author: Kathy

Visitors search for your site on Google but instead of linking to your website, they are taken to a Google webpage that looks like this:

What does this mean?

Google has placed warnings in its search results for websites that has been tested and determined to host or distribute badware. If a Google user searches for a site that Google has determined to be potentially dangerous, they will see a warning in the search results.

To remove this warning, you will first need to identify the problem(s) that has caused Google to flag your site.

Identifying the Problem

StopBadware.org suggests checking the following on your website:

1. Any software that you are offering for download.
2. Links and codes/scripts on your website, including third-party hitcounter or statistics services. You can visit the StopBadware Reports and Badware Website Clearninghouse for information on the sites and software to which you link or are planning to link.
3. Third-party ads displayed on your website. Make sure these ads do not link to bad software or badware-infected webpages.
4. If you have a forum, blog, guestbook or user-generate content sharing area on your website, check all posted links.

Removing the Google Warning

Once you have identified and removed the problem(s) there are three ways to remove the Google warning:

• Google periodically re-scans the sites it has previously flagged, so you can choose to wait for this re-scan. Unfortunately, there is no set schedule for these re-scans so we won’t be able to tell you exactly when Google will recheck your website.
• You can submit a request for review through StopBadware.org.
• You can also submit a request for review through Google Webmaster Tools.

Common Questions

1. Is it possible for someone to report my website to Google to place a warning on the website? (ie. someone is deliberately lying to hurt my business)

No, it is not possible for someone to falsely report your site to Google to have the warning issued. Google independently identifies sites that host or distribute badware. If a search for your site leads to a Google warning page, it means that Google's testing process has determined that your site either hosts or distributes badware and may be harmful to site visitors.

2. Is it possible to learn exactly what caused my website to be flagged?

Unfortunately, Google has its own independent process for locating badware on websites. To preserve the integrity of that process, Google does not release detailed information about the results of its testing to the public at large. However, Google does offer information to verified site owners through its Google Webmaster Tools service.

For more information, you can visit Google Webmaster Blog on badware notifications.