WOT provides a browser plugin for both FireFox and Internet Explorer using which the WOT community members provide ratings for sites that they browse.  Apart from the user ratings, WOT also uses information from select trusted sources which provide data on Internet security threats.  The backend system at WOT then processes the ratings from users and data from external sources to calculate the reputation for each website.  WOT also uses high-end algorithms to counter any attempts to manipulate the reputation data through user votes.

The Reputation Scorecard from WOT provides real time information about a website’s reputation.  As per their statistics, more than 18 million websites have been rated and one out of every twenty sites pose certain type of risk for users.

WOT works while searching for websites using search engines, browsing and downloading.  For details, watch their demo video:

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WOT can prove to be really useful if proper checks are ensured to maintain the authenticity of users’ votes and feedback about sites.  This kind of system is especially helpful in the current scenario when the security cannot be ensured by traditional security systems like anti-virus software.

Alfred Huger, vice president of engineering at Symantec, says:

The malicious attacks – including recent exploits of users of Google, Facebook, search engines, Mozilla and others – are designed to steal user credentials or launch bigger attacks through the victim’s social network of contacts.

The hackers are switching for their earlier favorite method, email, and now they are using reliable websites to drive traffic to sites loaded with viruses and malacious codes.  Previously, I had covered how the combination of Google Trends and Blogspot is being used to spread viruses.

So how do the hackers use these sites:

Social Networks: Hackers use the open architecture of social networks and their platform to create and deploy applications loaded with malicious codes and implant links to malicious websites.  Some of the examples are the Facebook application for users to find out who have a crush on them and the recent worm which spread on Orkut through the scraps posted on user profiles.

Search Engines: The hackers are using Google to redirect the users to sites loaded with malicious codes.  The search result links which look very relevant to the search and legitimate often redirect users to infected websites.  I have myself experienced this and even posted about how the combination of Google Trends and Google Blogger is used for spreading viruses.

Another method which is being used by the cyber criminals for phishing scams is the Google Calendar.  Jamz Yaneza, research project manager at Trend Micro, says,

Scammers are sending personalized e-mail as meeting invitations in Google Calendar. Since each e-mail has a different link for each recipient, it is harder for spam filters to detect anything wrong.

So, even if you use an anti-virus tool on your computer, you may not be safe from these attacks.  There are other solutions from the security companies like using certified e-mail, web page scanners and browser security tools which can be used to prevent yourself from hacking and phishing attacks.  The ultimate tool, however, is being cautious and not to click on any link which looks suspicious or install any application from an unreliable source.