www.michaelsmithnews.com and Google
Monday, 10 February 2014
Yesterday I was involved in some exchanges of data with the Google organisation about our website.
I've installed the latest Google analytic and webmaster software onto the site, as well as the typepad.com anti virus and spyware/malware protections.
Last night I "opened the kimono" for Google and invited it to conduct an audit of the site, in fact we followed all of these steps at Google's behest.
| Step | Title | Technical expertise required |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watch the overview (completed) | Beginner |
| 2 | Contact your hoster and build a support team | Beginner |
| 3 | Quarantine your site | Intermediate |
| 4 | Touch base with Webmaster Tools | Intermediate |
| 5 | Assess the damage (hacked with spam) or Assess the damage (hacked with malware) |
Advanced |
| 6 | Identify the vulnerability | Advanced |
| 7 | Clean and maintain your site | Advanced |
| 8 | Request a review | Intermediate |
Google wrote back to me this morning with this clean bill of health:
Security Issues
We haven't detected any security issues on your site. If you need more information on security issues related to your site, please review our resources for hacked sites.
I have again asked Google to let me know why its Chrome browser is showing a Malware warning in relation to www.michaelsmithnews.com . There is no such problem for Google to warn you about. Google's persistence in displaying its incorrect warning amounts, in my view, to a potential unlawful restraint on my trade, it creates damage to my website's good name and the warning is misleading and deceptive for the purposes of the Trade Practices Act and its successor legislation.
The peremptory and unilateral nature of Google's imposition of the malware block/warning is alarming. I'll let you know how it proposes to make good.