Avast

Landing on an infected site is as simple as just looking for something … NHS, roofing supplies, fireworks. To keep computer users across the UK protected during the hectic summer, AVAST Software, providers of the avast! antivirus program, has released the first of its “UK’s Most Infected” list of the most infected websites, alerting consumers to beware of the month’s infected websites as well as trends and site genres to approach with caution. 

avast! virus labs uncovered an overwhelming small business theme during May for the most infected types of websites. Websites set up by small businesses to promote goods and services were prominent on the list as well as “fake” sites for well known UK organisations such as nhs.uk and blueyonder.co.uk have been infecting users’ computers with malware and other viruses. 

During the month of May, avast! detected infection on thousands of sites. However, infections on many of these sites may well have been removed after the testing period. The following is a sampling from the month’s “UK’s Most Infected” list: 

Airsoftsniper.co.uk 

Callingtoncommunitycollege.co.uk 

Diamondsgymclub.org.uk 

Estoys.co.uk 

Fireworks-mail-order.co.uk 

Girliethingswales.co.uk 

Healthandbeautyaids.co.uk 

Ipersonals.co.uk 

Jennifer-cakes4celebrations.co.uk 

Multimania.co.uk 

NHS.uk 

“This is bad news for the general public as it means there are more infections at high profile, legitimate sites with a high visit rate,” explains Ondrej Vlcek, avast! Chief Technology Officer. “Small businesses are easy targets as they often don’t employ in-house IT staff and tend to use basic hosting services with limited threat prevention technology. While users should be cautious, most on-line hazards can simply not be seen. For this reason, avast! is more reliable than your own eyes for keeping malware out of your computer.” 

To help keep users protected against the month’s most infected websites, avast! offers the following ways to steer clear of hackers and malware: 

•   Watch where you click. Don’t click on all search engine results or pop-ups that suddenly appear on your computer. You might get yourself infected with a fake security program. 

•   Stay up to date. Keep your browser and related programs up-to-date with the newest security updates. This will reduce the opportunity for hackers to take over your computer through a known vulnerability. 

•   Get a good antivirus program. Make sure you have a certified antivirus program properly installed, which includes a web shield to protect against on-line threats.