Google Blocked Famous Gay News Website After Finding Malware

Leading news website, www.PinkNews.co.uk for gay people in the UK could not be accessed on February 24, 2009 through Google as well as by surfers using the browsers Chrome Web, Safari and Firefox as Google blocked the website for serving malware.

Security specialists state that a Google error message revealed that following security choices, the Pink News had been taken offline. Moreover, the site had been reported to launch attacks like installing information-stealing programs, engaging the user' system in waging attacks against other computers, or just causing overall damage to the target system, the message said. However, the closure of the site and the accompanying search-result alerts seemingly were withdrawn in 48 hours.

Furthermore, Google named several security flaws that the company claimed were planted by the third parties such as hackers. Accordingly, the security investigators discovered 8 scripting attack codes and 4 trojans that generated about 13 fresh procedures on a hijacked PC.

To show that Google was right, the company said that its automated systems established to detect potentially risky websites identified the news site. These automated tools mark those websites that try to work as a medium for malicious software so that people visiting such sites could be protected, Google noted.

Meanwhile, reacting to Google's allegation, Pink News said that after meticulously investigating www.PinkNews.co.uk, they found that there was no problem on the website. In addition, Pink News expressed concern that if the situation continued, there would be a disastrous financial blow to them, considering the small size of the business it ran.

Commenting on this, Google said that it was crucial to understand that websites could be taken over even without the site administrators' knowledge. Therefore, Google said that it worked to make available additional information about the issues it identifies to the affected administrators along with providing them the devices for cleaning their sites.

Google also added that its total effort stems from its security philosophy, according to which, if everyone works jointly to spot threats as well as to eradicate them, the web could be made a more secured place for all.

Related article: Google Rectifies Gmail flaw in Three Days

» SPAMfighter News - 3/13/2009