We're optimistic– Site being "reconsidered"

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on June 24th, 2009

Google has very tight security. Understandable, we suppose. So, when some sort of suspicious software is inserted into a website (with or without the knowledge of the site’s owner), the Google alarms and whistles go off and, before you know it, your site is being labeled as some sort of internet pariah.

About 36 hours ago, we made a “reconsideration request” to Google, asking them to rummage around under the hood and make sure no demons were present. A company the size of Google isn’t exactly light on its feet, so the request may take another few hours.

Until then, if you notice anything suspicious, let us know via email (drop one to The Female Half using tmskene(at sign)hotmail(dot)com) or via our MySpace site.

None of this “badware” is to be feared– it’s more a nuisance than anything (the name derives from a elision (?) of the terms “bad” and “adware.” Cnet says badware “is not designed to purposefully destroy data or compromise a system as is a virus or Trojan.”

In fact, some software from such giants as Sears, Kmart and AOL has been labeled as badware by a consortium of companies (including Google and Microsoft) that pay attention to such things.

Where did it come from? Russia or China is a good bet. (They’ve been implicated in a lot of spamming and adware schemes lately.)

We look forward to posting regularly again.

And, during our forced vacation, we’ve been working on other projects that needed our attention.