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May 12, 2006
Warning Over Search Engine Safety
Topics: InternetMost Dangerous Keywords: "Free screensavesr, Bearshare, Screensavers, Winmx, Limewire, Download Yahoo Messenger, Lime wire, Free ringtones".
In a new report that comes as no surprise to frequent Net searchers, especially those with teenage kids that use their parent's computer, according to a recent report, some net searches are leading users to websites that expose them to spam, spyware and other dangerous downloads. Interestingly, although It's well known that visiting sites offering porn, gambling and free MP3s leaves users at serious risk of falling victim to spyware and adware, the research reveals that even those carrying out searches for innocuous subjects are also at risk:
According to the research the most dangerous words to search for are "free screensavers".Read more here - and also here...The report found that 64% of the sites found using this phrase were flagged as causing problems for users.
The authors urged search sites to tighten up rules to ensure users are not inadvertently exposed to harm.
The report looked at the websites returned for 1,394 popular keywords searches found via Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask.
The results returned for each search term were then analysed using the Site Advisor security tool. Once installed this piece of software warns users when they browse websites known to be dangerous.
The most benign of the pages that Site Advisor flags up try to change browser settings (to redirect people to ad sites) and the most dangerous deluge users with spam or bundle adware and spyware in with downloads.
In one case signing up with one site led to a test e-mail address getting more than 300 spam messages per week.
Posted by Richard at May 12, 2006 2:28 PM
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- Warning Over Search Engine Safety - May 12, 2006
