No longer safe to click on Google search results????

[ajaxlepinski]

I posted this picture in the Funny Fail Epic thread but, I realized that it needed to have it's own thread and a more in-depth explanation....




Links, especially email links, are always suspect.
Now, however, it is no longer safe to click on Google search results.....
When you run a Google search, a series of results are produced. People and businesses pay to have their websites pop up at the top of the results list.
It has been reported that hackers have been paying to have their corrupt websites pop up first.
Hackers have also been paying for their fake websites to pop up as "Paid Ads" at the top of the search results list.
They have been disguising their advertisements as legitimate banks, retailers, and other familiar websites... and Google said there is very little they can do to stop it.... no doubt because, they don't want to pay real people to review thousands of adverts before they go live.

In the below link to an article from this past October, Bleeping Computer reported on "typosquatting"; creating fake URLs to mimic real URLs.
However, hackers have become more clever when creating fake website URLs... they are now using different fonts to mimic real URLs more accurately, as explained by the photo above.
The URL examples, in this article (from October 2022) are easy to spot as fake.... not so much anymore.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/s ... d-malware/

Here's a more recent article...
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/s ... -ccleaner/

[linthat22]

I've noticed this too while looking for specific tools or equipment.

For now, I've been utilizing a few different search engines to ensure I'm not missing anything that the Google overlords might deem not worthy. So far, I've had good luck using the following:

Searx.org (sorta like duckduckgo)
Yandex.com (yeah, it's Russian, but their algorithm isn't bad)
Bing.com (they've been getting better)

[GuitarBilly]

Yeah as a basic safety measure, physically type in every URL you need to go to that actually involves using your personal information like your bank, online stores etc.
There's no reason anyone should be searching for their bank website on Google. Learn what it is (it's usually on the back on your bank card and in every correspondence they send you) and type it in.


Save them to your bookmarks if it's something you use constantly. Also if they offer an app consider using that.


I only search for read-only information, for example, "guitar wiring diagram" or "local weather" or whatever. I also skip paid results most of the time.

The internet is a bit like a bad neighborhood that you constantly have to go to, do what you have to do, but take safety precautions.

[Zozobra]

I primarily use duckduckgo and firefox these days. If DDG is drawing a blank on the search then adding !g to the search term bounces it to google.

[screamingdaisy]

Never knew that. I have noticed that American search engines have become less relevant since they dropped the net neutrality rules. When I attempt to do a search I get mostly paid product placement these days. Makes sense that bad actors would find a way to game that system.

[Pepi]

I only use Linux. Linux can be hacked but it’s less likely than Window

[facefirst]

I use the arpanet

[Pepi]

I use the arpanet

Al Gore invented the arpanet