Have you ever been to a Web site, but instead of the website you were greeted with a warning message that said “Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer”?

If you have, then you have experienced Google’s program first-hand. Maybe it was not your site, but what if it was? What are the steps you need to take to get your site back online?

1. Go to Google’s Webmaster Tools, log in and get the information about what was detected. This will give you a clue on how to approach the removal of the malware. If you don’t have a Google account, you can also visit: www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=example.com (but instead of  ’example.com’, type in your domain name). This will also give you some information on your site, such as the status of your site, if there has been malware detected, etc.
2. Next, change all of the passwords related to the Web site (anything related to the site, e.g. FTP). One of the most common ways for malware to invade your site is by taking advantage of a weak FTP password.
3. Once the passwords have been changed you need to make sure all of your site’s software is up to date and has the latest security fixes (contact your hosting provider for more help).
4. If you have scripts on your site that you no longer use, remove them.
5. Now you should go through your site files looking for any odd code such as “<script> function ZsTvTrDzZ()..” and remove it.
6. Once you have removed all of malware from your site, you can resubmit your site to Google through Webmaster Tools. Google will scan your site again to see if it still detects malware, but this will take some time. If Google does not detect any malware then it will remove the warning page and your site will be back to normal.

For more information see:

• http://stopbadware.org/
• http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/

• Web site has no consistency when you click from page to page.
• Photos take their sweet time to load.
• Headings are used as decorations instead of for structure.
• Site gives overall impression of jankiness.

Diagnosis

Frankensite (n.): A Web site made with a hodge-podge of graphics, fonts, and aesthetics. Risks include turned-off visitors and appearance of disorganization.

Causes

• The Web site has been around a while and no one has devoted much TLC to it lately.
• Half a dozen people with completely different aesthetic tastes have made changes.
• People who haven’t been trained properly have used the editor incorrectly.
• New types of content don’t quite fit the layout of your old site.

Prevention

Before you launch:

• Make sure anyone who will edit the site learns about writing for the Web and using your system.
• Think about basic layouts that might help your different types of content fit the best and create (or get help creating) a template.

After you launch:

• Review your content regularly to watch for the symptoms above.
• Get refresher trainings. If you only update the site twice a year, you may not remember how to do it.
• Don’t paste formatted content (like from Word or an email) into the editor.
• As you add new types of content, remember you can add templates (see above). A Web site is a living document, so you can add templates even after launch.
• Keep the overall goals of the site in mind as you add new things to it. Don’t add clutter for the sake of clutter.

Treatment of Common Symptoms

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