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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/nytlogo153x23.gif" alt="The New York Times" align="left" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0"></a>
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<div class="">May 22, 2013</div>
<h1>Swindles and Spam, Lurking in Your Search Results </h1>
<h6 class="">By
<span><span>AZADEH ENSHA</span></span></h6>
<div id="articleBody">
<p>
Most of our ventures onto the Web still begin with a search — a fact
readily exploited by spammers and swindlers who rely on excessive use of
keywords, link exchanging and other manipulation techniques to push
their content higher in the list of search results, hoping you will
click on them. </p>
<p>
Though the major search engines discourage such deception, that hasn’t stopped companies from <a title="Article about searching." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html">engaging</a> in such practices — and fooling users in the process. </p>
<p>
Even someone with decades of search expertise, like Duane Forrester, a
senior product manager at Bing, can fall victim to a Web scam. </p>
<p>
“I was looking to buy a new lens for a digital camera, and I found a
store that had one for $200 less than everyone else,” Mr. Forrester
said. “Turns out the store was a fly-by-night shop out of the U.K. that
sold broken products. I called the company and got my refund, but I
still fell into the pothole.” </p>
<p>
Millions of “dirty” sites litter the Web. The Web security firm Blue
Coat Systems concluded in its 2012 security report that search engines
topped the list of spam entry points, before e-mail and other sources.
At a minimum, off-topic spam results are a nuisance. More perniciously,
spammers can infect computers with malware and phish for sensitive
personal data like credit card information. Here are some ways to avoid
search spam. </p>
<p>
<strong>LEARN TO SPOT SPAM</strong> Mastering the art of <a title="Tips on smarter searching." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/technology/personaltech/tips-to-search-smarter-and-faster.html">smarter searching</a> won’t always shield you from getting spammed. That is why, as a first step, you should look before you click. </p>
<p>
Don’t assume that the top results are the most useful or even the
safest. Look at the letters that follow the period at the end of a Web
address. Top-level domains like .com and .info, as well as top-level
country code domains like .fr (for France) are prime targets for
spammers. </p>
<p>
One reason is that spammers know that spelling mistakes happen. It’s
common to forget the “o” in a dot-com search, for instance. So if you
want a site that ends in .com, but mistakenly type in .cm (the country
code for Cameroon), you might get spam instead of the page you wanted.
</p>
<p>
Many sites will also take advantage of Web address shorteners like Bitly
to direct you to an unsavory source. So be cautious about clicking
those truncated URLs as well. </p>
<p>
Both Google and Bing tip searchers off to potentially unsafe sites,
wherever possible. If a search engine warns you that a site is
potentially unsafe, browse at your own risk. And as Mr. Forrester’s tale
shows, a site that is offering discounts that appear too good to be
true may indeed be offering deals too good to be true. </p>
<p>
In addition, before making any purchase on a lesser-known site, take a
look around. Do you see a listed address? If so, map it. Look for the
e-mail address. If your only contact option is a Gmail or Yahoo account,
something may be awry. </p>
<p>
A site’s language, too, may be a giveaway, especially when you are conducting a local search. </p>
<p>
Flagrant grammar and spelling errors may signal that the owner is based
elsewhere. And if you spot the term “free” scrawled across a Web site,
proceed with caution. </p>
<p>
<strong>SOME SITES ARE RISKIER</strong> It is important to know what
separates a potential spam site from a harmless one. The difference may
be counterintuitive. For example, pornography domains may be safer to
browse than some mainstream content. According to Cisco’s 2013 <a title="The security report." href="http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/vpndevc/annual_security_report.html">annual</a>
security report, “online advertisements are 182 times more likely to
deliver malicious content than pornographic sites.” </p>
<p>
Matt Cutts, who heads the Web spam team at Google, said this was because
pornography sites were well monitored. “People who run porn sites are
tech-savvy, and they pay a lot of attention to visitors, so they notice
unusual things quickly,” he said. </p>
<p>
Though a search result may be safe, it may not be useful. A prime
example is Yahoo Answers. The community-driven site consistently ranks
high across the major engines on question-related queries. But the
quality of its answers varies greatly and the site is often more useful
for a chuckle than legitimate insight. Learn to spot and selectively
skip these sites. </p>
<p>
Similarly, instructional sites like eHow may place a higher premium on
quantity over quality content, so you might not find exactly what you
are searching for there. </p>
<p>
Be wary of Web pages that oversell you on their supposed legitimacy. One
Better Business Bureau logo is fine. A series of logos promoting a
site’s professionalism or expertise is a red flag. </p>
<p>
Almost anyone with rudimentary Photoshop skills can create and attach
fake logos on to a site. You can crosscheck any awards by going to the
source. </p>
<p>
It is also a good idea to check whether a Web site is certified. The Department of Homeland Security <a title="Security tips." href="http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST05-010">offers more information</a> on this. </p>
<p>
<strong>SOME SEARCHES ATTRACT SPAM</strong> Some searches are more
enticing to spammers than others. Credit report queries are a top
target. Remember, there are only three major national credit agencies.
If you are using an outside party to check credit reports, do so
carefully. </p>
<p>
Be extra cautious when conducting travel and insurance searches. Some
sites create travel tips for the express purpose of drawing you into
their hotel or other travel-related business. It is best to seek out
travel information from a more trusted site. </p>
<p>
Search results for lyrics, videos and screen savers also pose an
increased risk. For example, pages with downloadable content, like those
offering ring tones, provide an enticing built-in audience for spammers
because the user is actively looking to install software. </p>
<p>
When you search also matters. Spammers tend to come out in force on Cyber Monday and other big shopping periods. </p>
<p>
Nor is spam limited to text. A site with many broken image links may be
designed that way intentionally. It is easier to sell an outdated model
if customers don’t see the product. Use a reverse image search service
like<a title="Tineye home page." href="http://www.tineye.com/"> TinEye</a> to find out if an image has been pulled from another site. </p>
<p>
<strong>BEEF UP YOUR BROWSER</strong> As the search leader, Google is targeted more than any other engine. Chrome users can install a <a title="Spam blocker." href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spam-blocker-for-google-s/mmnbhiajmalgdjlojjamonklladcijim?hl=en">spam extension</a>
that lets users identify potential spam sites and block them from their
search results by clicking on a “spam” text link next to each result.
</p>
<p>
You can also change your <a title="The settings." href="http://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/">Google ad settings</a> and opt out of the company’s <a title=" The opt-out plug-in." href="http://www.google.com/settings/ads/plugin/">advertising cookies</a>. </p>
<p>
<strong>SEEK OUT CUSTOM ENGINES</strong> Another way to avoid getting
spam — and to get more relevant results — is to go directly to a
specialized search engine, where the results are already filtered for
your query. </p>
<p>
You could go to Google Books for book searches and know you will more
likely get book results for “The Great Gatsby,” say, and not offers for
“Gatsby” T-shirts. There are also engines like Science.gov and <a title="The site." href="http://www.scirus.com/">Scirus</a> — both useful for science-related queries. Another valuable specialized engine is <a title="The site." href="http://education.iseek.com/iseek/home.page">iSEEK Education</a>. Lastly, you can use the image service <a title="Picsearch home page. " href="http://www.picsearch.com/">Picsearch</a> to filter photo searches. </p>
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