“Black Hat” Hackers Target Google Video

Internet security company and anti-virus software provider, Trend Micro, has sent a warning to users of Google Video that up to 400,000 search queries have been poisoned with irrelevant content by hackers that leads to malware virus sites. It is commonly acknowledged that the hackers are deliberately targeting Google’s reputation as a virus-free search engine. Hackers are using ‘black hat’ SEO tactics to artificially raise the profile of certain videos on Google Video. Once the video has been clicked, the site with the targeted video then redirects the users to install a new Flash Player which is supposedly required to play the video. Once the malware is installed, the virus can spread to other computers via flash drives, external hard-drives, and other portable devices. Your iPod could even be a host carrier. The virus relies on the Windos AutoRun feature, which is a common feature on all Microsoft operating systems. Microsoft advises users to disable this function and have published information on their website detailing how this can be achieved.

These methods, also known as spamdexing, are not approved by search engines such as Google because it manipulates the ranking of keywords and phrases with excessive spamming. This is not a new ‘black hat’ technique, but it is the first time that a reliable search engine such as Google had be targeted for such a cyber crime.

Volacci follows all the guidelines, involve no deception, and are referred to as “White Hat”. We only use marketing techniques approved by Google and other search engines on our clients’ sites. No Volacci client has ever been banned from any search engine. We are one of the very few SEO companies that actually has its own e-commerce website. We know what works best online and what does not. Do you want to avoid unethical online marketing and permanent banishment from search engines? Volacci will guarantee your marketing will be ethical and responsible. We believe in purposeful, proactive communications.

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