Protecting against network resources associated with undesirable activities

Abstract

Various embodiments provide protection against web resources associated with one or more undesirable activities. In at least some embodiments, a method detects and responds to a user-initiated activity on a computing device. Responding can include, by way of example and not limitation, checking locally, on the computing device, whether a web resource that is associated with the user-initiated activity has been identified as being associated with a safe site. Furthermore, in at least some embodiments, the method checks remotely, away from the computing device, whether the web resource is identified as being at least possibly associated with one or more undesirable activities.

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 checking locally on a computing device to determine whether a website is identified as being associated with a safe site, wherein the safe site is a site that is not associated with an undesirable activity including one or more of a phishing activity, a malware activity, or a spyware activity; and   if the website is not identified locally on the computing device as being associated with a safe site, causing a request to be transmitted for receipt by a remote resource to determine if the website is identified by the remote resource as being associated with the undesirable activity.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the checking locally on the computing device to determine whether the website is identified as being associated with a safe site is responsive to an attempted navigation to the website via the computing device. 
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the checking locally on the computing device to determine whether the website is identified as being associated with a safe site comprises checking the website against a list of sites that are considered to be safe sites. 
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the checking locally on the computing device to determine whether the website is identified as being associated with a safe site occurs contemporaneously with a navigation to the website via the computing device. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving an indication of whether or not the website is identified by the remote resource as being associated with the undesirable activity; and   causing a visual indicia of the indication to be displayed via the computing device.   
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving an indication of whether or not the website is identified by the remote resource as being associated with the undesirable activity; and   providing an option to continue a navigation to the website.   
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising receiving an indication of whether or not the website is identified by the remote resource as being associated with the undesirable activity, the indication being based on a local score from the computing device and reputation information from the remote resource. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising, if the website is not identified locally on the computing device as being associated with a safe site, navigating to the website contemporaneously with causing the request to be transmitted for receipt by the remote resource. 
     
     
         9 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 checking locally on a device to determine whether a network resource is identified as being associated with a safe resource, wherein the safe resource is a resource that is not associated with an undesirable activity including one or more of a phishing activity, a malware activity, or a spyware activity; and   if the network resource is not identified locally on the device as being associated with a safe resource:
 causing a request to be transmitted for receipt by a remote resource to determine if the network resource is identified by the remote resource as being associated with the undesirable activity; and 
 receiving an indication of whether or not the network resource is associated with the undesirable activity. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the checking locally on the device to determine whether the network resource is identified as being associated with a safe resource is responsive to an attempted navigation to the network resource via the device. 
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the network resource comprises a web site, and wherein the checking locally on the device to determine whether the network resource is identified as being associated with a safe resource comprises using a web browser to check the web site. 
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the checking locally on the device to determine whether the network resource is identified as being associated with a safe resource comprises checking the network resource against a list of network resources that are considered to be safe network resources. 
     
     
         13 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the list of network resources comprises uniform resource locators (URLs) for the network resources. 
     
     
         14 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the indication of whether or not the network resource is associated with the undesirable activity is based on a reputation score for the network resource, the reputation score being calculated based on a local score from the device and reputation information from the remote resource. 
     
     
         15 . The method as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the reputation score indicates that the network resource is associated with the undesirable activity, the method further comprising causing to be displayed a visual indication of the reputation score. 
     
     
         16 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the checking locally on the device to determine whether the network resource is identified as being associated with a safe resource comprises calculating a reputation score for the network resource, the reputation score being calculated based on a local score from the device and reputation information from the remote resource. 
     
     
         17 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , further comprising, if the network resource is not identified locally on the device as being associated with a safe resource, navigating to the network resource contemporaneously with causing the request to be transmitted for receipt by the remote resource. 
     
     
         18 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , further comprising presenting an option to continue a navigation to the network resource responsive to receiving the indication of whether or not the network resource is associated with the undesirable activity. 
     
     
         19 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 calculating a local score for a network resource;   receiving reputation information associated with the network resource from a remote resource; and   calculating a reputation score for the network resource using the local score and the reputation information, the reputation score indicating that:
 the network resource is known to be associated with one or more undesirable activities; 
 the network resource is suspected of being associated with one or more undesirable activities; or 
 the network resource is not known or suspected of being associated with one or more undesirable activities. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method as recited in  claim 19 , further comprising:
 presenting via a computing device a visual indication of the reputation score; and   providing an option to navigate to the network resource via the computing device.