Article Summaries

W hen an innocent search for a local auto-body repair shop lands someone on a page that promotes great mortgage rates, inexpensive prescription drugs, legal assistance, or pain-free cosmetic surgery, that person has been Web spammed. This practice undermines the trustworthiness people have come to expect from search engines. Google, Yahoo, and MSN have built their reputation on providing reliable, unbiased, trustworthy references. Web spammers exploit this trust, a practice that has far-reaching technical, economic, and social implications. Search engine companies will continue to fight spammers, but in the long run, the best solution to the ongoing battle will be to make spamming ineffective.