August 31, 2009, 6:57 AM — Since January of 2008, the number of Google search results that include links to malicious Web sites has decreased to less than 1 percent.
According to a recent post on Google’s online security blog, the percentage of daily queries containing at least one search result that brings searchers to a Web site known to download malware or in other ways hurt users’ PCs now hovers around 0.8 percent. That’s down from 1.2 percent in January of 2008.
Among June’s Top Ten list of Web sites spreading malware are two sites attempting to spoof Google sites; one called googleanalytics.net, and the other goooogleleadsence.biz (sic).
Google notes that the number of infected Web sites out there has jumped since April. The number of different types of malware that Google tracks has doubled in one year, according to the blog, and there have been stretches when the company saw 40,000 compromised Web sites in one week.
As of July, there were approximately 330,000 different types of malware on Google’s list. Yet the company also says it may be finding more infected Web sites these days because its detection methods have improved.
Google provides a Safe Browsing API to Web site owners, which generates a warning message when users attempt to visit sites that are known to spread malware.
Do you tweet? Follow me on Twitter here.
