5 replies to this topic

[N4Z.]

Google has started warning people when search results could potentially lead them to malicious code.

The search giant is using data from the Stop Badware Coalition to flag sites that are potentially host to malicious software. Google, along with Sun and Chinese PC maker Lenovo, announced support for the group in January.

People who attempt to go to a Web site that has been identified as risky by the coalition are taken to a warning page.

"Warning — the site you are about to visit may harm your computer!" the page states in bold type, then suggesting users can "learn more about malware and how to protect yourself at StopBadware.org".

The interrupt page suggests that users can try returning to the search page and choosing a different result, trying another search, or they can continue to the potentially malicious site.

"We're not going to say don't do it," said John Palfrey, a professor at the Harvard Law School and one of the driving forces behind the effort. "What we want to do is basically give people some more information about what might happen to their computer."

Harvard has teamed with Oxford University to provide much of the manpower for the coalition's Web-monitoring effort. People can report sites that have malicious code on them, and then a human being checks the report before any sites are flagged, Palfrey said.

Palfrey likens the effort to a Neighbourhood Watch programme. Sites in question are not removed from search engines, but the idea is that users are warned of potential problems. Although the Stop Badware Coalition has been working closely with Google, Palfrey said he would like to see other search engines tap its watch list as well.

"We very much encourage other search engines to join and use the data in the same way," he said. "We're quite open."

A Google representative was not immediately available for comment.

Stopbadware.org is one of a number of coalitions aiming to stop the spread of malicious code. Initially, the group was focused on identifying bad programs, but not necessarily on working on which sites distributed the code.

"The initial idea was to say that law in the ordinary sense of the word has not been doing a good job with these highly distributed problems — spyware or viruses or spam," Palfrey said.

Source: ZDNet.co.uk

[rocketboy]

Interesting that they should begin warning people when they are guilty of almost the same thing

Have a look at this courtesy of google-watch.org

1. Google's immortal cookie:
Google was the first search engine to use a cookie that expires in 2038. This was at a time when federal websites were prohibited from using persistent cookies altogether. Now it's years later, and immortal cookies are commonplace among search engines; Google set the standard because no one bothered to challenge them. This cookie places a unique ID number on your hard disk. Anytime you land on a Google page, you get a Google cookie if you don't already have one. If you have one, they read and record your unique ID number.

2. Google records everything they can:
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation."

3. Google retains all data indefinitely:
Google has no data retention policies. There is evidence that they are able to easily access all the user information they collect and save.

4. Google won't say why they need this data:
Inquiries to Google about their privacy policies are ignored. When the New York Times (2002-11-2 asked Sergey Brin about whether Google ever gets subpoenaed for this information, he had no comment.

5. Google hires spooks:
Matt Cutts, a key Google engineer, used to work for the National Security Agency. Google wants to hire more people with security clearances, so that they can peddle their corporate assets to the spooks in Washington.

6. Google's toolbar is spyware:
With the advanced features enabled, Google's free toolbar for Explorer phones home with every page you surf, and yes, it reads your cookie too. Their privacy policy confesses this, but that's only because Alexa lost a class-action lawsuit when their toolbar did the same thing, and their privacy policy failed to explain this. Worse yet, Google's toolbar updates to new versions quietly, and without asking. This means that if you have the toolbar installed, Google essentially has complete access to your hard disk every time you connect to Google (which is many times a day). Most software vendors, and even Microsoft, ask if you'd like an updated version. But not Google. Any software that updates automatically presents a massive security risk.

7. Google's cache copy is illegal:
Judging from Ninth Circuit precedent on the application of U.S. copyright laws to the Internet, Google's cache copy appears to be illegal. The only way a webmaster can avoid having his site cached on Google is to put a "noarchive" meta in the header of every page on his site. Surfers like the cache, but webmasters don't. Many webmasters have deleted questionable material from their sites, only to discover later that the problem pages live merrily on in Google's cache. The cache copy should be "opt-in" for webmasters, not "opt-out."

8. Google is not your friend:
By now Google enjoys a 75 percent monopoly for all external referrals to most websites. Webmasters cannot avoid seeking Google's approval these days, assuming they want to increase traffic to their site. If they try to take advantage of some of the known weaknesses in Google's semi-secret algorithms, they may find themselves penalized by Google, and their traffic disappears. There are no detailed, published standards issued by Google, and there is no appeal process for penalized sites. Google is completely unaccountable. Most of the time Google doesn't even answer email from webmasters.

9. Google is a privacy time bomb:
With 200 million searches per day, most from outside the U.S., Google amounts to a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Those newly-commissioned data-mining bureaucrats in Washington can only dream about the sort of slick efficiency that Google has already achieved.

Edited by rocketboy, 08 August 2006 - 12:59 AM.

[N4Z.]

Wow.. You would have never thought with such a huge online name like Google they would do these kind of things...

Thanks for sharing Rocketboy

[l3lueMage]

rocketboy, on Aug 7 2006, 10:58 PM, said:

2. Google records everything they can:
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation."

I have noticed number 2 alot, Alot of times sites that only work for our area, do not appear in like California or other states when I search the same things...Or if in canada alot of Canadian states appear. But theres still flaw, if you have the language bar and use other languages like me in google, eventually even just browsing in english brings up the other language websites...maybe thats supposed to happen but I dunno

[Matthew.]

Heh, i noticed this yesterday, nearly posted about it but thought it was probably something a missed from a while ago

[rocketboy]

No probs Synitex. An interesting read dontcha think eveybody. Google have power that is for sure which is the main reason the US Government are so interested in them. Their methods of data collection are far superior to most government departments and Google's flat denial to bend to government orders kind of makes me laugh.

One this is for sure. There is no getting around the fact that we need Google so there isn't a lot that we can do about these problems.

Anybody want to read more interesting stuff like this? About AOL !!!!!