McAfee SiteAdvisor

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McAfee SiteAdvisor
Image:McAfee SiteAdvisor Logo.png

The McAfee SiteAdvisor Website showing the review for Wikipedia
Developed by McAfee
Initial release April 2005
OS Cross-platform
Website http://www.siteadvisor.com/

SiteAdvisor is an Internet service that warns users when downloading software or filling out forms on a web site that may make them victims of malware or spam. The service was originally provided by SiteAdvisor, Inc, an MIT startup[1] first presented at CodeCon on February 10, 2006[2] and acquired by McAfee[3] on April 5, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Most of SiteAdvisor's data is gathered through automated testing with Internet Explorer COM objects controlled by Python running on virtual machines.

The plugin is available for Internet Explorer and Firefox and displays a color rating for each site visited:[4][5]

  • Green - Safe: We tested the site and didn't find any significant problems. ("We've tested this site and found it safe to use," for secure sites.)
  • Yellow - Caution: Our tests revealed some issues you should know about. (Example: a site tried to change our browser defaults, or sent a lot of non-spam e-mail)
  • Red - Warning: Our tests revealed some serious issues that you'll want to carefully consider before using this site at all. (Example: The site sent us lots of spam e-mail or bundled adware with a download).
  • Grey - The site has not been tested, or is in the process of being tested.
  • Grey box with M - SiteAdvisor's Review Site for a website (to reduce phony reviews).

[edit] SiteAdvisor Plus

A newer version of McAfee SiteAdvisor, McAfee SiteAdvisor Plus, has new features.

[edit] New features of McAfee SiteAdvisor

-Rates email and IM links;

-Actively shields PC from dangerous sites;

-Quickly detects phishing and identity theft scams;

[edit] Criticism

[edit] False positives

SiteAdvisor has received criticism for incorrectly flagging web sites with a caution or warning label.[6][7] These false positives may hurt the reputation of legitimate online businesses.

[edit] Privacy concerns

SiteAdvisor, while protecting a computer, is known to keep anonymous logs of sites visited in order to prioritize those sites for retesting. [8]

[edit] Awards

  • Time magazine named SiteAdvisor.com among the 50 coolest websites of 2005.[9]
  • Popular Science awarded SiteAdvisor the "Best of What's New" award in the Computing category for 2006.[10]
  • PC World ranked SiteAdvisor at #15 in "The 100 Best Products of 2007."[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ McAfee acquires MIT startup SiteAdvisor at Digital....
  2. ^ CodeCon 2006 Program.
  3. ^ Dixon, Chris (2006-09-05). Taking SiteAdvisor to the Next Level. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  4. ^ How SiteAdvisor Works (IE). Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  5. ^ How SiteAdvisor Works (Firefox). Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  6. ^ Malware Advisor. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  7. ^ McAfee SiteAdvisor gives PCmag.com yellow warning rating. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  8. ^ McAfee SiteAdvisor Privacy Policy. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  9. ^ SiteAdvisor's entry in Time's 50 coolest websites of 2005. Retrieved on 2006-10-13.
  10. ^ SiteAdvisor's entry in Popular Science's Best of What's New 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  11. ^ PC World's list of "The 100 Best Products of 2007". Retrieved on 2007-05-23.

[edit] External links

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