Google's malware notices out of control?

[v9designbuild]

About a month ago, the office PC was hacked and all clients' Control Panel and FTP details were taken by the Chinese (the iFrames all had .cn). It took a week to clear and everything was fine, with password security severely tightened. Except today another client informed me that he has had the same treatment, this time from the Russians.

If you do find one of your sites has been attacked, clear the malware, change system and FTP passwords, go to Webmaster's Tools, grab the code and then verify. This helps, but Google's attack report will still hang around for quite some time.

If you need to check, there's quite a useful report on a site's status at http://google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http://www.yoursite.com

Interestingly, TechCrunch published an article in January this year titled Google Flags Whole Internet As Malware, in which search results, including Google?s own websites, started being flagged as malware with a message stating "This site may harm your computer".

One comment on this was: "This also highlights how much of a de facto monopoly Google seems to have on the whole of the Internet. It is starting to get scary. We really need some more competition in this space. I call on all engineers during this downturn who may have some great innovative ideas to try to create some real competition for Google".

As irony has it, it was not so much engineers but the bold initiative of Carol Bartz, as one news outlet put it: "the bumpy, marathon mating dance between Microsoft and Yahoo finally concluded on Wednesday, when the two companies announced a partnership in Internet search and advertising to take on the industry powerhouse Google."

 

[djbaxter]

Other than the short-lived glitch which Google acknowledged and quickly fixed, how does any of this indicate that "Google's malware notices [are] out of control"?

If I understand your post, you DID have malware on your site as a result of hacking. It would seem that the malware warning worked exactly as advertised in this case.

 

[v9designbuild]

Cleaning up the mess

You are correct, Minstrel. The post was meant to be informative and the title was a bit misleading without further explanation.

I did get hacked and 50 clients' sites were infected. It took a 96-hour purge to rid them of the malware. The reasons for this post were: a) I have seen many competitors' sites banned of late. They seem to be coming in fast and furious from China and Russia. So, as a warning, webmasters should tighten up on security if lax; b) there are procedures to protect and inform Google that the sites' passwords at CP level and FTP have been changed much more securely and the malware removed; c) the article by TechCrunch shows that maybe there is no malware on certain sites but are flagged as such erroneously?

I don't know technically how this is being done but it seems that they are finding flaws in PC networks. That is my understanding at least. So, password control should be much better than a six-digit alphanumeric.

The main point of it though is that, even when Google is alerted sites like Chiang Mai Real Estate, which I missed at CP level, is still displaying the ban notice eight weeks after Google was informed the site was clean and the passwords had been changed. This is crippling their business. Which is why, I suggest, their malware notices are out of control.

 

[v9designbuild]

Twitter

As if to illustrate a point, I've just received this: Hey there.
Due to concern that your account may have been compromised in a phishing attack that took place off-Twitter, your password was reset. Please create a new password.

 

[djbaxter]

As if to illustrate a point, I've just received this: Hey there.
Due to concern that your account may have been compromised in a phishing attack that took place off-Twitter, your password was reset. Please create a new password.

That notice in itself may well have been a phishing attack.

 

[v9designbuild]

Twitter

Possibly, but the real Twitter did reset it. Anyway, just a few words of caution.