ScanSafe protects web surfers from dangerous URLs

Beta service flags sites containing malware and illegal content

Web security specialist ScanSafe has begun a new beta service to warn surfers which web sites may be dangerous, to help them avoid spyware, adware, phishing, viruses and illegal content.

Scandoo.com is a predictive web search service powered by the firm's Outbreak Intelligence heuristics technology, providing instant classifications for sites displayed next to search results.

Users will see a green tick for safe sites, an amber question mark for unclassified sites, a red cross for sites they should avoid, and a red icon with a red cross on its back for sites containing malware.

By moving over the icon, users can see more information about the site, set their security preferences, and reclassify the site if they think it has been labelled incorrectly.

"We've not set an end date for the beta because we want to learn a lot from [our customers]," said ScanSafe chief executive Eldar Tuvey. We classify as much as possible but we can't cover everything so we're asking users to collaborate [with us]."

The firm is also building out more functionality, including compatibility with more search engines, more collaborative functionality, and may extend the service to the mobile web, Tuvey added. "The number of [web-based] threats are rising and [users] are flying blind at the moment," he said. "If an employee is not paying attention he could click on a link [and be directed to a dangerous] site."

Scandoo.com is currently free to use and requires no software download.