SiteAdvisor Issues Spyware Challenge; Can You Spot the Spyware?

BOSTON, March 15, 2006 - SiteAdvisor Inc., a consumer software company pioneering a new approach to Web safety by testing every site on the Internet, today announced the release of the first SiteAdvisor "Spyware Quiz" that challenges test-takers to view the homepages of selected Web sites and determine whether they distribute spyware or adware.

The 12-Web site test covers five Web site categories (screensavers, smileys, games, lyrics, and file sharing) which are notorious for distributing spyware, adware, and other unwanted programs. The test can be found at http://www.siteadvisor.com/spywarequiz.

"The economically-motivated distributors of spyware and adware have become very good at making their sites look inviting and credible. That's very dangerous because many people believe they can spot dangerous sites based on the look of the homepage," said Tom Pinckney, co-founder and VP Engineering. "We designed this quiz to demonstrate how difficult it can be to tell which sites are safe, and to show how easy it can be to become a victim of unwanted spyware or adware."

After 11 months of testing sites representing more than 95% of Web traffic, SiteAdvisor found that on average, 5% of Web traffic flows to "red"-rated sites. For this quiz, SiteAdvisor chose the popular screensaver, smiley, game, lyrics and file sharing sites because these categories "run red" at two to three times the rate of the overall Web.

An estimated 61% of all computers are infected with at least one piece of adware or spyware, according to The National Cyber Security Alliance and America Online (12/05).

About SiteAdvisor

SiteAdvisor Inc. (www.siteadvisor.com) is a consumer software company pioneering the field of Web Safety by testing and rating every site on the Internet. SiteAdvisor's intuitive visual safety ratings help protect Internet users from a wide range of security threats and nuisances including adware, spam, viruses, and online scams. Using proprietary automated testing enhanced by extensive user feedback, SiteAdvisor has already rated sites representing more than 95 percent of Web traffic. Founded in April 2005 by a group of MIT engineers who wanted to make the Internet safer for their friends and families, the company is headquartered in Boston, Mass.