News portal iol.co.za is waiting for Google to give it the all-clear after the search giant posted a warning on the site, saying malware had been detected and warning users to stay off the site.
IOL editor Alastair Otter says the site was not hacked, but that third-party content contained code that caused Google's alarm bells to ring. He says the problematic code has been removed and the portal is clean, but the entity now needs to wait for Google to remove the warning.
Google explains, on a link to its front page warning, that the site is listed as suspicious and visiting the portal may harm computers. It says that part of the site was listed for suspicious activity eight times over the past 90 days.
software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2012-07-09, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2012-07-09.”
Otter says the site was blocked some time during the night, initially by Google's browser, Chrome, but the message spread to other browsers between 8am and 10am. Despite the warning, IOL readers are commenting on stories and there seems to be activity on the news site, he adds.
It is not clear whether these readers have ignored the warning, or are using browsers that are not affected, says Otter. IOL is using its Facebook page and other social media to communicate to readers, he adds.
Google's explanation notes that iol.co.za did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites during the past 90 days and it has not hosted malicious software in the past 90 days.
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