Malicious sites jump 200 percent

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.

In addition, 61.6 percent of all Web-based malware intercepted in March were newly identified.

Also on the rise: the number of e-mail messages carrying links to malicious sites, said the security vendor. Some 20.3 percent, or one in five, contained links to such sites in March--a 16.5 percent increase over last month.