Protecting your security online

An incident this week served as an important reminder about what we as an online community need to do to ensure our security.

On Tuesday, April 24th, Google identified and canceled AdWords accounts displaying ads that re-directed users to malicious sites. These sites attempted to install malware onto users’ computers. This is an issue we’ve taken very seriously and will continue to monitor. We are also evaluating our systems to ensure that the appropriate measures are in place to block future attempts.

Google is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our users and our advertisers. We actively work to detect and remove sites that serve malware in both our ad network and in our search results. We have manual and automated processes in place to detect and enforce these policies, and products such as Google Toolbar that actively seek out and alert users when they access malicious or suspicious sites. We feel a responsibility to protect the security and safety of our users and advertisers, and recognize that secure products are instrumental in maintaining your trust.

We strongly encourage all of our users and advertisers to keep up-to-date antivirus protection on their computers and regularly run system scans. As a general rule of thumb, individuals should also take care to create complex passwords, change them frequently, and only use them on known or trusted (non-public) computers. Antivirus software (such as Norton Security Scan and Spyware Doctor) and instructions for use are available for free as part of Google Pack.

For more information on Google’s security philosophy, and how to report possible issues, please visit our security and product safety page. You can also find more information on our software principles here.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew