Safe Browsing
Most of the web sites on the internet are safe for most users. However, some web sites are
loaded with spyware and adware. Others will add you to their spam list if you sign up for
anything with your email address or register on the web site. This seems especially true
of sponsored searches on most of the top search engines. Other than being careful what can
you do? Since March 2006, McAfee has offered an excellent tool to help. It is called
SiteAdvisor. It is a browser plug-in for Internet Explorer and Firefox that indicates to
you as you move from site to site what it has found concerning the current web site. Or you
can go directly to their web site and enter a web site and check on it from there. McAfee
SiteAdvisor also works with Google and Yahoo to indicate the safety of the web sites found
in searches. Web sites are evaluated on the basis of:
E-mails - returned after registering
Downloads - that may contain unwanted programs
Connections - links to questionable web sites
Annoyances - such as questionable cookies
Feedback - from the users of the internet.
I have been using the McAfee SiteAdvisor recently and I am amazed by the results of some web
searches. A link below is an article from PC World concerning the McAfee SiteAdvisor. I have
also included the link to the McAfee SiteAdvisor web site where you can learn more and
download the software.
Note: There are different versions of the SiteAdvisor for each browser. The site will verify
the correct one for your open browser. If you use more than one browser, you will need to
download the one for each.
McAfee SiteAdvisor
PC World Article on the Dangerous Side of Search Engines