Blue Coat Systems has published its annual Blue Coat Web Security Report for 2009, which provides a comprehensive analysis of user behavior in relation to Web-based threats and specifically examines where users encountered malware on the Internet.   

Based on data collected from the Blue Coat WebPulse service, the report concludes that the overwhelming popularity of social networking services and changes in online user behavior are driving broader attack strategies, including complex blended threats, faster malware lifecycles and search engine manipulation.    

The information in the report is based on an analysis of data collected from the Blue Coat WebPulse service, a cloud-based collaborative defense that unites 62 million users to provide on-demand security intelligence and real-time ratings for 17 languages.   

WebPulse complements BlueCoat WebFilter and Blue Coat ProxySG appliances in a hybrid design to provide a first line of defense against malicious attacks for any user, on any network, in any location.