WOT Internet Security And Ratings Utility

WOT (Web of Trust) is a free Internet security addon for Internet Explorer (PC only) and Firefox (Mac or PC). This utility allows you to rate web sites for trustworthiness and will warn you before you enter an untrustworthy site. The simple setup offers three levels of protection:

• Light – Rating icons are shown only for dangerous sites, No pop-ups
• Basic (Recommended) – Rating icons shown for all sites, Search Results ratings shown in pop-up window
• Child Safety – Blocks access to sites that contain adult language and content, All unrated sites are blocked

Set to Basic default, WOT will warn you if you attempt to connect to any sites that have a poor level of Trustworthiness, Vendor Reliability, or Privacy. A “poor” or “very poor” rating in any area will trigger a warning. When child safety mode is in place, it will also block sites that contain mature or inappropriate content.

Once installed the security levels can be customized or turned off. Settings include the ability to choose whether WOT will give you a warning that lets you choose whether or not to proceed, or block the site completely. The utility also gives you the ability to rate sites that you visit (if you create a user account) as follows:

From mywot.com…

Trustworthiness: Do you trust this website? Is it safe to use? Does it deliver what it promises?

A poor rating may indicate identity theft potential, Internet scams, credit card fraud, phishing, lottery scams, viruses, adware, or spyware.

An unsatisfactory rating indicates that the site may contain annoying advertisements, excessive pop-ups, or content that makes your browser crash.

Vendor reliability: Is the site safe for buying and selling, or for business transactions in general? A poor rating indicates possible fraud or a bad shopping experience.

Privacy: Can you trust the site owner, safely supply your e-mail address, and download files?A poor rating indicates spam, adware, or spyware.

Child safety: Does the site contain age-inappropriate material (content that is sexually oriented, hateful, or violent in nature) or encourage activities that are dangerous or illegal?

How to rate sites:

• Use your mouse to move the user rating symbol
• By moving the user rating symbol you indicate what you think of the site
• Your rating will be saved when you close the rating window or click outside it

WOT generates these statistics based on user feedback:

Confidence: Indicates the amount of supporting evidence.

Scorecard: Shows rating details with comments from users and trusted sources. You may also leave your own comment.

Download it for free at http://www.mywot.com

This article copyright © John Nasta 2009 – All Rights Reserved

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