Google launches new tool to identify site security issues
Whitey
4:55 am on Nov 1, 2013 (gmt 0)
Today, we’re happy to introduce a new feature in Webmaster Tools called Security Issues. As a verified site owner, you’ll be able to:
•Find more information about the security issues on your site, in one place. •Pinpoint the problem faster with detailed code snippets. •Request review for all issues in one go through the new simpified process
Yes, it does look like an extremely useful tool, both for searchers and for webmasters. It should probably help cut down on much of the spam searchers now see, much of which can be attributed to hacked sites.
Beyond clear-cut blackhat webspam, the second-biggest category of spam that Google deals with is hacked sites.
aristotle
1:50 pm on Nov 3, 2013 (gmt 0)
I'm not sure what "security issues" means. When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought it meant that Google is identifying sites that have security weaknesses that makes them susceptible to being hacked in the future. I thought webmaster tools had already been sending messages about sites that have already been hacked.
turbocharged
12:29 pm on Nov 4, 2013 (gmt 0)
I thought webmaster tools had already been sending messages about sites that have already been hacked.
They were indeed sending out notices. Apparently Google repackaged the process to be more specific and to allow reconsideration requests to be sent more easily. I would not really call this a tool as all it does is open up a clearer line of communication between Google and the webmaster.
jmccormac
4:56 pm on Nov 4, 2013 (gmt 0)
Interesting to see if this will work. However based on evidence from monthly web surveys of hundreds of thousands of websites, it might not work as Google expects. Many sites that have been hacked have been abandoned for some time and the registrant or business may no longer be in business. Some of the payday loans urls and other cracks seem to change on a regular basis.
