A new survey on Internet search habits is expected to show that most people can’t recognize unsafe Internet sites. And the survey, commissioned by security company Trend Micro, just happens to coincide with a new, free browser plug-in from that company that alerts users to – guess what? – unsafe web sites. With more infected sites on the Web, plus drive-by downloads, it’s actually a good idea, as malware continues to rise. Certainly Trend Micro thinks so. “The public needs to know that search results are not vetted for safety. Sixty-six percent said they never were sent to an unsafe Web site. But how would they know?” Trend Micro’s public education director, David Perry, told TechNewsWorld. The survey of 1300 computer users discovered that 78% of people believe sponsored sites to be safe, and that 42% of all users think all sites listed by a search engine to be safe. 25% of users click on sponsored links, 35% click on the first link to appear in a search, and 27% on the second site. Trend Micro’s plug-in, TrendProtect, puts a color-coded button into the browser’s toolbar. The color changes to illustrate the safety of the current page, with ratings for safe, unsafe, trusted, unrated or contains unwanted content. Users can manually add pages to the safe category.
