Who Do You Trust? Not Netscape...

from the spyware-galore... dept

It isn't at all surprising to find out that AOL's new version of Netscape has a "trust rating system" that seems to say plenty of well known adware vendors are perfectly trustworthy. After all, AOL was one of the companies that made a big splash by announcing an anti-spyware product that didn't actually remove spyware. However, with all of these new efforts at preventing spyware and phishing scams with various "trust" ratings, are we putting users at greater risk? Most average, non-techie, users probably believe that if AOL says a site is trustworthy, then it probably is. Building up such weak "trust" systems only helps to undermine the level of "internet street smarts" that a user should have to avoid the various pitfalls of being online. There's nothing wrong with trying to provide more information for users -- but when it sets an expectation that it will protect users, when it clearly does not, is it making the situation worse?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Spyware guy, 31 May 2005 @ 6:10pm

    AOL spyware removal

    Why do you say that the AOL anti-spyware product(which is a rebranded version of the decent Aluria product) only detects and doesnt remove? I use it all the time and it does detect and remove and has since it was released...seems you are confusing it with Earthlink - get your facts right man!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      thecaptain, 1 Jun 2005 @ 5:16am

      Re: AOL spyware removal

      He says this because it has been reported (there may have been a story here actually) that it will not detect/remove spyware/adware installed by AOL Business partners.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    The AntiJyn, 31 May 2005 @ 8:57pm

    The handicapped internet

    Personally, if you not only pay aol on top of the cost of any high speed internet connection (dsl/cable) then you deserve anything AOL hands you.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.