August 29, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Web research organization Hostexploit (hostexploit.com) has released a report identifying Concord, California-based web host Atrivo (atrivo.com) as a major, long-time source of fake anti-virus products, spyware, adware and viruses.
A 39-page study by cyber crime researchers Jart Armin, Matt Jonkman and James McQuaid called "Atrivo - Cyber Crime USA" tracks and documents past and ongoing cyber crime by web servers controlled by Atrivo. Atrivo controls a large number of IP addresses as one of the Internet's Autonomous Systems, a connected collection of IP routing prefixes with one, clearly defined routing policy.
Looking at both empirical data and anecdotal evidence, the authors have identified many cases from 2004 to the present where Atrivo was the main host for financial scams, identity theft, spam and malware.
According to data from research organization StopBadware.org, Atrivo has hosted significantly more infected sites from November 2007 to July 2008, recording more than six percent in February, compared to the 0.01 percent that legitimate web hosts typically record.
Atrivo spokesperson Emil Kacperski issued the statement, "We will shut down and take offline any servers that have malicious software or causing harm to anyone. But of course we need proof that this is the case."
According to Hostexploit, the study authors have provided sufficient proof. "The study provides hard data regarding specific current activity within Atrivo, explains how consumers are targeted, describes Atrivo's virtual network structure, organizational modeling, and cites Atrivo's collusive failure to respond to abuse complaints from 2004 to the present," Hostexploit stated on its website.
