In 2009, Symantec gathered data and discussed current trends, impending threats, and the continuing evolution of the internet threat landscape in 2009. In the Symantec global internet security threat report of 2009, the report stated that the United States was ranked number one in the world regarding malicious activity. Symantec listed the top five threats based on the data they gathered as Web based attacks, countries of origin for web based attacks, data breaches that could lead to identity theft by sector, data breaches that could lead to identity theft by cause, and bot infected computers. The top web based attack of 2009 was PDF Suspicious File Download which made up 49% of web based attacks, up from 11% the previous year in 2008. It attempts to deliver malicious PDF content to victims through the web. Users would download the PDF thinking it was of relevant information yet the PDF attack is designed to exploit vulnerabilities in applications that are able to process PDF’s. A successful PDF attack could compromise the integrity and security of affected computers. The second top web based attack of 2009 was the Microsoft Internet Explorer ADODB. Stream Object file installation weakness. This exploit accounted for 18% of the total number of web based exploits for the year down from 30% the previous year in 2008. This vulnerability allows hackers to install malicious files on a vulnerable computer when the user stopovers a website hosting an exploit. An attacker must exploit a vulnerability that bypasses Internet Explorer Security settings In order for this attack to be successful,. The attacker can then execute the malicious files that were installed by the original security weakness. This vulnerability has been known since 2003, and patches have been released since 2004. This exploit shows that many computer systems were not being kept