Blogs riddled with offensive content

Blogs can expose corporate networks to legal liability and viruses

ScanSafe has reported that up to 80 per cent of blogs contain potentially offensive content.

The security firm's latest Global Threat report said that the content can range from adult language to pornographic images, while six per cent of blogs were found to host malware.

The report is based on real-time analysis of more than seven billion web requests and more than 12 million web threats blocked by the company in March on behalf of its corporate customers.

"Blogs are a great vehicle for self-expression and the exchange of ideas," said Dan Nadir, vice president of product strategy at ScanSafe.

"But employees visiting these sites can unknowingly expose corporate networks to legal liability, viruses and loss of proprietary information.

"The content on blogs and other sites powered by user contributions is constantly changing. As a result, web security solutions that rely on web crawling rather than scanning the URL each time it is requested, can leave users exposed to malware and unwanted content."

The top five malware programs found on blogs:

1. Trojan.Win32.Diamin.js
2. Trojan-Downloader.VBS.Small.ca
3. Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Delf.acc
4. Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.bfd
5. Trojan.JS.Cardst,1,1

• ScanSafe Global Threat Report (PDF)