Malware infected websites have doubled since last year

Malware is on the increase, and new figures from Google show exactly how big the problem is.

The number of sites on Google’s Safe Browsing Malware List has increased by around 190,000 since this time last year as this graph shows. That’s more than double in a year – frightening.

The scariest thing is that sites on the graph are only ones that Google have identified – there are going to be more out there as yet undiscovered. Sites on Google’s list give warnings to users of Google search, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari before loading, so many people will be protected but woe betide the mass of IE users who will visit these sites unwarned and end up with an infected machine… and the potential to spread the infection on to many more.

That said, Internet Explorer 8 is claimed to be the most secure browser yet and reports today claim that the retail version of OSX Snow Leopard has had malware protection built in, a sign that Apple finally believes its OS is a serious target. As the malware peddlers ramp up their game, it’s at least a little reassuring to know that the ‘good guys’ are serious about improving security on the web.

For some of the top malware infected sites see the Top 10 sites to avoid at all costs.