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Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Over a year ago,
we launched Safe Browsing alerts in Google Analytics to warn users about websites identified as
compromised and being used for distributing malware or phishing attacks. Since launch, we've
alerted more than 24,000 Google Analytics property owners whose websites had been compromised by
3rd parties.
Today, we're happy to announce that we'll be expanding our set of alerts in Google Analytics by
adding notifications about sites hacked for spam in violation of our Webmaster Guidelines. In the
unlikely event of your site being compromised by a 3rd party, the alert will flag the affected
domain right within the Google Analytics UI and will point you to resources to help you resolve
the issue.
Website security is still something to take very seriously. In September of last year,
we shared that we'd seen a 180%
increase in sites getting hacked for spam compared to the previous year.
Our research
has shown that direct contact with website owners increases the likelihood of remediation to over
75%. This new alert gives us an additional method for letting website owners know that their site
may be compromised.
What can you do to prevent your site being compromised?
Prevention plays an important role in keeping your site, and your users, safe. We've recently
published
tips and best practices
to protect your content on the web, we recommend them to any site, large or small.
Verify your site on Search Console.
Aside from receiving alerts in Google Analytics or via
Search results labels
when your site is compromised, we recommend taking the extra step to verify your site in
Search Console.
The
Security Issues feature
will alert you when things don't look good and will pin-point the issues we've uncovered on your
properties. We have detailed a recovery journey in our
hacked step-by-step recovery guide
to help you resolve the issue and keep your website and users safe.
We're always looking for ideas and feedback. To leave comments or ask any support questions, visit
google.com/webmasters and our
support communities
available in 14 languages.
[[["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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Analytics is expanding its security alerts to include notifications for sites hacked for spam, in addition to malware and phishing alerts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle has observed a significant increase in websites being compromised for spam, highlighting the importance of website security.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWebsite owners are strongly encouraged to verify their sites in Search Console to receive timely security alerts and utilize its resources for issue resolution.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle provides resources, including best practices and a recovery guide, to help website owners protect their sites and users from hacking.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDirect communication with website owners through alerts and Search Console significantly improves the chances of resolving security issues.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google Analytics expanded its alerts to notify users about sites hacked for spam, in addition to existing malware and phishing alerts. This action aims to improve remediation rates, which have been shown to increase with direct contact. Website owners are encouraged to prevent compromises by following best practices and verifying their site on Search Console. The Security Issues feature in Search Console pinpoints issues, and a recovery guide is available for compromised sites. Google is asking for feedback in their support communities.\n"],null,["# More security notifications via Google Analytics\n\nTuesday, June 21, 2016\n\n\n[Over a year ago](https://security.googleblog.com/2015/02/safe-browsing-and-google-analytics.html),\nwe launched Safe Browsing alerts in Google Analytics to warn users about websites identified as\ncompromised and being used for distributing malware or phishing attacks. Since launch, we've\nalerted more than 24,000 Google Analytics property owners whose websites had been compromised by\n3rd parties.\n\n\nToday, we're happy to announce that we'll be expanding our set of alerts in Google Analytics by\nadding notifications about sites hacked for spam in violation of our Webmaster Guidelines. In the\nunlikely event of your site being compromised by a 3rd party, the alert will flag the affected\ndomain right within the Google Analytics UI and will point you to resources to help you resolve\nthe issue.\n\n\nWebsite security is still something to take very seriously. In September of last year,\n[we shared](/search/blog/2015/09/helping-hacked-sites-with) that we'd seen a 180%\nincrease in sites getting hacked for spam compared to the previous year.\n[Our research](https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.com/en//pubs/archive/44924.pdf)\nhas shown that direct contact with website owners increases the likelihood of remediation to over\n75%. This new alert gives us an additional method for letting website owners know that their site\nmay be compromised.\n\nWhat can you do to prevent your site being compromised?\n-------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nPrevention plays an important role in keeping your site, and your users, safe. We've recently\npublished\n[tips and best practices](/search/blog/2015/07/nohacked-how-to-avoid-being-target-of)\nto protect your content on the web, we recommend them to any site, large or small.\n\nVerify your site on Search Console.\n-----------------------------------\n\n\nAside from receiving alerts in Google Analytics or via\n[Search results labels](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/190597)\nwhen your site is compromised, we recommend taking the extra step to verify your site in\n[Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console).\n\n\nThe\n[Security Issues feature](https://search.google.com/search-console/security-issues)\nwill alert you when things don't look good and will pin-point the issues we've uncovered on your\nproperties. We have detailed a recovery journey in our\n[hacked step-by-step recovery guide](/web/fundamentals/security/hacked)\nto help you resolve the issue and keep your website and users safe.\n\n\nWe're always looking for ideas and feedback. To leave comments or ask any support questions, visit\n[google.com/webmasters](/search) and our\n[support communities](https://support.google.com/webmasters/go/community)\navailable in 14 languages.\n\n\nPosted by\n[Giacomo Gnecchi Ruscone](https://twitter.com/giacomognecchi),\nSearch Outreach and Anthony Medeiros, Google Analytics"]]
