A screenshot from the StopBadware presentation illustrating best practices for web hosts
Non-profit Internet security organization StopBadware (www.stopbadware.org) announced on Wednesday that it has launched the “We Stop Badware” program for web hosting providers, an effort to get hosts – a group the organization sees as critical to its efforts – involved in the fight against the online distribution of destructive software.
According to the organization, web hosts, as the operators and managers of much of the IT infrastructure used to distribute badware online, can play a key role in stopping the distribution of badware, and by extension its negative effects – which include spam, DDoS attacks, and other harmful activity.
The We Stop Badware program is a fairly straightforward program that asks hosts to adhere to the organization’s best practices for web hosts, and provides them with a seal they can display on their site to promote their involvement in the program.
“One of our goals in creating the program was to give web hosting providers a way to advertise to customers and Internet users their commitment to security and their support for a stronger, safer Internet,” says the organization in a blog post introducing the program. “At StopBadware, we believe that hosting providers’ unique position in the architecture of the Web carries with it a responsibility to proactively protect users and create a more secure online experience for everyone.”
StopBadware’s best practices for web hosts have mostly to do with responding to reports of badware, including practices for investigating the legitimacy of a report, keeping the reporting party informed of the state and progress of the company’s response, and evaluating the case for resolving the badware issue.
The organization has a Prezi presentation on its website that helps to illustrate the best practices for web hosts in a fairly engaging way.
Earlier this month, StopBadware released a white paper on hosting provider liability related to badware. The report can be accessed from the organization’s website.
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
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