Analysis of nearly three million random URLs also reveals that over one-third contain pornography

MIAMI, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Optenet, a global IT security company and provider of high-performance content filtering solutions, today announced the results of a report showing that adult content on the Internet -- including pro-anorexia and bulimia, racism, violence and child pornography -- has significantly increased since the end of 2006.

The report utilizes Optenet's unique traffic analysis and classification engine for dynamic traffic, which combines artificial intelligence with traditional content filtering technology to categorize Web site and Web 2.0 content. The report tracks Internet content trends since the end of 2006, based on a random sampling of nearly three million Web sites from around the world. Key findings include: -- Pro-anorexia and bulimia Web sites have increased by 470 percent; -- Pages associated with violent content increased 125 percent; -- Web sites promoting racism experienced a 70 percent increase; -- Pro-drug Web sites increased by 62 percent; and -- Content related to child pornography increased 18 percent.

Originally founded 10 years ago as an Internet service provider dedicated to creating a safer Web experience for minors, Optenet evolved into a security vendor that provides content security technology to service providers and enterprises worldwide. The company has a long track record of protecting minors online and now makes it easy for service providers to extend that same protection to their customers. Optenet has helped to create a number of child safety initiatives, including Securenet, a European network of child sexual abuse hotlines, NetProtect II, Sift and Infonet, programs that aid in the production of filtering and online classification systems. All of these efforts have been endorsed by the European Commission's Safer Internet Program. In addition, Optenet's latest project, Selecta, uses language analysis techniques and tools to automatically classify Internet content.

Optenet is also affiliated with NGO Protegeles and the International Association of Internet Hotlines, INHOPE.

"Due to the rapidly increasing amount of dangerous and illicit content on the Internet, people need to take serious measures to protect their families and businesses," said Joel Silberman, vice president North America, Optenet. "It is no coincidence that pro-anorexia and bulimia sites have increased 470 percent and that personal Web pages have similarly increased 455 percent. As the Web continues to evolve from commercial to social, it is more vital than ever for parents and managers alike to categorize, monitor and control online activity."

The Optenet study showed that although pornography as a total percentage of Internet content has actually decreased slightly since 2006, it still is by far the largest category of content on the Internet, representing 35 percent of all Web sites. Online shopping represents the second biggest category (10.5 percent), followed by travel (7 percent), advertising sites (6 percent) and sports (4.5 percent).

The entire report is available at: http://www.optenet.com/mailing/pdfs/TrendReport.pdf.

About Optenet

Optenet is a global IT security company that provides high-performance content filtering solutions to service providers and large enterprises worldwide. Optenet's technology protects 75 million end users around the globe, including the customers of many of the world's leading ISPs and mobile operators, as well as employees of global enterprise organizations. For more information, visit www.optenet.com MEDIA CONTACTS: Marta Gomez Mark Daly Optenet Davies Murphy Group (305) 249-7505 (781) 418-2411 communication@optenet.com optenet@daviesmurphy.com http://www.optenet.com http://www.daviesmurphy.com