Google clamps down on misleading ‘download’ buttons

We’ve all run into this: you’re trying to find some software, and when you finally get to a download page, you’re faced with multiple DOWNLOAD buttons. It’s like a really bad game, in which clicking the right button gets you the software, and clicking the wrong one infects your computer with malware.

Google is aware of this problem, and in keeping with its goal of using its vast resources to help protect users, will now detect these misleading buttons and warn users. Increasingly, when you navigate to a page with these deceptive buttons, Google will warn you: ‘Deceptive Content Ahead’. A welcome improvement.

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

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