Bad Bad Ware

An often-quoted part of Google, Inc.'s corporate philosophy is "don't be evil". Exactly what this means is open to interpretation; however, here is a new example of how Google is trying to do good.

Google has teamed up with an organization called Stop Badware to warn users when they are about to visit a web site that distributes "badware" such as spyware or adware.
the standard definitions of "badware" doesn't usually include software viruses, although those are certainly bad too). A typical badware site entices visitors by offering free software. When a user installs a free screensaver, for example, he gets more than he bargained for, such as software than causes "contextual ads" to pop up on his computers screen. A victim of badware installation may notice that his computer run more slowly than usual or even crash.

The Stop Badware organization is the brainchild of Harvard Law School's Beckman Institute for Internet and Society and Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute. It has other high-profile partners, including Consumers Union, publisher of Consumers Reports, but Google is probably the most important because it has the power to warn users of potential badware threats.

When, from Google, a user clicks on a dangerous site, a big full-page warning (adorned with a red and white X) comes up. Here is an example. As of this writing, Stop Badware only has 12 sites on its bad list, but the list may be expected to grow as users contribute their badware horror stories to the organization's database.