(Part one in an informal series on the absolute uselessness of current certifcation practices…more later).

The new Netscape has a trust rating, explained here.

According to their website:

The Netscape Browser is equipped with a web site rating system called “Trust Ratings” which is driven by lists of sites provided by our trusted security partners. The intent of this system is to automate browser security and site compatibility on an automated basis by identifying the following:
• Verified sites which are safe for entering personal and/or financial information
• Malicious sites intended to steal your information (aka Phishing sites)
• Sites which attempt to inject malicious programs or code onto your system (Spyware, Adware, Trojans, and viruses)

Looking a bit further, one sees their “Trusted Security Partners”: Verisign (for light reading on Verisign, see Ben Edelman’s writeup here), Truste (whose “sealholder” list includes abetterinternet.com, direct-revenue.com and others), and Paretologic (makers of Xofspy, a former member of the Rogue/Suspect Spyware list).

Update: Suzi at SpywareWarrior.com just ran with the story. You can see her blog entry here.

Alex
(Thanks Suzi, Eric, Ben)