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Google can be Dangerous !

Options
I've had a recent bad experience with Google/...

Basically I wanted to search for "nullsoft netmon", so I entered that into the search box.

Rather than displaying a list of search results, Google went straight to the "nullsoft" website and my Norton Internet Security flagged that site as dangerous.

As it turned out, Norton was concerned about one particular file available for download rather than the site itself, so I was OK.

But you can see the problem; just viewing a web page can result in malware being downloaded and installed.

(Q) Is there a way to stop Google from going straight to a particular web site and force it to list the search results in all cases ?


George

(Back on Monday 1st June)
«1

Comments

  • MrsBartolozzi
    MrsBartolozzi Posts: 6,358 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Errr, dunno how you managed to get it to go straight to the page. I've just tried it and get a list of pages...just like usual.
    Did you click the "I'm feeling lucky" button perhaps??

    It's only a game
    ~*~*~ We're only here to dream ~*~*~
  • tomsutton529
    tomsutton529 Posts: 210 Forumite
    Errr, dunno how you managed to get it to go straight to the page. I've just tried it and get a list of pages...just like usual.
    Did you click the "I'm feeling lucky" button perhaps??

    thats the only way i can think of it happening.

    to the op:
    its not googles fault it scoured the web for the term nullsoft and then that site was dodgey. google did its job, and your luck you had some AV in place.
  • I get two different outcomes depending on how I do the search/...

    Lets take a safe example/...

    If I type "money saving expert" into my address bar (Google is my default search engine) then the web site "wwwDOTmoneysavingexpertDOTcom" immediately loads !!! This could be dangerous with a different website.

    If however I navigate to "wwwDOTgoogleDOTcoDOTuk" and then enter the search terms "money saving expert" into the search box I get a list of search results. This is perfectly safe.

    George

    (Back on Monday 1st June)
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
    If you don't think google is safe then the answer is obvious - stop using it.

    Everybody else in the known universe can continue as normal.

    BTW anything you type into your address bar is handled by the browser not google.
  • M4RKM
    M4RKM Posts: 5,132 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I get two different outcomes depending on how I do the search/...

    Lets take a safe example/...

    If I type "money saving expert" into my address bar (Google is my default search engine) then the web site "wwwDOTmoneysavingexpertDOTcom" immediately loads !!! This could be dangerous with a different website.

    If however I navigate to "wwwDOTgoogleDOTcoDOTuk" and then enter the search terms "money saving expert" into the search box I get a list of search results. This is perfectly safe.

    George

    (Back on Monday 1st June)

    well the first option is asking to go to a website called moneysavingexpert, whereas the second one is asking a search.

    It's your BROWSER that is guessing what website you want, IMO, as my browser doesn't do anything if i just type money saving expert into my address bar... that is what an address bar is for.. typing in URL's.. the search box to the left is for googling and will then display a list of results..

    is it our fault that you don't know how to use a web browser? ;)
  • £$&*"($£&(
    £$&*"($£&( Posts: 4,538 Forumite
    markymoo wrote: »

    is it our fault that you don't know how to use a web browser? ;)

    It may sound harsh but it is true. The address bar is not for doing searches. I suggest you bookmark this site https://www.google.co.uk and put the thing you want to search for in the box provided.
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Anyone trying to look for dodgy 'serial' keys etc can expect a virus or 2 off google
    I even had a legit site a month ago that got hacked and tried hitting me with a virus
    :idea:
  • -TangleFoot-
    -TangleFoot- Posts: 4,673 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    grahawk wrote: »
    The address bar is not for doing searches.
    Unless you're using Google Chrome, in which case it is. :)
  • Conorrr
    Conorrr Posts: 33 Forumite
    Nullsoft is perfectly safe anyway.

    Norton is rubbish anyway you really don't need it as long as you use your brain.
  • sharkie
    sharkie Posts: 624 Forumite
    Errr, dunno how you managed to get it to go straight to the page. I.....
    Could be the HOST file, your dns setting modified or a little bit of spyware that intercepts/modifies/hooks in rerouting domain requests?
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