The threat from Web-based malware is growing at a rapid pace, with nearly 200 percent more malicious sites identified this month, according to a new report from MessageLabs.
Released Tuesday, the MessageLabs Intelligence Report revealed that 2, 797 new Web sites hosting malicious content including spyware, were blocked by the security vendor in March, a 200 percent jump over the previous month.
The rise, which was the highest since October 2008, was largely due to a spike in the number of images containing injected scripts. Such images were also found in e-mail messages during the month, said MessageLabs, now a Symantec company.