Web searching can expose users to a whole range of malicious sites, so Yahoo is now teaming up with security vendor McAfee to make its search experience more secure for users.

On Tuesday, the two companies announced a partnership that they said will “deliver a safer Web-search experience” through the beta launch of a new SearchScan feature. Built on McAfee’s SiteAdvisor technology, SearchScan alerts Yahoo Search users when they’re visiting risky sites.

More Than Neighborhood Crime

Those suspect sites could be hiding spyware, adware or other software that is less than friendly to your PC. SearchScan also knows about sites with bad e-mail practices, such as ones that send out spam.

Suspected risky sites show up with a red warning sign and text in the search-results page, thus cautioning users with a visual indicator. For instance, a risky site would receive the warning sign — a red triangle — under it, as well as red text that reads: “Warning: Dangerous Downloads, Unsolicited E-mails.”

The SearchScan beta is available to users of Yahoo Search in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain. The Yahoo-McAfee arrangement is a global agreement to work together on other fronts as well, such as bringing Yahoo Search to McAfee users.

Risky browsing resulting from search engines is a concern for 65 percent of Americans online, according to Yahoo — even more than neighborhood crime, getting a wallet stolen, or an e-mail-based scam. As an online safety issue, it is second in importance only to children’s safety on the Net.

According to McAfee Vice President Tim Dowling, “Research indicates four out of five Web site visits start with a search,” and that SearchScan’s new, advance warning can be one of the strongest weapons against online threats.

Cited as Worst by McAfee

McAfee said that…

On Tuesday, Yahoo and McAfee announced a partnership to make the Yahoo Search experience safer. Launched in beta, the new SearchScan feature, powered by McAfee SiteAdvisor technology, offers always-on alerts for sites with security concerns involving spyware, adware and other malicious software. McAfee SiteAdvisor tests and rates nearly every trafficked site on the Internet.

SearchScan also identifies sites that have shown bad e-mail practices, flooding user inboxes with spam. SearchScan is available for Yahoo Search users in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain.

“The new SearchScan feature from Yahoo Search makes searching the Web even safer than ever before,” said Vish Makhijani, senior vice president and general manager of Yahoo Search. “No other search engine today offers this level of warning before visiting sites that can damage or infect a user’s PC and cost them valuable time and money.”

Under the Hood

Here’s how it works: By integrating McAfee’s technology into Yahoo Search, sites that may harm a user’s computer just by visiting them will be eliminated from appearing in Yahoo Search results. SearchScan also alerts users to potentially risky sites with a red warning sign in search results, allowing users to proceed with caution. During this beta period, SearchScan displays McAfee alerts optimal for the Yahoo Search user and does not include all McAfee SiteAdvisor red ratings.

After children’s safety, 65 percent of Americans online are more worried about clicking unsecured search listings than the threat of neighborhood crime, getting one’s wallet stolen or e-mail scams, according to a Decipher Inc Online Security & Web Search consumer survey conducted in March.

“Research indicates that four out of five Web-site visits start with a search, and consumers who use Yahoo Search will now be alerted to high-risk Web sites,” said Tim Dowling, McAfee vice president, Web Security…

Yahoo has teamed up with McAfee to develop SearchScan, a new safe search service. Here’s what you need to know:

• Provides always-on alerts to users for “risky” sites with security concerns including spyware, adware and other malicious software
• Identifies sites that have shown bad email practices such as flooding user in-boxes with spammy emails
• Available for Yahoo! Search users in the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain

“The new SearchScan feature from Yahoo! Search makes searching the Web even safer than ever before. No other search engine today offers this level of warning before visiting sites that can damage or infect a user’s PC and cost them valuable time and money,” said Vish Makhijani, senior vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Search. “Through this partnership with McAfee, we can offer users a safer search experience and drive more users to make Yahoo! Search their starting point on the Web.”

Behavioral ad targeting company Phorm could find its controversial technology automatically blocked by some online security firms.

The BBC reported the likes of Symantec, Trend Micro, and McAfee are “scrutinizing” the ad-system, and could decide to block cookies needed for its operation, should they deem it “adware.”
With a vast number of users worldwide using security software on their machines, this could have a devastating effect on Phorm’s audience numbers, and ad revenue opportunities as a result.

This is not the first time Phorm has faced issues over security. In its previous incarnation as 121 media, a piece of software it was responsible for titled PeopleOnPage was considered by some to be spyware, a fact that is unlikely to help the company’s reputation.

Being objective however, isn’t the role of online security firms to do exactly that: identify and monitor potential security risks?

A statement from a Symantec spokesperson in the BBC story seemed non-committal: “At this point we are assessing the full implications of this technology and how it fits into the established criteria we use for categorising and classifying new technologies such as Phorm’s.”

Similarly, Greg Day, security analyst at McAfee, is reported to have said, “At this point we have not rushed to give it a classification.”
According to Phorm, its relationship with security companies is one of complete cooperation. Radha Burgess, marketing and communications director said, “We are currently in the process of talking with security firms, and taking them through the system in order to evaluate it properly.”

Ultimately, therefore, it appears security firms are avoiding jumping to conclusions, and will continue to monitor and evaluate the system, classifying it as and when they deem necessary.

A new outcry in the U.K. today about ISPs’ interest in tracking Internet users for ad targeting purposes. The source this time: a news report claiming that BT tested a system for tracking and serving ads to 18,000 of its broadband subscribers without their consent.

According to documents obtained by The Register, the 2006 technology trial was undertaken in partnership with adware firm 121Media, which is now called Phorm. The pilot reportedly involved an earlier iteration of Phorm’s technology which inserted JavaScript tags onto pages visited by BT subscribers; these were used to call up ads. That eventually led to a major deal for consumer tracking deal between Phorm and the three largest U.K. ISPs: BT, Virgin Media, and TalkTalk.

U.K. newspapers and public interest groups have loudly protested the development. A dedicated protest site was created at badphorm.co.uk, and a Web page has been set up to petition the Prime Minister to scrutinize the practices.

The U.S. reaction to such practices has been more muted, partly because no ISPs have publicly announced relationships with behavior tracking vendors such as Phorm and NebuAd. However numerous ISPs have been testing such technologies here on the sly, trying to assess the potential backlash and profit potential.