Is Google your go-to search engine? Watch out - it could be a fake. A dummy site, ɢoogle.com, was originally picked up by The Next Web who found the odd link in their analytics (for more details, check out their article).
This fake site has swapped out the lower case 'g' for a different character; the 'Latin Letter Small Capital G' in the hope of deceiving those looking for the search engine. This difference is so easily overlooked that many people are falling for it.
''ɢoogle.com'' is a mix of pop ups, adverts, pro-Trump messages and bizarrely, Pink Floyd lyrics. The URL seems to have been picked up by a repeat offender, who has a habit of taking well-known website addresses and swapping out a letter for a different character.
If this all sounds terrifyingly familiar, there are a few things you can do to clean up any mess that this site has made.
Don't click any links
We're fairly certain that nothing good can come from clicking any of the links on this site. It's really easy to hide the destinations of links online; just because the button says Facebook, it doesn't mean that clicking the link will take you there. If you were looking for google.com or you want to access any of the sites that the page links to, just find them yourself.
Close all the pages
This sounds like an obvious one, but it's easily overlooked if twenty pop ups have opened and flooded your desktop in less than a second. If closing them manually doesn't work, head to your task manager, select the dodgy looking items and click End Task. That should get rid of anything weird lurking in the background.
Scan your machine for viruses
Even if you haven't clicked any links, malicious software could have been planted on your machine by just accessing the site. If you're worried that you've clicked onto a dodgy site or you've noticed something on your machine that isn't quite right, it's always worth doing a full scan of your computer and letting your IT support team know about it.
Download WOT scorecard
WOT is a great little extension that tells you the validity and the legitimacy of a site before you click on it. Just hover over the icon at the end of a web address and it will give you a scorecard with the site's trustworthiness, and whether it's suitable for children. Really useful for locating harmful sites.
Still worried? Give us a call on 0191 482 0444
