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A seemingly simple little addition to WOT will benefit our international community of users by turning the "Tower of Babel" into a "babel fish."

For scorecard comments and postings on the WOT blog and forum written in a different language than the site's language, we now have a "translate" link . All you do is click on the translate link once and it replaces the comment with a translation. Clicking it again restores the original comment. This clever addition uses the Google Translation API.

Many of the great ideas that have been implemented by WOT have come from our users. This one started with g7w on this forum post. Thanks g7w.

Let us know what you think (in any language!).

Summertime at WOT HQ hasn't  been all sunshine and picnics - we have been busy making WOT stronger and more reliable than ever (with a few picnics thrown in for good measure.)

The new Inside MyWOT newsletter has been a couple of months in the making as we prepared to announce our partnership with Panda Security. We are so proud of this collaboration, and hope that you enjoy the added protection that Panda provides to WOT users.

In this issue we also highlight some of our friends who are using WOT badges on their websites and blogs, and thank our fans who have put their film-making talents to work making videos about WOT for YouTube. Ever wonder what WOT looked like last year, or even before that? The Wayback Machine is a fun way to go back in time and see how your favorite websites have changed.

All this and more in the August Inside MyWOT newsletter. Read it now and please share it with a friend.

The economy is booming in the rogue security software sector this year. PandaLabs reports that malware posing as antivirus software is spreading fast, with tens of millions of computers infected each month. Over the course of this year, they predict that that there will be up to 637,000 variants of bogus security software available, infecting as many as 35 million computers each month.

Essentially a rogue security program convinces the user that their computer is infected with malware, when it's really not, and the user agrees to install the software to remove the nonexistent threat. The duped user pays between $29 and $79, earning cybercriminals approximately $34 million per month through rogueware attacks.

What to look for in rogue software

• Their design is convincingly similar to real antivirus software
• Rogue antivirus programs often display more "alerts" like fake pop-up warnings or messages in the task bar
• Your system is scanned quickly and without your consent - something a legitimate software vendor would never do
• The ‘infections’ detected often refer to different files on each scan
• High-pressure sales copy to buy RIGHT NOW!
• Changes to the operating system that prevent you from restoring the desktop or screensaver

How to prevent infection with rogue software

• Use a safe browser. Many people prefer Firefox.
• Keep your antivirus and antispyware updated and install WOT
• Be careful in downloading freeware or shareware programs
• Avoid using file sharing (P2P) applications
• Don't click on any pop-up that advertises antivirus software

If you have been infected, visit Free PC Security for help.

Do you have any other tips or something you want to share about this plague of fake antivirus software? Let us know.

Panda Security, the world's leading provider of cloud-based security solutions, and WOT Services Ltd., the developer of the world's leading community-based website rating service Web of Trust (WOT), are pleased to announce a partnership today to deliver a safer Web search experience through their new co-branded version of WOT.

The Panda-WOT partnership gives WOT's 5 million members added protection with up-to-the-minute information on malware distributors, phishing threats and dangerous domains detected by Panda Labs. You'll know it's from Panda when you see the Panda avatar as a trusted source on a WOT scorecard. WOT users will also receive special offers for extended trials of Panda anti-virus products periodically. Panda customers can complement their virus protection with WOT's safe browser tool from the Panda-WOT download site. By joining forces, both companies hope to attract new users and make searching, shopping, and browsing on the Internet a safer experience.

“As we did with Collective Intelligence, we trust in the power of the community to improve the safety of the user, that’s why we believe WOT is the best tool to help get safe surfing through the Internet”, said Panda Security’s CEO Juan Santana.

"We are excited to have Panda, a respected security company, as a partner in our goal to make the Internet a safer place for everyone," said Against Intuition's CEO Esa Suurio. "WOT prides itself in providing frontline protection in the battle against online threats, and with this strong collaboration between Panda Security and Web of Trust we have strengthened both our products and given our users a definite advantage against cybercrime."

WOT users can try Panda Internet Security 2010 free for one month. Learn more about this offer on Panda Security for WOT members.

Here are some scorecards with the new Panda trusted source:

• http://www.mywot.com/scorecard/sapiensautomacao.com.br
• http://www.mywot.com/scorecard/adarshpolytechnic.com
• http://www.mywot.com/scorecard/d.mundo-descargas.com

Read the Press Release

Comments on WOT scorecards have proven to be popular and useful, but sometimes they can be troublesome. People are motivated to write comments by their own reasons; either they had an experience on a site they loved or one that they hated. Comments are usually very positive or very negative – sometimes about the same site. The point being that more information can sometimes complicate matters and muddle a decision. On the other hand, comments provide important information. See what I mean about getting muddled?

One of the problems is that not everyone leaving comments is being sincere. Comments can be misleading, contradictory and confusing.  The accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information is not guaranteed. The person who writes the most convincing comments might be wrong or is trying to scam you. That’s social engineering at work. Then there are the random comments and meaningless rants. What does “This site sucks” really tell you?

When writing your comments, please consider the following:

• Be objective and truthful. Useful comments include not only whether you liked or disliked a site, service or product, but also why.

• Differentiate between the technical safety of the site and the content

• Support your assertions or statements

• Try to keep it short, but focused

Avoid these:

• Obscenities, discriminatory language or other language not suitable for a public forum

• Advertisements or  "spam" content

• Email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses or other forms of contact information

• Critical or spiteful comments on other comments posted on the page or their authors

Examples of good comments:

I bought a puppy from this site 9 years ago and the service and caring that they showed was above and beyond. This is NOT a puppy mill. They are true Siberian Husky lovers with great dogs. Very professional and extremely caring about their pups. ~ from scorecard

I use this website to broadcast my internet radio show. If you are looking for fun then this is one of the sites you should check out. This one is on my list of good websites. There is nothing really financial going on aside from some Pay to View things but that is all managed by Stickam. ~ from scorecard

The directions are simple, sometimes to the point of not containing enough information, but I've experienced with recipes similar to these and they turned out well. If there are multiple alternative sets of ingredients that may be used for a dish, those alternatives are listed, too. ~ from scorecard