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Google releases Safe Browsing API
Google is on the frontlines of fighting bad content and malicious behavior, and they are moving towards doing something about cleaning up the Web. Google has released an API that is used both internally, and in Mozilla's Firefox for warding off phishing and malware web sites. This Safe Browsing API is a way for third party developers to integrate the abilities to check malicious sites through their own applications. Paired together with blacklists that Google maintains, developers can now have access to a powerful set of tools that could have possibly harmed their websites, blogs, or internet applications.
The Safe Browsing API is still in experimental form, but it has been assured by Google that it will still be useful to ISP's, web hosting companies and any developer that builds applications that can publish or transmit user generated links.
[via ComputerWorld]
Comments
3
Subscribe to commentsJared C.Jun 20th 2007 2:46PM
What doesn't make sense to me is why they would release their methods for detecting fraudulent sites. I understand that Google will still maintain the blacklist, but can't the people developing the malicious content also use the API to avoid detection.
For example, the API's site mentions that it only references the full URL and the top 5 host name components against a blacklist. If I were hosting malicious code that would tell me that I need to host legitimate content on the top 5 components and then have a slew of malicious sites below that level.
Am I missing something here?
Chris GilmerJun 20th 2007 2:51PM
Jared C - that makes total sense. The malicious sites might be able to do something with this API. However, im sure Google tracks them all pretty close.
Neil CauldwellJun 20th 2007 4:15PM
There will always be sites with malicious intent. What if Google could give all those devious developers a focal point for their trouble-making?
Wouldn't it make it easier for them to keep track of what they're doing?