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Posted on March 05, 2006

With an ambitious mission to use automated crawlers to test every Web site on the Internet, SiteAdvisor uses an easy-to-understand color-coded (red, yellow or green) rating system to help Internet users stay safe as they search, browse and transact online.

Among the many security threats and nuisances which SiteAdvisor's ratings disclose and help prevent are spyware, adware, spam, viruses, browser-based attacks, phishing, online fraud and identity theft.

"We focus on the practical, everyday implications of using a particular Web site," explained Chris Dixon, SiteAdvisor co-founder and CEO. "We believe consumers want to know, in plain English: 'If I download this program, will it come with adware?' Or, 'if I sign up here, how much and what kind of e-mail will I receive?' SiteAdvisor works so well for average consumers because it zeros in on the moment of decision, when users are about to interact with a dangerous site. We can tell them: 'We've been here before, and here's what happened to us.'"

A green checkmark is appended to sites tested by SiteAdvisor and cleared as having no significant problems. However, if a Web site tries to change the user's browser defaults or send a lot of "non-spammy" e-mail, the service will take a use a yellow exclamation mark to caution users.

Web sites found hosting drive-by exploits, bundling adware/spyware with downloads or hammering inboxes with spam get the dreaded red warning "X."

At the core of SiteAdvisor's ratings is a massive proprietary database containing test results from millions of Web site visits, download installations, and e-mail registrations. SiteAdvisor's automated tests are supplemented by feedback from Web site users, comments from Web site owners and input from SiteAdvisor analysts.

SiteAdvisor uses an automated crawler that surfs billions of Web pages monthly to look for executable downloads.

When an executable is found, it is automatically downloaded onto a virtual machine and installed. Once a file is installed, the SiteAdvisor technology looks for all new files created, including changes to the file system and registry. A packet sniffer tracks network monitoring to figure out if a piece of adware/spyware/malware is sending traffic from the machine.

As Internet users search and browse, SiteAdvisor helps them find "green" sites and avoid "red" ones. When users search with popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo! or MSN, SiteAdvisor's software displays safety ratings next to search results. As users browse the Internet, a small SiteAdvisor button on their browser toolbar changes color based on SiteAdvisor's safety results. SiteAdvisor documents every test it conducts, so users can look up any site's detailed safety report on SiteAdvisor's free Web site.

The technology also signs up for e-mail newsletters to track spam that may be sent from that domain and monitors the process of unsubscribing to warn end-users if a Web site is making it tough to opt out of a mailing list.

Pass your cursor over the SiteAdvisor icon, and a pop-up balloon tells you how many e-mails a month you'd get from registering on the site.

SiteAdvisor's automated tests are supplemented by feedback from volunteer reviewers, comments from Web site owners and input from SiteAdvisor analysts. SiteAdvisor does not accept payment from sites to be rated or to have ratings changed, thus ensuring that ratings are objective and uniformly applied.

New sites are tested daily and previously tested sites are re-tested often. Since its launch, the service has tested Web sites representing more than 95% of Web traffic and signed up for e-mail subscriptions from more than 1.3 million registration forms. More than 475,000 downloads have been analyzed for adware, spyware and viruses.

SiteAdvisor's test results reveal that the Web can be extremely dangerous if consumers don't have a way to know which sites are safe or not. The company's comprehensive testing of the Web over the last 11 months resulted in:

-- "Red" warning ratings for sites representing more than 5% of Web traffic

-- "Yellow" cautionary ratings for sites representing more than 2% of Web traffic

Many popular Web categories have a much higher percentage of red and yellow sites. For example, SiteAdvisor's software reveals that on the first page of Google search results for "screensavers," 10 of the 18 sites shown have "red" ratings.

"Every month, worldwide Web users make more than 1 billion visits to 'red' sites, resulting in countless spyware infections, spam-filled inboxes and hijacked browsers," noted Tom Pinckney, co-founder and VP Engineering. "We shed light on which sites are red so users can make better decisions about where they go and what they do online."

The free trial version of SiteAdvisor's software for Internet Explorer and Firefox is available at www.siteadvisor.com

Although the plug-ins are free, SiteAdvisor plans to release more powerful versions that will carry price tags. "In the future, we will offer paid versions with additional premium features," the company said.

SiteAdvisor began operations in April 2005 and is headquartered in Boston, MA. The company's initial investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and several angel investors.
SOURCE: SiteAdvisor Inc.