14 DAY TRIAL // According to a recent research conducted by security company Sophos, China, United States and Russia are the countries that host the biggest amount of dangerous websites with 53.9 percent, 27.2 percent and 4.5 percent. It seems like the most popular malware files hosted by these countries are Mal/Iframe with 49.2 percent, Troj/Psyme with 8.3 percent and Troj/Fujif with 7.9 percent.
"Mal/Iframe is a textbook example of a spawning web threat that targets and exploits vulnerable sites regardless of whether the content is about pottery or pornography. Web security solutions must go beyond blocking websites based simply on category - a gambling site may seem more of a threat, but sometimes the most innocuous sounding site can pose the greatest danger," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
The interesting matter comes from the evolution of the malware distribution as the hackers are now using PDF files and USB removable disks in order to install the infections on other computers. If you didn't know, you can infect your computer by connecting an USB memory stick to your computer and, once the disk is connected, the virus automatically copies on the system. Every time a new and clean USB stick is inserted into the port, the virus is transferred to it and spreads to other clean computers.
"Hackers have also taken advantage of users who have "auto-run" enabled on their Windows PC to automatically execute malicious code as soon as an infected removable flash drive is connected to the computer. Notable examples this year were the LiarVB-A worm which spread information about AIDS and HIV via USB keys, and the Hairy worm which claimed that teen wizard Harry Potter was dead. However, neither threat became widespread and both could be protected against using up-to-date anti-virus software at the desktop," Sophos wrote in the research.