MCAFEE SITEADVISOR

'SiteAdvisor' is an Internet service formerly provided by ''SiteAdvisor, Inc.'' and acquired by McAfee^[1] on 5 April 2006 that warns users when downloading software or filling out forms on a site that may make them victims of malware or spam.

Contents

Overview

Awards

Privacy

References

External links

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^[2][3]:

★ Green - Safe: We tested the site and didn't find any significant problems.

★ 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.
This service should be used with extreme caution, as it does not appear to be monitored or updated. Many safe sites are given 'Red' although all user reviews are positive (e.g. http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/newgrounds.com), while other sites, with questionable content such as pop-up advertising are given a 'Green' rating.

Awards

''Time'' magazine named SiteAdvisor.com among the 50 coolest websites of 2005.^[4]
''Popular Science'' awarded SiteAdvisor the "Best of What's New" award in the Computing category for 2006.^[5]
''PC World'' ranked SiteAdvisor at #15 in "The 100 Best Products of 2007."^[6]

Privacy

SiteAdvisor, while protecting a computer, keeps anonymous logs of sites visited in order to prioritize those sites for retesting. ^[7]

References

1. Taking SiteAdvisor to the Next Level
2. How SiteAdvisor Works (IE)
3. How SiteAdvisor Works (Firefox)
4. SiteAdvisor's entry in Time's 50 coolest websites of 2005
5. SiteAdvisor's entry in Popular Science's Best of What's New 2006
6. PC World's list of "The 100 Best Products of 2007"
7. McAfee SiteAdvisor Privacy Policy

External links

★ Official SiteAdvisor Website

★ SiteAdvisor's report on Wikipedia (positive report)

★ SiteAdvisor's report on Popular Screensavers (cautionary report)

★ SiteAdvisor's report on KaZaA (negative report)

★ SiteAdvisor's report on Messenger Plus! Live (disputed report)