Yahoo adds sign-in security features to fight phishing

The Sunnyvale, Calif., web giant has introduced a "sign-in seal" designed to make users aware if they are on an authentic Yahoo site, not one they've been linked to by a phishing email.

Yahoo allows home users to specialize their safety measures by letting them choose a text seal with a short secret message assigned to a PC, or a specific image. Users of Yahoo are also urged to pick a specific color to identify authentic sites.

A Yahoo representative could not be immediately reached for comment.

Peter Cassidy, secretary-general of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, said today that despite web companies adding security features, the onus for safe web browsing remains the user's.

"People call us up all the time from consumer-side magazine and newspapers and ask what are people supposed to do to protect themselves. We tell them about 15 steps and then they say, ‘Well, that's a lot of work," he said. "To a certain extent, that workload defines a certain amount of expertise has to be taken off the consumer's shoulders. There's a value proposition for anyone who wants to do that."

Yahoo also made web security news last month when it announced a partnership with Symantec to offer a free 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security.

After the trail ends, users are given the option of buying a year's subscription for $49.99.

The new product includes spyware, virus and adware detecting and blocking, software for blocking identity thieves and intruders and email and instant messaging scanning.