back to article Google blocks Pirate Bay

Google's Safe Browsing service has decided The Pirate Bay is a phishing site. The Safe Browsing service tries to rate the web and provides a feed of sites Google's security team thinks deserve to be shunned. Other browser-makers use the service's feed to rate sites, so Google's assessment means those trying to reach …

  1. Charles 9

    This may be a bona fide block in this case. Increasingly, TPB and its mirrors have been plagued with third-party ads, including ones potentially of a hijackable variety.

    1. Danny 14

      Whodathunkit?

    2. Mark 85

      So Google isn't getting a piece of the action then?

  2. Aslan

    One must remember,

    One must remember that The New York Times, Fortune, and many others have had ads or even the site itself hijacked to serve malware.

    The Fortune one was particularly egregious, as Fortune had just started using a new tactic, they blocked people from accessing the site who used ad blockers. Two days after forcing people to turn their ad blocking off Fortune served them malware through their ads. Coincidence, surely?

    I think I've seen some dodgy drug ads on The Register in the past, but I never recall them serving malware. Basically no site on the internet is to be trusted, and every site that serves ads will eventually serve malware.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: One must remember,

      Even ones with internal ads?

      PS, I'm not just talking about any old ads, I'm talking the ones where you click anywhere on the site, and it uses the click to allow those huge popup ads. Those are the more likely to have malware in them. Plus consider which ad networks the different sites are using. I doubt Fortune would enlist an ad network that sells ads for dodgy sexual promiscuity products and so on.

      1. Danny 14

        Re: One must remember,

        What are these 'browser adverts' that you speak of? I dont see those around since the advent of browser plugins.

      2. Adam 52 Silver badge

        Re: One must remember,

        Every programmatic add network serves dodgy ads at some point. The malware pushers tend not to bid much so more reputable sites that attract higher prices are safer. Ironically most Reg readers are probably safer allowing themselves to be tracked because it'll make them a better prospect and so command a higher price, thereby pushing the malware out of the market.

        1. Charles 9

          Re: One must remember,

          But those higher-priced spots can mean more lucrative rewards since they're the ones that go to popular mainstream sites, meaning a big drive-by opportunity. Well-heeled criminal networks may find the price worth it given the stakes.

          As for curation, the system's like modern stock trading: too fast for a human to curate. Speed sells in this case.

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