Yahoo announced yesterday that it has partnered with security application specialist McAfee to integrate SiteAdviser into searches. McAfee SiteAdviser will help Yahoo searchers to avoid malicious websites such as those engaging in adware, spyware, phishing, spam or other bad neighborhoods.

McAfee SiteAdviser will not block Yahoo users from going to such sites, only raise a red flag that gives searchers the choice in avoiding such sites. Users can also click on the McAfee SearchScan option to further identify websites as suspicious or malicious.

This tactic by Yahoo is a bit different than Google, who tries to drop websites in the rankings that it identifies as spam sites. Those who do long-tail searches, however, will appreciate Yahoo’s teaming with McAfee to flag sites that may slip by unnoticed by other search engines.

Since user experience is the top priority for most search engines, the Yahoo McAfee flag will give users one more tool in which avoid suspicious websites. We’ll have to wait and see if the speed of searches is impacted by this new tool, which could take away a bit from user experience.

Filed under: Yahoo