Google punishes web backsliders in Chrome

Google said it will deal with website recidivists that have dodged the company’s punishments for spreading malware and spawning email scams.

When Google flags sites for hosting malicious code or unwanted software, or running some kind of scam, users see warnings in Chrome and other browsers. The alerts appear as long as Google believes the site poses a threat.

But after making changes to align their sites with Google’s “Safe Browsing” terms, webmasters may ask Google to lift the virtual embargo.

Not surprising, some took advantage of the mechanism for lifting the warnings. Sites would cease their illicit practices, but only long enough to get back into Google’s good graces. Once Google gave the all-clear, the once-dirty-then-clean site would have a serious relapse and again distribute malware or spew phishing emails.

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