Most of the badware that is in circulation today is distributed through websites. For users who want to make informed choices about what they download, knowing which websites are dangerous is as important as knowing which applications to avoid. The Badware Website Clearinghouse is a collaborative effort to build a dynamic and comprehensive list of websites that host, link to, or otherwise distribute badware.

Websites can distribute badware in a variety of ways. Some sites intentionally distribute bad applications for profit. Some feature ads, often provided by third parties, that attempt to automatically install harmful software. Many sites have been hacked without the site owner’s knowledge, and can download dangerous code onto visitors’ computers when a user simply visits the site. For more information about what qualifies as a badware website, check out our Website Guidelines.

Although the Clearinghouse is hosted by StopBadware, the list of badware-distributing sites has been generated by our data partners. Unless we indicate otherwise, websites in our clearinghouse have been examined by our partners, such as Google, and found by them to contain badware or links to badware. Sites marked with a were reported to StopBadware by one or more partners (named in the column to the left of the site’s URL in Clearinghouse search results). StopBadware has not independently tested or reviewed these sites and has not created or developed any of the information listed about them – all information displayed about these sites is provided to us by our partners.

When StopBadware itself has tested a site, and has independently determined that the site contains or links to badware, the site is marked with a . Sites with an uncolored icon are not currently being reported to StopBadware as bad. An uncolored icon should not, however, be interpreted as meaning that a site is clean – it simply means that none of our partners are currently reporting the site as bad.

If you are the administrator of a website on this list, you can ask StopBadware to review the status of your site in the Badware Website Clearinghouse through our Request for Review process. For more information, please see our FAQ.

To search for a website listed in the Clearinghouse, click here