Google recently introduced a new service to detect if a user’s computer was infected with malware and then inform the user. The warning appears as an in browser pop-up above the Google search bar. The warning is bright yellow and contains a link to another Google page where the user can learn what to do about their possible malware problem.
The service is the product of an investigation to determine the source of unusual activity patterns that were detected in Google’s data centers. It turns out that the activity was actually coming from machines that were infected with malware. Since it was a simple matter to detect the individual activity patterns, Google’s engineers capitalized on the opportunity to warn users of the potential threat in real time. Continue reading »
