GeoTrust, Inc., a leader in identity verification solutions for e-business and a leading issuer of digital certificates for web security, today announced the availability of its TrustWatch trusted search service for the popular Mozilla Firefox browser. Firefox users can now immediately see a trusted search rating displayed next to each search result when using the Google search engine built into the Mozilla Firefox browser. The TrustWatch Search extension for Mozilla Firefox is available for free at http://toolbar.trustwatch.com.
The Firefox TrustWatch extension is designed to help protect consumers from online fraud threats, identity theft and phishing scams by indicating the trustworthiness of websites. Users can steer clear of known phishing sites, and avoid exchanging confidential information or personal data with unknown or unsafe sites, by evaluating search results using the clearly defined, color-coded TrustWatch Search rating system. Using the new Firefox extension, any query typed into the Google search field returns relevant search results with one of three symbols beside each search result: a green "verified" symbol for sites verified by trusted third parties; a yellow "not verified" symbol for sites that are not verified but are not known to be fraudulent; or a red "warning" rating for known fraudulent sites.
"Hundreds of thousands of consumers already rely on TrustWatch's search capabilities for Internet Explorer, and we felt it was important to provide the same trusted search capabilities to the large and growing community of Firefox users," said Neal Creighton, chief executive officer of GeoTrust. "We know that people like to use the search engine they are most familiar with, so we designed this Firefox extension to bring the benefits of TrustWatch search ratings to Firefox's built-in Google search field."
The new extension is platform independent, so Firefox users running the extension in any operating system can download the utility to have TrustWatch ratings integrate seamlessly with their Google search results. GeoTrust plans to release updated versions of the Firefox extension that will enable users of several other search engines to view the TrustWatch ratings with their search results as well. Previously, trusted search results were only available to users of the TrustWatch.com search site or to Internet Explorer users with the TrustWatch toolbar.
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The TrustWatch extension for Firefox is based on proven and patent-pending GeoTrust identity verification technology that uses a sophisticated algorithm to evaluate data from many touch points to create an identity verification (IDV) score, much like a consumer credit agency looks at a variety of financial sources to come up with a credit score. If there are enough trust factors to create a high IDV score, the website is given a green verified rating. TrustWatch Search also works with leading providers of blacklist data, such as Cyota and the Anti-Phishing Working Group, to alert consumers to fraudulent sites. TrustWatch Search uses Ask.com search technology to provide search results.
In addition to features allowing consumers to evaluate and verify website integrity, TrustWatch allows them to personally review merchants and report suspicious, phishing-related activity. GeoTrust collects and evaluates their feedback, forwards it to anti-fraud organizations and aggregates it for potential use in future TrustWatch ratings.
Site Reports Help Consumers Quickly Understand Ratings
When viewing a list of search results in Google, Firefox users with the TrustWatch extension can click on a "Site Report" link to get more information about the site. Each report displays website background information from trusted partners to help consumers further evaluate websites, including:
* Site verification and SSL encryption -- Helps consumers understand
whether the site has been authenticated by a trusted third party, such
as GeoTrust, VeriSign or another legitimate SSL certificate provider,
and has a valid certificate to safeguard data during transmission.
* Website reviews and store ratings -- GeoTrust provides website reviews
and store ratings from CNET and BizRate.
* Security certification -- Sites are checked against ScanAlert's HACKER
SAFE database to determine if they continue to pass daily security
audits based on the highest government and industry security standards.
* Privacy policy -- TrustWatch Search integrates privacy policy
verification information from TRUSTe, an independent, nonprofit
organization that certifies and monitors website privacy and email
policies.
* Site attribute information -- TrustWatch Search provides consumers with
information related to traffic rank, website date of inception and
similar website listings by incorporating data from Alexa.
The TrustWatch extension for Mozilla Firefox is free and may be downloaded from http://toolbar.trustwatch.com.
About GeoTrust, Inc.
GeoTrust is the leader in identity verification, credentialing and validation solutions, and the fastest growing Certificate Authority, according to market research firm Netcraft. Its products include web security services for secure e-commerce transactions, identity verification for consumers, managed security services for enterprises, digital signing for documents and computer code, and TrustWatch (http://www.TrustWatch.com), a free toolbar and search site that helps consumers recognize whether a site has been verified and is safe for the exchange of confidential information. With more than 100,000 companies worldwide using its technology for online security, GeoTrust has rapidly become the second largest digital certificate provider in the world. The company recently acquired TC TrustCenter, a leading German Certificate Authority and provider of advanced enterprise security and smart card solutions. Visit http://www.geotrust.com for more information.
GeoTrust is a registered trademark of GeoTrust, Inc. All other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
Joan Lockhart Liz Serotte
GeoTrust, Inc. Schwartz Communications, Inc.
781-292-4153 781-684-0770
joanl@geotrust.com geotrust@schwartz-pr.com