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Thursday, January 25, 2007
Some of you have asked about the warnings we show searchers when they click on search results
leading to sites that distribute malicious software. As a site owner, you may be concerned about
the possibility of your site being flagged. We want to assure you that we take your concerns very
seriously, and that we are very careful to avoid flagging sites incorrectly. It's our goal to
avoid sending people to sites that would compromise their computers. These exploits often result
in real people losing real money. Compromised bank accounts and stolen credit card numbers are
just the tip of this identity theft iceberg.
If your site has been flagged for badware, we let you know this in
Webmaster Tools. Often, we find
that webmasters aren't aware that their sites have been compromised, and this warning in search
results is a surprise. Fixing a compromised site can be quite hard. Simply cleaning up the HTML
files is seldom sufficient. If a rootkit has been installed, for instance, nothing short of wiping
the machine and starting over may work. Even then, if the underlying security hole isn't also
fixed, they may be compromised again within minutes.
We are looking at ways to provide additional information to webmasters whose sites have been
flagged, while balancing our need to keep malicious site owners from hiding from Google's badware
protection. We aim to be responsive to any misidentified sites too. If your site has been flagged,
you'll see information on the appeals process in Webmaster Tools. If you can't find anything
malicious on your site and believe it was misidentified, go to
https://stopbadware.org/home/review
to request an evaluation. If you'd like to discuss this with us or have ideas for how we can
better communicate with you about it, please post in our
webmaster discussion forum.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle displays warnings to searchers when results may lead to sites distributing malicious software to protect users from harm.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSite owners are notified through Webmaster Tools if their site is flagged for badware, often due to undetected compromises.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFixing a compromised site can be complex, requiring more than just HTML cleanup and addressing underlying security vulnerabilities to prevent reinfection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle is working on providing more information to flagged webmasters while deterring malicious actors and aims to be responsive to misidentified sites.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWebmasters who believe their site was misidentified can request a review through StopBadware and discuss concerns in the Google Webmaster forum.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The primary focus is on warning users about malicious software and assisting site owners whose sites are flagged. Google alerts users when search results lead to sites with malware. Site owners are notified through Webmaster Tools if their site is flagged, as often they are unaware of the compromise. Webmasters can appeal the flagging in Webmaster Tools or request evaluation via StopBadware.org. Google is seeking improved communication methods and offers a forum for discussion. Resources are provided in a Help Center article on the topic.\n"],null,["# About badware warnings\n\nThursday, January 25, 2007\n| It's been a while since we published this blog post. Some of the information may be outdated (for example, some images may be missing, and some links may not work anymore). Read our [up-to-date documentation about malware](/search/docs/monitor-debug/security/malware).\n\n\nSome of you have asked about the warnings we show searchers when they click on search results\nleading to sites that distribute malicious software. As a site owner, you may be concerned about\nthe possibility of your site being flagged. We want to assure you that we take your concerns very\nseriously, and that we are very careful to avoid flagging sites incorrectly. It's our goal to\navoid sending people to sites that would compromise their computers. These exploits often result\nin real people losing real money. Compromised bank accounts and stolen credit card numbers are\njust the tip of this identity theft iceberg.\n\n\nIf your site has been flagged for badware, we let you know this in\n[Webmaster Tools](/search/blog/2006/11/badware-alerts-for-your-sites). Often, we find\nthat webmasters aren't aware that their sites have been compromised, and this warning in search\nresults is a surprise. Fixing a compromised site can be quite hard. Simply cleaning up the HTML\nfiles is seldom sufficient. If a rootkit has been installed, for instance, nothing short of wiping\nthe machine and starting over may work. Even then, if the underlying security hole isn't also\nfixed, they may be compromised again within minutes.\n\n\nWe are looking at ways to provide additional information to webmasters whose sites have been\nflagged, while balancing our need to keep malicious site owners from hiding from Google's badware\nprotection. We aim to be responsive to any misidentified sites too. If your site has been flagged,\nyou'll see information on the appeals process in Webmaster Tools. If you can't find anything\nmalicious on your site and believe it was misidentified, go to\n\u003chttps://stopbadware.org/home/review\u003e\nto request an evaluation. If you'd like to discuss this with us or have ideas for how we can\nbetter communicate with you about it, please post in our\n[webmaster discussion forum](https://support.google.com/webmasters/community).\n| **Update**: This post has been updated to provide a link to the new form for requesting a review.\n| **Update** : More information is available in our [Help Center article on malware and hacked sites](/search/docs/monitor-debug/security/malware)."]]
