19th
Website categories that cause the most damage to users
Web of Trust (WOT), an online reputation rating community, has unveiled the findings of its study that looked at the categories of websites that are the most dangerous for Internet users. These website categories can cause major financial damage and damage to computers.
Based on an analysis of 17 million websites rated by the WOT users community, three categories emerged as causing the most damage: adult content (28 per cent); software (27 per cent), which includes free and licensed software sold and downloaded over the Internet; and entertainment (16 per cent) sites that include movies, games, music, screensavers and smileys.
Other dangerous categories include search sites, digital marketing providers and consumer research sites that make empty promises of free gifts or money.
The main vehicle in the above scams is a permanent website, unlike the “throwaway” sites used in phishing attacks carried out with the aid of fraudulent e-mail messages. Dangerous sites usually remain in business for months or years, attracting millions of visitors and causing them damage.
The nature of this damage includes direct financial damage caused by non-delivered or poor-quality products, by lack of payment or through credit/debit card fraud. Computer damage is caused by installing malicious software or changing the computer’s settings. Increasing online threats include spyware that makes the user vulnerable to further attacks.
“With this study we wanted to shed light on the dark corners of the Internet. The findings show that Internet users should be really cautious when downloading software, movies, music and screensavers, not to mention when visiting sites with adult content,” said Esa Suurio, head of WOT and CEO of Against Intuition, Inc., a provider of software and services for the WOT community and promotes the community’s goals.
A list of the 50 websites with the worst reputation and deemed dangerous can be found here
“Many of the dangerous websites are well designed and seem reliable, but if you download content from them you may run into problems, even with the latest security software installed on your PC. In particular, spyware can bypass security controls, leaving you vulnerable to further attacks,” Suurio said.
