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CNET Editors' review
As wonderful as the Internet is, it has its seedy underbelly, too: Web sites that will rip you off, spam your e-mail account, infect your computer with malware, steal your identity, expose your kids to inappropriate content, and all kinds of other bad stuff. Wouldn't it be great if you could somehow know about other people's experiences with particular Web sites? That's the idea behind WOT, or Web of Trust, an online community that lets people share their Web experiences via extensions for a variety of different browsers. We tested the Chrome version of the extension and it did not disappoint.
Using WOT is incredibly easy. Like other Chrome extensions, it appears as a small icon to the right of Chrome's address bar. The icon changes color depending on the quality of each particular Web site you visit, based on other users' ratings. A dark green icon means you're in the clear, while a red one is cause for serious concern; orange, yellow, and light green cover the areas in between. Sites are rated on four metrics: Trustworthiness, Vendor Reliability, Privacy, and Child Safety. Clicking on the icon lets you view a site's rating in each of these categories and enter ratings of your own. WOT doesn't require registration, but if you choose to register you can take advantage of additional features, such as the capability to create a profile and write comments on sites' scorecards. We surfed around to several popular Web sites as well as a few shadier ones with WOT enabled, and its ratings seemed reliable to us. One particularly bad site really set off WOT's alarms, and it displayed a warning message that we had to click through in order to access the site. We especially liked that the WOT icon appears next to site names in search engine results, letting you know whether or not a site is safe before you click on it. The extension is supported by plenty of online documentation and there are lots of options for customizing WOT's behavior. Overall we were quite impressed with WOT and we think it's a great collaborative way to help ensure Internet safety.
WOT installs and uninstalls without issues. We highly recommend this extension to all users.
Publisher's Description
From WOT Services:
WOT's safe browsing tool warns you about risky sites that can't be trusted: Online shops that cheat customers; download sites that deliver malware; sites that send spam; and those with inappropriate content for kids. Millions of members of the WOT community rate websites based on their experiences, giving you an extra layer of protection when browsing or searching the Web. The WOT add-on provides reputation ratings to search results when you use Google, Yahoo, Bing, Wikipedia and other popular sites. Your Gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail account is also protected.
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All versions:
3.5 starsout of 10 votes
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Current version:
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Results 1-10 of 10
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"Spyware for Chrome"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.4.11
Pros
View the opinion of domains
Cons
Spyware
Thought police
Political censorship
Organization known for blackmailSummary
The basic idea being the WOT toolbar is a noble one.. but move on a few years and you have a very corrupt organization which has been involved in a few scandals. Unfortunately, they have all been censored from their user forums. Nothing critical of MYWOT or its platinum members may be discussed there.
What's most worrying about Web of Trust is the fact that every single site you visit and every task you perform on your browser is being reported back to their servers, which anybody with some know-how can verify.
The censorship of political thoughts is the most worrying thing about this product.. and if one senior member rates something "in the red", then the pack of hyenas comes in to support him/her with their mass rating tools.
By the way, their platinum members share lists of sites they don't agree with so they may use the "Mass Rating Tool" as a group. -
"Decent Chrome extension for web browsing safety"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.4.11
Pros
Fast, lightweight extension in Chrome browser. Good for a quick check when navigating to a new website that I've never visited. Best feature: Displays safety indicator for short URLs! If it shows red, I don't click on a bitly or owly or other short link.
Cons
Some sites are rated poorly i.e. false positives, due to perceived objectionable political or religious content. Unfortunately, some other political or religious oriented websites are rated well, depending on subjectivity of WOT rating community.
Also, there are websites that have pornographic content, but are not scams, nor have malware. It would be good to rate those sites highly, and the unsafe pornography websites poorly. It is a fact that internet users view pornography. It should be rated poorly for child safety, but not necessarily bad for vendor reliability, or privacy.Summary
WOT is reliable about flagging websites associated with browser exploits, spam, or blacklisted by major anti-virus and security vendors. My overall experience with WOT has been positive, as a consumer, and occasional social media user.
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"Can't trust ratings"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.4.11
Pros
None that I can find any more.
Cons
I had used this for a long while but have found that you can't trust their ratings any better than not having it at all. You think risky sites are ones with porn or spam - but it also includes sites that they don't like their political views. I've uninstalled this on all my browsers.
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"Fails to install"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.4.6
Pros
None, since I could not install WOT after six attempts.
Cons
When trying to install, get the error message "Download was not a CRX" repeatedly
Summary
Rectify the download and install process.
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"Works Great"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.2
Pros
slows my computer down when i'm playing games i just disable it when i'm playing games
Cons
works great when Goggling stuff
Summary
works with internet explorer 7,8,9 Mozilla firefox google chrome
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"Excellent product"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.1
Pros
Feel safer surfing
Cons
Wonderful download
Summary
So glad I have it on my system
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"PREVENTION FIRST"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.0.4
Pros
Effectively blacklists known bad sites and notifies/prevents you from visiting rogue sites that are unsafe. Works great with Opera 11.01
Cons
None at this time.
Summary
Another layer of protection for free!
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"ITS A MUST HAVE"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.0.4
Pros
BLOCKS WEB SITS BEFORE YOU GO TO IT
Cons
WHATS NOT TO LIKE ITS FREE I USE IT WITH AVAST AN NEVER HAD A PROBLEM
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"Use it everyday, and it is trustworthy!"
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.0.4
Pros
Makes browsing easier.
Cons
Doesn't cover every site.
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"Excellent tool, a must-have for firefox users."
Version: WOT (Web of Trust) for Google Chrome 1.0.4
Pros
Extra security that everybody should have and use. It's better to be save then sorry. You'll be warned if the site is to be trusted or not.
Cons
Might give contradicted information in compare to other software. Witch may confuse the user.
Summary
A plug and play tool. No tweaks or configurations are needed.
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