Resolving a Security Warning for a Domain

A domain can sometimes be used with malicious intent - like hosting malware or running phishing campaigns - and then be left unused or allowed to lapse. When this happens, the domain may eventually expire and become available for anyone to register again

If you see a warning, such as the one shown in the image below, your domain may have been marked as unsafe by Google or other antivirus software at some point in time. You can check if your domain is affected and resolve any issues by following the steps below.

Step 1 | Check your domain's reputation

See how others view your domain by visiting your site or by using the Safe Browsing tool by Google.

To check your domain's reputation:

1. Visit your website through Google Chrome, and see if a warning message appears.

2. Check your domain against Google's Safe Browsing tool. This will allow you to see the reason why your site was flagged as dangerous:

   • If your site was flagged for malware you may receive a warning that says: Google Safe Browsing recently detected malware on [your domain]. Websites that are normally safe are sometimes infected with malware. The malicious content comes from X site, a known malware distributor.

   • If your site has been marked as dangerous due to phishing, you may receive a warning that says: Google Safe Browsing recently detected phishing on [your domain]. Phishing sites pretend to be other websites to trick you. Check if your domain has been affected in Google's Safe Browsing tool.

Step 2 | Resolve security warning issues

You can resolve any malware or phishing warnings produced by Google by taking the steps listed below.

To resolve security warning issues:

• For malware warnings:

  1. Go to Google Search Console and open the Security Issues report . The report should show the warnings and sample "infected" URLs.

  2. Click Request a review, and provide further information regarding the false positive detection.

• For phishing warnings, you can report an incorrect phishing warning.

What to expect?

Wait for the review to be processed.

As this is an external vendor with their own policies and procedures, processing times can vary depending on the results of the report.