Google gives users malware warnings

Yes you read right, Google is now giving users alerts if it believes that their system is infected with malware.

Over the last week, millions of users will have logged on to Google, only to find a warning telling them that Google believes that their computer ‘appears to be infected’.

Here is an image of that very message:


A Google warning telling users that their computer appears to be infected

Okay my PC isn't infected so I couldn't show you an actual message, but a clever bit of Photoshopping can help me to show you 😉

Google says that it is trying to improve the web for users, and in doing so, it believes that it can enhance users experience, and keep them safer online.

Malware can send users to ‘virus’ pages when they search Google, one of the main reasons why Google wants to help users fight it. The other is that often malware can send tonnes of spammy traffic towards Google. This is not very good for their servers, and could potentially become very costly.

Sometimes Google needs to turn some of its servers off for maintenance, meaning they need to redirect the traffic. However certain malware can keep ‘spamming’ these servers with unwanted traffic, causing the guys at Google a bit of a problem!

Google says that the main cause of malware infection is users downloading face anti-viruses when instructed to by bogus warnings on false websites.

The search giant does currently offer warnings to users on some websites that it knows could potentially infect their computer. Here is an example of the text it may put below a potentially dangerous search result:

This site may harm your computer

An example of the "This site may harm your computer." text that features below some search results in Google

Keeping safe online is a challenge, so it’s good to know that along with our anti-virus software, Google is also watching our back.

To find out more you can read the official blog post on Google’s blog 🙂

17 thoughts on “Google gives users malware warnings

  1. I hear about that. Google is just amazing! Recently launch a new social network, the button +1, they change the layouts of search engine, youtube and more and more other things. They are the best, without Google the world it will be ….. i don’t have the right word because i don’t know how will be.

    • Christopher (admin team)

      Google is pretty cool, but so is Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon etc. I like Google, I believe it is ethical and trustworthy.

      Adrian, just thought I would ask, are you a Googlite?

    • They even spent a lot of times to optimize the +1 button. If you put a +1 button on your site, you will realize that the loading speed is incomparable to Facebook like button. They claim it was 3 times faster but I am not too sure about that. That’s why Google rocks anyway 🙂

  2. Even if right now it seems to be kind of buggy, the idea is good and i’m sure it’ll become a “trend” like almost any other Google products. Give two years and you won’t remember the internet without it.

  3. I hope that it is not Google really , but some malware soft which again wants to destroy a pc. Today I got a warning in my email that somebody managed to break my gmail account and I was shocked as it was somebody from Turkey, but what for&

    • Christopher (admin team)

      “I hope that it is not Google really , but some malware soft which again wants to destroy a pc.” – I am sorry! How evil is that.

      Google is protecting users PC’s and you hope that it’s actually malware putting the message there. That’s not very nice of you to want malware to be rife.

      Why do you say that?

    • Christopher (admin team)

      That’s a good anti-virus software you have there 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and adding your contribution!
      Christopher – Admin Team

  4. Hi Christopher,

    It seems that I’m in the minority in my thoughts on this. I am one who thinks that Google has far too much knowledge on people who use their search engine, and I certainly do not want them inside my computer.

    I keep my system up-to-date with a variety of programs. I am choosing who I want to put my faith into regarding keeping my system safe. And Google is not a company I put my faith in.

    It’s great when they warn me that a site might be a risky place to visit, but stay away from my computer, please.

    • Christopher (admin team)

      I don’t think they scan your PC or anything Davey, I think they just detect if something funny is happening with your search results.

      Thanks for the comment and welcome to the community.
      Christopher – Admin Team

  5. Any warning or notice to alarm their users if it’s potentially dangerous to visit certain sites is great. Now not only that this helps them with costs, it provides great user experience. There’s a very slight chance that users will get annoyed by these warnings. As long as they don’t get intrusive, it’ll all be fine.

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