Almost half the websites pushing malware are hosted by just 10 networks, according to a new report that adds new support to the growing argument that a relatively few number of actors are responsible for most of the net-based threats.

The report (PDF) from StopBadware.org also showed a dramatic rise in China's role in the malware epidemic. Six of the 10 networks were internet service providers or backbone providers based in China and hosted more than 41 percent of the malicious websites.

Not that US companies weren't also contributing to the problem. Three American companies also made the list, including Google, whose blogs hosted 4,261 sites, or about 2 percent of the booby-trapped destinations.

The findings come a few weeks after anti-spam outfit Knujon released a separate report that found that almost 75 percent of spam sites were signed up by just 10 registrars. Once again, the three biggest offenders were located in China and included Xinnet Bei Gong Da Software, BEIJINGNN and Todaynic.

In many cases, owners of sites found pushing counterfeit watches, Viagra and other merchandise touted in spam failed to include correct contact information when registering the sites, as required. In an attempt to crack down on abusers, Knujon has begun reporting offenders to ICANN, which requires all website owners to be listed in a whois director. The sheer volume of the complaints has in some cases put a strain on ICANN's servers.

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