McAfee Avert Labs, a monitoring and research division of McAfee Inc., claims that malware attacks are on the rise, and the targets are often gamers.

According to McAfee, there was a 245% growth in the amount of malware being developed from 2006 to 2007, with roughly 300% more developed from 2007 to 2008. So far this year, development already exceeds 2006 and 2007 combined.

Earlier this year, McAfee released a list of some of the most dangerous web domains. Even major, reputable websites are not immune, although the problems are usually addressed almost instantly. Commonly targeted websites include social networking sites like Facebook, as well as gaming sites.

The developers harvest the information, and sell it to others who then exploit it, possibly to steal your account information.

With so little time until Wrath of the Lich King, I'd like to remind everyone that buying gold or power-leveling services is not only not permitted, it is likely to get you burned.

For more information on protecting your computer from keyloggers and other malware, check out the following guides:

1. Avoid catching anything nasty while patching.
2. Learn how to preserve your online privacy. The passwords and usernames that you choose and reuse might be putting you at risk.
3. Miss-spelling could get you keylogged. Find out how, and what you can do about it.
4. There are some programs and browser plug-ins you can install for free that can help protect your computer.

Not sure where to start? Check out our WoW Rookie guide to account security basics or our quick overview of how a keylogging program works and what you can do about it.

Tags: account-security, buying-gold, keylogger, keyloggers-wow, keylogging, malware, malware-games, malware-wow, mcafee, mcafee-inc, mcafeeinc., trojans, tweet-this, wow-gold, wow-powerleveling

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, News items, Features, Wrath of the Lich King, Account Security