Is That Website Safe?

One common misconception is that only high-traffic, popular websites are targeted. From personal experience I can tell you that's NOT true! A few years ago when I started my chess blog and I was only getting about a hundred hits a week the site got hacked or something and when you went to it, you got re-directed to a bunch of pay per click shopping sites. There was nothing I could do about it and because it was a free Blogger blog, their customer service was no help. In fact my e-mails went unanswered; you get what you pay for. I ended up having to delete the blog and start over.
   Anyway, the point is, even little guys are susceptible to attack, so how can you be sure a site you want to visit is safe? Or that the site itself isn't a scam? 

     The Sucuri sitecheck scanner allows you to simply enter a URL (example: checkthis site.net) and the Sucuri SiteCheck scanner will check the website for known malware, blacklisting status, website errors, and out-of-date software. It also scans the pages linked off of that page and then the results indicate whether the site has been blacklisted by Google Safe Browsing, Norton Safe Web, or Phish tank. It also lets you know whether malware, malicious javascript, or malicious iFrames were detected. Finally, it tests for drive-by-downloads (downloads that happen without your knowledge or intent), anomalies, Internet Explorer-only attacks, suspicious redirections, and spam. The service is free.