Religious websites most targeted by hackers, report says

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Online religion may be good for your soul but dangerous for your computer, according to a new report.

A report by Symantec, a company that sells computer-security software, rates websites devoted to religion or other ideologies the ones most targeted by malicious hackers.

Infected religious websites averaged 115 threats, most commonly fake anti-virus software, Symantec said. That was three times the rate of hosting and personal hosted websites and four-and-one-half times that of pornographic sites. 

The safest places for web surfing are sites about sports (average 13 threats per infected site), automotive (11) and shopping (nine).

Symantec said it blocked over 5.5 billion malware attacks in 2011, an 81 percent increase over 2010. An average of 82 targeted attacks takes place each day, and you are more likely to be infected by malware placed on a legitimate website than one created by a hacker, the report said.

Macs are not immune from attack, and spammers are starting to use Quick Response, or QR, codes to trick users into installing Trojans — benign programs that also conceal another malicious program — onto their Android phones.

The report advises computer users to use up-to-date security programs and become educated about hacker tricks like getting them to believe their computer is infected and can be fixed with an automatic download or offering “free” or “pirated” versions of computer programs.

Symantec recommends passwords that are a mix of letters and numbers and to change them often. Never open an email attachment unless you expect it or trust the sender, and be cautious when clicking on links in e-mails or on social media.