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By: Bill Hopkins
Searching for Viruses and Spyware
You may not realize it, but many search engine results are pointing you to nefarious sites which may expose you to spyware, viruses, and other malware. A recent survey by SiteAdvisor, a product of McAfee, used popular search terms on Google, and then checked the results and ads on the first 5 pages for possible links to malware. They learned that searching for "free screensavers" produced results wherein 64% of the sites listed could expose the user to malware of various types. Searching for just "screensavers" had a 55% chance. "Limewire" searches had 46%, whereas "lime wire" (searched as two words) had a 41% chance of displaying dangerous links. "Free ringtones" resulted in a 38% chance. Based on average usage patterns, it's estimated that a user will click through to an unsafe site once every 15 days! The major search engines generally respond that they are only reflecting what's out there on the web, and that they try to protect users against them. Yahoo! has a software tool to help identify spyware, and Google says its ad policy prohibits such links and removes them when it becomes aware of them. Naturally, there are some industry differences over what constitutes a dangerous or nuisance site. And it should be noted that McAfee's SiteAdvisor may have a vested interest, as it also distributes browser-toolbar software used to screen sites. What can you do? Install and keep your anti-virus and anti-spam current, turn on Windows firewall, and turn on critical update notification.
Quotable Quote
"E-mail is a medium under siege. Trustworthiness has eroded as consumers find their inboxes jammed with spam, identity theft scams, and e-mail posing as brands they know." Ain't it the truth!
Paying More for More
Columbia University professor Tim Wu coined the term "net neutrality" to describe how the Internet works best as a neutral environment where entrepreneurs can create a Google-sized business with limited capital because the Web is open.
One rule of commerce says that if someone or something provides (or is perceived to provide) more than a competitor, then it has more value and can extract a higher price in the marketplace. Thus you may have heard about certain proposals being bandied about wherein Internet Service Providers want to charge more for high-bandwidth applications, like popular websites that consume more bandwidth. It's a tricky issue, and can even be compared with the chicken and egg. Without unfettered access to high bandwidth backbones, popular websites (think Google) might be, well, less popular. And that would mean less need for high bandwidth backbones. It's a symbiotic relationship. Image that your local telephone company provides the only available broadband connection to the Internet. And you've decided that you'd like to sign up for Vonage (a provider of VoIP), which offers telephone connections over the Internet. Think what could happen if the telco were able to charge a higher fee to Vonage to use the telco's lines to get to your house.
Congress is hashing out at least six bills that deal with network neutrality -- half seek to prevent telecoms from assessing tolls on Web companies; half seek to keep the government out of the discussion. We'll be watching...
Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via e-mail to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. For on-line questions, contact Bill on the Kracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board.
*Display 6 of your own images for photobuyers to view, on your page on the PhotoSource website.
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