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Google Warning Users About Badware Links
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-08-04
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Users who like to use Google to find things like cracks or license key generators are now receiving the online equivalent of a finger wagged in the face, as Google has started to warn people who click on certain search result links that the destination may be dangerous.
Hunting on Google for links to websites containing less-than-legal ways of circumventing software protection has long been a popular practice for certain people. These links frequently lead to sites hosted outside the United States, in places like Russia and other countries.
Many of those sites themselves try to do to the visitor what the visitor is trying to do to the legitimate producer of the software. A purported crack for a package like Photoshop may itself carry a malicious payload of adware, viruses, and keyloggers.
To try and save people from themselves, Google has begun to display an interstitial that warns the user they may be choosing poorly when it comes to clicking on links to certain sites:
Warning - the site you are about to visit may harm your computer!
You can learn more about malware and how to protect yourself at StopBadware.org.
Suggestions:
Return to the previous page and pick another result.
Try another search to find what you're looking for.
Or you can continue to http://asta-killer.com/list/photoshop%20cs2%20serial.html.
An image at the bottom of the interstitial page reads, "advisory provided by Google."
There are third-parties that perform a similar service, but with more features. McAfee SiteAdvisor shows visual indicators in the web browser of potentially unsafe destinations, based on their analysis and credible user reports. LinkScanner does URL testing in real-time in a sandbox environment (note to LinkScanner - your results for asta-killer.com are much different than those from Google and McAfee.)
Google's approach appears to focus on sites that carry or link to maliciously-crafted software that can damage a machine. A quick check of links to a couple of companies known to deliver adware in their downloads did not trigger the interstitial message.
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Tags: Google, Malware
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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