Sunnyvale, California-based Internet pioneer Yahoo has begun analyzing Web sites listed on its search engine to remove blatantly dangerous sites and warn users before they click on those that might  contain spyware, computer viruses or are associated with spam e-mail, in a partnership with security firm McAfee, Yahoo announced Monday. Yahoo's SearchScan technology is a custom version of McAfee's SiteAdvisor software for warning users of "potentially risky" Web sites, and is now active by default for people using the firm's search engine in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Financial details of the agreement, which will eventually be available to all Yahoo users worldwide, were not disclosed. Helping To Hinder Web Browser Exploits Yahoo users searching the Web will see an on-screen warning next to search results when SearchScan identifies a Web site as possibly containing what Santa Clara, California-based McAfee considers dangerous software, while sites believed to contain malicious code intended to exploit holes in Web browser security will no longer be shown to Yahoo searchers, the company said Monday. The agreement gives McAfee the opportunity to attract new customers from Yahoo's large customer base of search users to its premier security products, including SiteAdvisor Web browser add-ons for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox and more powerful and expensive stand-alone software. SiteAdvisor was created in 2005 and acquired by McAfee in 2006. Yahoo holds 21 percent of the U.S. search engine market share, about a third of the 60 percent share of search leader Google, according to March figures from Web traffic analysis firm comScore. Yahoo began working on integrating McAfee's security software into its search engine in late 2007, and will be only search engine to use the McAfee system, however Google has offered a similar Web site warning technology since 2006. The threat of inadvertently installing malicious software has risen to the point that 67 percent of all computers are estimated to contain some form of spyware, according to industry analysts IDC. By displaying a red, yellow or green icon and a warning notice beside suspect Web links within search results, Yahoo hopes that its SearchScan will allay some users' fears of visiting dangerous Web sites. Yahoo Search Partnership With McAfee Aims To Stop Visits To High-Risk Web Sites McAfee Web Security Group vice president Tim Dowling expressed excitement at his company's search security partnership with Yahoo. "We are very excited to have Yahoo as a partner to make the Internet more secure for  everyone," said Dowling in a joint press release. "The advance warning offered by McAfee SiteAdvisor is one of the strongest weapons in the battle against online threats. Research indicates that 4 out of 5 Web site visits start with a search, and consumers who use Yahoo Search will now be alerted to high-risk Web sites. This protects users from known malicious threats such as browser exploits that will wreck their PC with a single click or spyware that can lead to identity theft," added Dowling. McAfee and Yahoo hope to offer Yahoo Search users an increased level of confidence in the links they follow due to the addition of SearchScan. "When a user gets a set of search results, there's really no indication of who's a good guy and who's a bad guy," Dowling noted in a recent Associated Press report. "You're really leaping off a platform of faith that you're clicking on a site that's safe and not one that's bad. And the bad guys really try hard to look good," Dowling added. Moving On After Microsoft Bid Attempt On Saturday after more than three months of unproductive negotiations Microsoft withdrew its unsolicited  offer to purchase Yahoo for $47.5 billion, and during trading Monday Wall Street reacted with a sharp drop in Yahoo share prices representing a 15 percent loss - or some $6.5 billion. Tuesday's SearchScan announcement was Yahoo's first as the firm moves forward after the failed merger talks, and are seen by some analysts as an effort to attract additional search business and its accompanying advertising revenue. The present partnership between Yahoo and McAfee may grow over time, the companies said. "This is the beginning of a partnership," Dowling said. "We see multiple opportunities to partner to work together to make the Internet more secure," he added. Related Links:
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9:35 pm on May 6, 2008 (utc 0)
