Domain name
Around 19 per cent of sites ending with .hk posed some sort of security risk

Researchers map out web badlands

Hong Kong's .hk named as riskiest domain

Shaun Nichols in California

Domains in Hong Kong, China and the Philippines have been named as the most potentially dangerous on the web.

A recent report by security firm McAfee found that the three nations had the highest percentage of malicious sites within their domain suffixes.

Advertisement

Researchers estimated that roughly 19 per cent of all sites ending with the .hk suffix posed some sort of security threat. Second place was China's .cn with 11 per cent posing a security risk.

The .hk domain took the top spot on the list from Tokelau, a small island in the south Pacific with a population of roughly 1,500. Tokelau's .tk domain fell to 28th overall on the list.

"Just like the real world, the virtual threats and risks are constantly changing," said Jeff Green, senior vice president of product development at McAfee.

"As our research shows, sites that are safe today can be dangerous tomorrow. Surfing the web based on conventional wisdom is not enough to avoid risks."

Just like the real world, the virtual threats and risks are constantly changing

Jeff Green McAfee

The .com domain, the most popular on the internet, was ninth riskiest overall, while .gov was the safest among the generic domains.

Finland's .fi was ranked as the safest on the internet, with .05 per cent of sites posing a possible threat. Japan's .jp and Norway's .no rounded out the list of the three safest domains.

"This study should act as a wake-up call for administrators of top-level domains," said Green.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

Spam

Spammers exploit Google Docs

Cyber-crooks turn to mainstream hosted services

Domain name

UK domain prices soaring

Increased popularity of .co.uk sparks interest from phishers

Sedo discusses domain management

Sedo discusses the challenges of domain management on the web today

America.com goes under the hammer

Domain name has reserve price of $1m

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

iPhone

Video Review: iPhone 3GS

We put Apple's latest iPhone through its paces

Xperia X1

Video Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

First Looks Editor Ian Williams gets hands on with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

IT white papers

Search white papers

Top categories

Poll

Poll: Summer smartphones

Poll: Summer smartphones

Which smartphone will you be taking to the beach this summer?

View poll results

Advertisement

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Spotlight

Google Chrome

Microsoft has no need to worry about Chrome OS

Redmond may actually welcome the new arrival

Dr Aladdin Ayesh

Is it time for the Turing Test to retire?

It is nearly 60 years since Alan Turing devised a...

Security double standards

Broadband provider Tiscali has launched new figures showing an alarming...

Beach

Top 10 holiday gadgets

A wry look at the must-have beach items for any...

Primary Navigation