Yahoo and McAfee Provide Safer Surfing

Yesterday, Yahoo and McAfee announced the formation of a partnership to integrate McAfee's SiteAdvisor technology into Yahoo Search. SiteAdvisor tracks Web site security issues, identifies sites known to contain adware, malware, spyware, phishing, and spam. The move Follows on from Google's lead, who introduced a system to flag risky search results in 2007.

The new SearchScan feature in Yahoo Search provides red warning messages about the risks posed by Web sites that appear in Yahoo Search results lists.

Vish Makhijani, senior VP and general manager of Yahoo Search, said "Searching on the Web can present a minefield of spyware, malware, and other malicious sites that can cause serious harm to your PC and cost you valuable time and money." "We are taking steps to make you feel safe when searching the Web -- warning you about dangerous sites before you click on them."

According to Makhijani, "No other search engine today offers you this level of warning before visiting sites. Period."

It’s great to see two huge companies creating synergies between their specialised applications. Hopefully the prospect of further collaborations isn’t a far fetched notion.