What is URL Blacklist Virus and How to Fix It?

“Websites promote you 24×7, no employee will ever do that” ~ Paul Cookson

Quite true isn’t it? A website is more like a digital portfolio, the face of a business that represents you, your organization, products and services, and everything else on the most gigantic virtual setup i.e the Internet. If your URL is blacklisted by any of the search engines say Google, Bing, Norton Safe Web, or any other portal, believe us it’s not good news for your website’s online presence.

While browsing the web, aren’t there are a few times when you try to access a certain website but its contents are unable to load and you see a warning message instead? Well, yes, it’s quite common.

Ever heard of the URL Blacklist virus? If your device is installed with antivirus software, then as a security measure it will prohibit you from opening suspicious links on your device.

Also read: Unblock Websites: 5 Solutions You Should Know

Let’s learn all about the URL blacklist virus, the URL blacklisting process, how to fix it, and everything else that you should know.

What is URL Blacklisting?

Whether we want to search for a nearby restaurant serving our favorite cuisine or book tickets for your next vacay, Google is the first place where you head-on, right? Search engines embody an entire world within themselves and allow you to explore anything, get answers to almost anything within a fraction of seconds.

As a security mechanism, most search engines including Google, blacklist certain URLs and websites which are potentially harmful or the ones that contain malware content. URL blacklisting is a process where search engines remove a specific URL from their respective index offering users a secure browsing experience. The moment you try to access any blacklisted URL or website, you’ll be warned right away and the website’s contents won’t load on the screen. Well, not just search engines, in fact, a lot of popular antivirus software also blocks suspicious webpages to protect your digital privacy.

In a nutshell, you can think of URL blacklisting as a process where a search engine or antivirus program merely rejects a website to protect your device from being infected.

Why do Websites Get Blacklisted

There are a variety of reasons why a certain website or URL might get blacklisted from a search engine’s index. Here are a few to name some:

• Includes malicious content.
• Phishing Schemes.
• Trojan Horses.
• Includes suspicious download links.
• Unsafe plugins or libraries.
• Vulnerabilities in the server.

What is a URL Blacklist Virus?

Search engines and antivirus security tools maintain a list of blacklisted URLs that are not secure for your device, or the ones that contain malware potentially. So, if a website is tagged as “Blacklisted” due to any suspicious or malicious behavior, users will be forbidden to access that page’s content.

If your website’s URL is blacklisted, it can prove out to be extremely devastating for your business’s online reputation. All the organic traffic that is generated via the search engine can degrade immensely and users will instantly jump to a different website as soon the warning alert hits the screen.

Also read: How to Unblock YouTube Videos Blocked In Your School, Country?

How to check if a URL is Blacklisted?

One of the most authentic ways to know whether a certain URL is blacklisted is not by using Google’s Safe Browsing tool.

Open this link on any web browser, copy and paste your website’s URL in the textbox. Hit Enter.

Google’s Safe Browsing is an online tool that checks millions of websites in a day, blacklists suspicious content, and removes it from the search engine index. You simply need to enter a website’s URL and then within a few seconds, you can view the exact status of the website from Google’s end.

Also read: Top 5 URL Scanner Tools to Check If a Website is Safe

How do I remove the URL virus blacklist?

Here are a few steps that you need to follow for dealing with the URL blacklist virus and make your webpage up and running again on the Internet.

1. Scan for Virus or Malware

The first step is to check your entire website for a virus, malware, trojans, or any other malicious threats. You can get this job done by using any third-party cleaning tool like Malcare, SiteLock, WordFence, etc.

2. Clean the Website

In our recommendation, we would suggest you download Malcare as it offers reliable website protection. Malcare features an advanced deep scanning technology that scans your entire website for virus or malware traces and removes it. After installing a website cleaning tool plugin, clean the entire website if any virus or malware was found.

3. Submit the URL for Review

After you’ve successfully scanned your entire website and made sure that there were no instances of virus or malware found, the next step is to submit your URL for review. You can put in a request to the authorities, get a review so that your website can be whitelisted again.

Is URL blacklist bad?

Yes, a URL blacklist virus can turn out bad, especially for businesses. It degrades the online presence of your webpage and can cut down the traffic percentage, thereby affecting the sales and revenue of your business. There’s a bare minimum possibility that a user will visit a blacklisted URL anytime soon once they have witnessed suspicious signs or alerts.

How do I Remove Avast blacklisted URL?

If your device is installed with Avast Antivirus software and if it’s blocking you from accessing a certain website, here’s what you can try to bypass the restrictions. Head on to the Settings> Website Module and enter the website URL in the “Exceptions” list.

Download Systweak Antivirus for Windows

Systweak Antivirus is one of the best security tools for your Windows device as it offers real-time protection against viruses, malware, trojans, spyware, ransomware attacks, and any other malicious threats that may potentially expose your digital data. This comprehensive antivirus package acts as a guard between your device and threats.

It offers you three different types of scanning types: Quick Scan, Deep Scan, and Custom scan. Systweak Antivirus not just safeguards your device but also boosts your device’s speed and performance by getting rid of unwanted/malicious startup programs.

So, fellas, that was all on what is a URL blacklist virus, how can you remove a blacklisted URL, and everything else on the subject. For any other queries or assistance, drop your thoughts in the below-mentioned comments space.