threats for those on the list is a whopping 18,000 per site. Forty of the 100, however, have more than 20,000 each.
Malware was the prevalent threat on the sites, but they also featured browser exploits and other security risks, according to Symantec. Three-quarters of the sites have been spreading malware for more than six months.
Not surprisingly, many of the sites (48 percent) feature adult content. However, the remainder play host to a variety of subject matter, ranging from deer hunting to figure skating. An incomplete list can be found here.
“This list underscores what our research shows — there has been exponential growth in the number of online threats that are constantly evolving as cyber-criminals look for new ways to target your money, identity or assets. In 2008, most new infections occurred while people were surfing the Web,” Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of Symantec’s Consumer Business Unit, said in a statement.