How do you know if you're protected on the web? With spammers, scammers, and malicious software coders, who can possibly stay completely safe? That's when WOT comes in....
This is the official fanpage of WOT!
What is WOT?
WOT (Web of Trust) is an add-on for Internet Explorer and Firefox created by Against Institution Inc. that keeps in touch with real users like you to justify the safety of a website. How, you ask? Let me explain:
Let's say you get a virus from a site such as Smiley Central. Well you want other people to know of its danger, correct? And in the future, you don't want to be tricked by a similar site, right? That's where WOT comes in.
When you encounter a problem with a website such as spam, viruses, etc. you can choose to rate that site as unsafe for users in the future to see. If enough people rate a site a similar rating, in google results and when stumbling upon the page, users in the future will see the site is unsafe, and upon entering the address without a search engine, a warning will appear. If however, you decide to tweak your settings a bit, you can adjust it so that the site will be blocked from starting up, unless you decide to allow it.
You probably have many questions such as how does this system not get easily tampered with by unwanted pranksters, how do you rate a site, how much does one person's rating count, and how many sites have been rated. So, let's explain this in more detail.
First off, how WOT works. Upon download, a circle will appear next to the address bar.
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Based on the site's safety, the circle will be a color. Green for safe, yellow for maybe, and red for stop. To see more details on a site, you can click the circle, and see something like this:
The new window shows the rating for trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety, and shows the number of people who have rated each category. More people may have rated the site all of whom's rating will take effect, however, the number of people icons cannot exceed five.
In addition, you can leave a comment, so that people in the future will know more specifics on the website.
The dots indicate your rating, and your activity score is formulated based on how many sites you rate. The higher, the better.
When searching in google, the WOT circle will appear by results. You can move your cursor on this and get a smaller window that shows most of the same details shown above.
To stay accurate, the system is a meritocracy. Everything is based on earning trust.. The first site you rate will have no effect. Not even a person icon. The more people agree with your ratings, the higher your activity score will go up, and the more your rating will count in the future.
Your activity score is a number formulated based on how many websites you've rated and comments left that people agree with, to determine how much your rating counts. Based on your activity score, you will be ranked accordingly, as being a Rookie, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum rater. Because of a recent addition made by WOT, Gold and Platinum raters (Users with an activity score of 6,000 or more) can rate multiple websites at once, using the Mass Rating Tool.
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Rookie Bronze aSilver aGold aPlatinum
In another recent addition, you and other users can now view your profile, showing your activity score, ranking medal, and any personal information you decide to make public.
To keep up with these changes, WOT has created a the Inside MyWOT Newsletter, available through their blog, or by subscribtion. It is a newsletter published monthly, that shows the top ten most active members, the most recent additions, and showcases comprehensive pictures that fit the topics being mentioned.
So, you may be asking, how many websites have actually been rated? Wot has currently rated over 20 million sites, and counting.
So what are you waiting for? Go on and download wot, try it for yourself, and stay safe on the web.
Download wot here: http://www.mywot.com/en/download/ff
With all these features, why wouldn't you want to download WOT? Besides, it's free. :)
Below is a collage I made showing all the features discussed earlier. As you read further, you will also find the top fifty reasons why WOT is so great.
Wot collage I made
Why I chose WOT:
Obviously, this website was NOT created by the WOT staff, but rather by me, a fan of WOT. I think that WOT really is an important add-on. It has kept me safe online and virus free for the past two years (Which is when I first downloaded it) and it is the true stop to all dangers online. It's not even limited to viruses, with other categories including vendor reliability, child safety, and overall trustworthiness.
The top 50:
Because I think WOT is a necessity, I've below listed the 50 reasons why WOT is so great below. If you still are unsure about downloading WOT, check some of these out
It keeps you safe from viruses and rootkits
It keeps you safe from spyware
Almost half of WOT 3's features are composed of suggestions from users like you
It has rated over 20 million sites
WOT offers a colorblind mode
It recognizes those who have rated the most sites through the top ten lists accessible through the WOT Newsletter and the Community page as well as through allowing the top 500 to take part in beta testing
It allows users to easily communicate to each other through personal profile page
It allows for comments to be made on websites, so users know the specifics of its safety
Anyone with an account can post on the forum, allowing for unlimited possibilities including:
Being able to get answers to questions by both the WOT community and the WOT staff, being able to make suggestions which will likely be included in future versions, ask for users opinions, and more!
You are able to get a response to any question(s) you have in less than 24 hours through the forum, or by contacting the WOT staff directly
It keeps you safe from any websites that aren't particularly child friendly.
It keeps you safe from online scams
It shows how many people have rated a website in each category
Because of how light it is, it has no effect on the speed of the browser
It is a recommended add-on by Firefox
It keeps you safe in Gmail
It keeps you safe in Google search results
It allows easy access to a website who-is lookup
It allows easy access to statistics on a website's traffic
It has a simple, easy to use interface
It's fully customizable, allowing you to choose how dangerous a website has to be to block you from access or warn you and in what category or categories this applies
It allows you to choose if you want to block unsafe websites or only get a warning
It holds great contests that allows winners to get iPods, and other cool prizes!
A new user registers for WOT approximately every five minutes
It offers many comprehensive videos that demonstrate dangerous websites in action
It is completely honest, in that it never edits and/or deletes comments unless they have offensive language. Even on its own website, some people blow off WOT because it is based on user testeonials and have commented that on the website. WOT however, believes everyone should be able to express their opinions, and doesn't edit or delete these comments
It allows users to request a comment if they feel a website needs special attention, or if they want someone else's opinion on a website
It is completely free
It offers easy to undestand definitons and information on many types of dangers, including: malware, spyware, rootkits, phishng browser exploits, and more.
It is available for both Internet Explorer and Firefox
It allows users to create a profile and meet other users
It has over one million downloads
It demonstrates how well mass collaboration can work
It is recommended by makeuseof.com
It continually encourages people to rate more sites by adding the activity score feature
It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
It offers the Inside MyWOT Newsletter which describes all the latest news and offers many comprehensive images to accompany it
It offers a website widget that allows you to make any links on your website made by you or posted by others show the colored circle that matches its reputation by the hyperlink, as well as offer a link to the scorecard when the cursor is moved on the link
Its website is available in ten different languages
It allows you to rate websites and get that happy feeling when you know you are helping people in the future :D
WOT receives information from websites such as phishtank, hp artists, and other blacklists, that lowers the ratings of any websites listed in them to ensure accuracy
It is compatible with almost every other add-on
It offers a mass rating tool to users with an activity score of 6,000 or more, which allows them to rate multiple sites with the same rating at one time. For example, you can rate ten dangerous sites dangerous, all at once
It offers links to many websites that promote the goal of safe internet surfing for everyone
It offers many different types of badges that you are able to put on your website to promote the website and its goal
It takes mention on the scorecard if a website has recently been digged or added to del.icio.us
WOT has almost 77,000 comments on websites of every kind
WOT has a Wikipedia article talking all about it
WOT has a weekly poll that asks users about many kinds of WOT features they feel should be incorporated
WOT makes the web feel more inviting, by keeping you from worrying about if a download is safe, or if a new shopping site is a scam. It ensures your safety, and the safety of others