Religious Websites & Computer Viruses

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Symantec April 2012

quote:

'Based on Norton Safe Web32 data – Symantec technology that scans the Web looking for websites hosting malware – we’ve determined that 61% of malicious sites are actually regular Web sites that have been compromised and infected with malicious code.

By Category, The Top-5 Most Infected Websites Are:

1 Blogs & Web communications
2 Hosting/Personal hosted sites
3 Business/Economy
4 Shopping
5 Education & Reference

'It is interesting to note that Web sites hosting adult/pornographic content are not in the top five, but ranked tenth.'

'Moreover, religious and ideological sites were found to have triple the average number of threats per infected site than adult/pornographic sites. We hypothesize that this is because pornographic website owners already make money from the internet and, as a result, have a vested interest in keeping their sites malware-free – it’s not good for repeat business.'

Slate.com May 24 2012

quote:

Header

'When it comes to computer viruses, you’re now more likely to catch one visiting a church website than surfing for porn.'

quote:

'As with herpes, one of the peripheral embarrassments of contracting a computer virus is that everyone has a pretty good idea of what you were up to when you got it. Oh sure, it’s possible you just chastely pecked a misleading email link. But odds are you picked it up because you were dallying on one of those shady, fly-by-night websites that people visit when they’re seeking fulfillment. You know—religious sites.'

'In its latest annual Internet security threat report, Symantec, the maker of Norton AntiVirus software, found that “religious and ideological sites” have far surpassed pornographic websites as targets for criminal hackers. According to the company you’re now three times as likely to encounter malware—insidious software that can steal your data, pelt you with spam, or enslave your machine in a botnet—on your local church blog as you are on a porn site.

The explanation is straightforward: The entrepreneurs who run adult websites are old hands at Web security, and they’ve long since learned to use protection. Those who build and host church websites, by contrast, may have the best intentions, but they tend to be naive and inexperienced. For hackers, that makes them easy prey.' 'Merighi says the online porn industry in the 1990s resembled the online religious community today—technologically speaking, of course. Enterprising photographers, filmmakers, bloggers, and businesspeople with limited Web savvy were starting their own sites in droves, often using the cheapest and simplest platforms available. Hackers soon capitalized, giving porn sites a well-deserved reputation as cesspools of malware, spam, intrusive pop-up ads, and sneaky redirects. But as traffic soared and companies began to cash in, competition became stiff, and the industry consolidated.'

'Religious sites aren’t a category unto themselves, but are split between blogs, self-hosted sites, and “education/reference” sites, which rank fifth on the “most-infected” list.'

End quotes

Computer viruses and malware are bad for the pornography business and therefore it is no surprise that these sites would often be secure.

One thing religious sites and pornographic sites have in common is potential for controversy and both could be targets for hackers based on philosophical considerations.

A person or group may have strong disagreements with site content and view hacking a site as a form of retaliation.

On my other blog I was noting in the most recent post's comment that I recently had the following issue on my laptop:

If 'Unable To Connect To Proxy Server' arrives on your computer screen and web access is denied although one has email with Windows, with the Google Chrome browser it provides directions on how to reset back to LAN status and not proxy. 

Settings-Show Advanced Settings-Change Proxy Settings-LAN Settings-Unclick Use A Proxy Server For Your LAN

I then did a search on the web to gain some information on where these computer viruses are most likely to be found and thus the inspiration for this post.

I have had my share of computer viruses and malware and have several security programs.

Windows 7 with my laptop has been less troublesome.

On more than once occasion with Windows XP and my former desktop I have downloaded specific fixes for specific viruses, usually Trojans of some type.

ZeroAccess rootkit was probably the most difficult to deal with as it places itself into Windows processes and eliminates or prohibits access to certain programs. I was blocked from the world wide web and had to use another computer to find fixes and as well the virtually 'satanic' program prohibited access to my anti-virus programs.

This required a Windows XP operating system reformat to clean and fix. Even with most of the files backed up and programs on disc, with my previous and last desktop it took approximately twenty four hours to reload all my files and programs after reformat.

I downloaded ZeroAccess rootkit off of You Tube! Twice. Connected to videos.

Trojan horses and rootkits and Ad Rotator viruses that played audio advertisements in the background and also redirected my browsers were the second most difficult form of virus and malware to deal with. The first time I downloaded these my programs eventually deleted them, the second time none of them worked and I temporarily used a paid for program that eventually deleted them after several weeks.

I ended the subscription after six months.

I reason these viruses and malware were picked up from blogs.

The persons that create these viruses and malware need to get a life. The creators of the more serious viruses obviously have talent and skill and it is being wasted in work that I doubt often benefits them financially.

Morally and ethically to create viruses and malware for web viewers is a form of attack on personal property.

There should be more legal ramifications for such hackers, if they can be caught.

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