ScanSafe’s Scandoo site allows visitors to perform queries on two major search engines and see if links returned on the search results are safe, questionable, or unsafe.
Scandoo supports Google and MSN Search currently, with Yahoo and Ask.com support coming soon. The site developed by security firm ScanSafe automatically scans search results to alert users to sites that contain malware, viruses, or potentially offensive content.
Unlike SiteAdvisor, Scandoo requires no software downloads. Instead a high-speed server infrastructure performs the scanning of each link in the search results. Next to each result, a Scandoo “security light” will appear.
A green check next to a result means the link is safe, while a red X indicates unsafe content. A yellow question mark indicates the link has not been defined. Each marker can be moused over to see Scandoo’s scanning results, including the URL of the domain linked from the result, Scandoo’s site definition by category, and the site rating.
Some search results may return a black spider with a red X. That marker represents what Scandoo considers a dangerous web threat, one that may deliver spyware, adware, or viruses to a visiting machine.
Users of Scandoo can modify the default security policy in place when they use Scandoo. A page of Security Preferences defaults to automatically tagging search results categorized as Hate and discrimination, Illegal activities, Sex/Nudity, and Weapons with the red X.
Clicking the Family Guardian button adds Dating and Gambling categories to that list. Users can save their settings for continued use, or switch back to the default settings by hitting another button.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
