Google now blocks searchers from sites with deceptive download buttons

Google announced they are now blocking searchers from accessing web sites that contain deceptive download buttons. They will show a big red warning after the user clicks on the search result that warns “deceptive site ahead.”

Here is a screen shot of the warning that the searcher may see before trying to access such a site:

Google said, “We’re expanding Safe Browsing protection to protect you from such deceptive embedded content, like social engineering ads.”

These deceptive ads are defined by Google as those that:

• pretend to act, or look and feel, like a trusted entity — like your own device or browser, or the website itself
• try to trick you into doing something you’d only do for a trusted entity — like sharing a password or calling tech support

Here are some examples of these deceptive ads:

Postscript: This turns out to be something we covered in February, Google reposted the news on the Webmaster blog today.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.