Google repairs its security hole

October 21, 2004

A security hole that could have placed users of Google's desktop search feature in a vulnerable position has been eliminated, according to the company.

Google on Thursday fixed a security flaw in its Web search service that could have allowed malicious hackers to modify its pages.

According to a report posted to the Bugtraq Security Focus list on Wednesday, Google's new Desktop Search tool did not prevent a hacker from inserting JavaScript, a programming language, into the Web address of its page image, or logo.

That vulnerability could have allowed any rogue third party to change the appearance of Google's Web page to ask for personal data such as credit card numbers from its visitors, what's known as a phishing scam, according to the warning.

Leasing links to your website will boost your search engine visibility

Google said it has fixed the problem. "Google was recently alerted to a potential security vulnerability affecting users of our Web site," a company representative said. "We have since fixed this vulnerability, and all current and future Google.com users are protected."

The warning came only a week after Google released its newest product -- a tool to search the files on a PC alongside Web pages. Security experts have scrutinised the technology, with some interesting finds. Last week, security consultant Richard Smith found clues that could point to a coming instant chat client from the search giant.

Jim Ley posted, in his Web log, the warning about Google's script-insertion flaw, which he said has affected Google's main site for as long as two years. But with the addition of Google Desktop, the flaw became more serious, he said, because "it places the results of a desktop search into the output of a regular Google search."

He said that the flaw could have allowed third parties to make a record of all the searches people make.

The flaw primarily had affected people using Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser, Ley said.

Source: C-Net News

Read Serge Thibodeau's daily blogs on search engines at Serge Thibodeau Live. We strongly suggest you bookmark our web site by clicking here.

Tired of receiving unwanted spam in your in box? Get SpamArrest� and put a stop to all that SPAM. Click here and get rid of SPAM forever!

Get your business or company listed in the Global Business Listing directory and increase your business. It takes less then 24 hours to get a premium listing in the most powerful business search engine there is. Click here to find out all about it.

Rank for $ales strongly recommends the use of WordTracker to effectively identify all your right industry keywords. Accurate identification of the right keywords and key phrases used in your industry is the first basic step in any serious search engine optimization program. Click here to start your keyword and key phrase research.

Pay Rank for $ales securely with your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express credit card through the secure PayPal network. (Note: PayPal is an eBay company, and maintains a net free capital of US $ 50 Million).

You can link to the Rank for Sales web site as much as you like. Read our section on how your company can participate in our reciprocal link exchange program and increase your rankings in all the major search engines such as Google, AltaVista, Yahoo and all the others.

Powered by Sun Hosting Sponsored by Avantex Traffic stats by Site Clicks�

Site design by Mtl. Web D. Sponsored by Press Broadcast Sponsored by Blog Hosting.ca

Call Rank for Sales toll free from anywhere in the US or Canada: 1-800-631-3221
email: info@rankforsales.com