Is Your Favorite Search Engine Showing You Malicious Websites?

Most search engines are pretty good at keeping malicious websites out of your search results, but just like any other piece of software on your computer, some search engines do a better job of keeping these threats out of your immediate access. According to TV-Test, a German independent testing lab, there’s a huge difference between the security of the world’s top search engines, like Bing and Google.

Granted, we shouldn’t expect search engines to keep all malicious websites out of the results. Nothing that humans make is perfect, so threats are likely going to appear at some point in the future, regardless of how good the security settings of search engines are. Still, this is a concerning topic, and one you should be aware of. This particular test was applied to Google, Bing, Yandex (a Russian search engine), Blekko, Faroo, Teoma (aka Ask.com), and Baidu (a Chinese search engine).

40 million websites were examined during this study. As you might expect, the results showed a fairly miniscule number of malicious websites: 5,000, which is less than one percent of the sites tested. Google, the most popular search engine, displayed 272, while Bing, its closest runner-up, presented 1,285 malicious sites. Talk about a drastic difference in security.

Regardless of how small these numbers are, the fact remains that the numbers are still there. The wise words, “You can never be too careful,” apply here. Despite this, your chances of encountering a malicious website are slim-to-none, but as a business owner, you know you can’t afford to let up on your network security. Even if there’s barely any chance that a malicious site will appear in the search results, there’s a possibility that malware developers are using some sort of search engine optimization technique to sneak their malicious site to the top of Google’s search results. This gives it the appearance of a secure site, when in reality it’s primed to make off with your business’s credentials.

There’s only one solution to this issue: calling Macro Systems. Our professional technicians can remotely monitor your systems for any off-kilter activity. Additionally, our Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution can prevent threats from accessing your network on both the inside and the outside. It’s the ideal solution for providing maximum network security for your business.

In the event a particularly strong threat makes it through your defenses, Macro Systems can take steps to eliminate it. You’ll suffer minimal downtime during the ordeal, and you’ll be back in action before you know it. If you’re considering upgrading your network security practices, give Macro Systems a call at (703) 359-9211.