The IT security vendor says that computer safety is not just about keeping 'inappropriate' adult content away from the computer.
As the new school year begins, Avast says that both students and parents will find themselves scouring the web to keep updated on potential new schools, courses, learning tools and more.
Unfortunately, even these web searches can be risky, as the following sites were found to be the most infected education-related websites:
- treehousepre-school.co.uk
- libyanschool.co.uk
- southernwoodpreschool.co.uk
- wilbarstonschool.co.uk
- lsecollege.co.uk
- acecollege.co.uk
- southbankcollege.co.uk
- angliancollege.co.uk
- polishstudent.co.uk
- sociologyonline.co.uk
Commenting on the list and its implications, Ondrej Vlcejk, Avast's chief technology officer, said that with the start of the new school year, many students will acquire new computers and getting a certified anti-virus and anti-spyware software is a key step in protecting this investment.
"It is fact of life that education is not immune from the danger of malicious and hijacked websites. The real lesson to be learned is that all computer users need to be protected from malware and viruses", he explained.
Vlcek also cautions parents and students buying systems to be wary of time-limited free anti virus software pre-installed on new computer and laptops.
"Many of these will pop up with a message requesting you to spend between £30 to £50 to keep your machine protected", he said, adding that free applications like Avast are just as effective as some of the pre-installed paid products on a new PC.
Because of its findings, Avast advises new PC users to install a certified anti-virus software application and make sure that updates for your computer operating system, anti-virus programme and other applications are in automatic mode.
Users are also encouraged to source original software, as downloaded 'warez' may come with malware attached and unpatched Windows systems are especially vulnerable to attack.