Yahoo! and mcafee partner to make searching the web more secure for users
New SearchScan Feature from Yahoo! Search Warns Users About Dangerous Sites Before They Click on Them
Yahoo!, Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) have announced a partnership to deliver a safer Web search experience through Yahoo! Search.
Launching in beta, the new SearchScan feature by Yahoo! Search, powered by the award-winning McAfee® SiteAdvisor® technology, provides always-on alerts to users for “risky” sites with security concerns such as spyware, adware and other malicious software that can infect and damage a user’s PC. SearchScan also identifies sites that have shown bad email practices, flooding users’ In-boxes with spam emails.
The McAfee Yahoo! partnership is a multi-year, global agreement with additional elements, including bringing Yahoo! Search to McAfee users, in the next few months.
By integrating McAfee’s technology into Yahoo! Search, sites that may harm the user’s computer just by visiting them will be eliminated from appearing in Yahoo! Search results. SearchScan also alerts users to potentially risky sites with a red warning sign in search results, allowing users to proceed with caution. During this beta period, SearchScan displays McAfee alerts optimal for the Yahoo! Search user and does not include all McAfee SiteAdvisor red ratings.
SearchScan addresses users’ urgent need to avoid visiting dangerous sites on the Web when conducting a search. The McAfee Yahoo! partnership represents a major step forward for safer searching online; users who conduct Web searches with Yahoo! will be warned about the many malicious and dangerous Web sites before they visit them.
“The new SearchScan feature from Yahoo! Search makes searching the Web even safer than ever before. No other search engine today offers this level of warning before visiting sites that can damage or infect a user’s PC and cost them valuable time and money,” said Vish Makhijani, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo! Search. “Through this partnership with McAfee, we can offer users a safer search experience and drive more users to make Yahoo! Search their starting point on the Web.”
“We are very excited to have Yahoo! as a partner to make the Internet more secure for everyone,” said Tim Dowling, McAfee Vice President, Web Security Group. 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.”
McAfee SiteAdvisor
Downloaded more than 135 million times, McAfee SiteAdvisor tests and rates, on an ongoing basis, nearly every trafficked site on the Internet for a wide variety of Web safety issues including spyware, adware, exploits, known phishing sites, excessive pop-ups and spam. Site Advisor’s ratings are created by using patented advanced technology to conduct automated Web site tests.
SiteAdvisor has received numerous honours, including: 5-star reviews from CNET's download.com, Time Magazine’s “50 Coolest Web Sites," Popular Science’s "Best of What’s New" and the U.S. Department of Commerce's "Recognition of Excellence in Innovation" honour.
