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Our beloved service provider apparently thought it's been too long since they last were down and decided to do some network maintenance tonight, which resulted in 48 minutes of downtime. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

There is an epidemic of fake anti-malware software on the Internet. Marketed under hundreds of different names, such as VirusRemover 2008 and XP Antivirus 2009, this type of rogue software scares users by giving false alarms and then tries to deceive them into paying for removal of non-existing malware.

The new WOT video shows what happens when a legitimate site gets infected and redirected to one of these bogus anti-malware scams. This video is part of a new series  WOT is producing to show you online scams and malware threats in action.

Watch the fake anti-malware video now.

WOT is fortunate to have experienced volunteer reviewers working together with us to make the Internet safer for everyone. These dedicated people use their time and lots of effort to submit site ratings, many for untrustworthy sites that could cause harm and annoyance to computer users.

In order to aid these volunteers, we have added a new mass rating tool especially designed for multiple submissions with matching ratings and comments. The tool, called "Mass rating" is located in Gold and Platinum level user's Profile pages.

Thanks to Lordpake for the original suggestion of a mass submission tool! We look forward to receiving your feedback.

This month's newsletter is a short one that contains big news!

Read about our WOT Million Download Contest, then share your story. You could win an iPod touch or iPod nano. There's also news about the updated profile pages and added support for more popular search engines, plus top WOT users, most popular websites and a selection of comments from websites around the world.

If you like WOT and our monthly newsletter, please share the link with a friend.

Read Inside MyWOT (PDF format)

WOT is celebrating one million downloads, and we want to share our joy with you. So we decided to have a contest and give away great prizes! Our lucky winners will receive an iPod touch or an iPod nano.

All you have to do is communicate how WOT works for you. The fun part is that you can communicate that message in a variety of ways – you can write an article, make a blog post, record a WOT jingle, talk about WOT on a podcast, paint a picture and post it on Flickr, make a video or cartoon for YouTube – anything you can think of!

You have the entire month of September to enter the WOT Million Download Contest. Read the rules below and good luck!

WOT Million Download Contest rules

1. The contest is open to all registered WOT users. If you don't have an account on our website, register here and create your profile.
2. Publish your final work explaining how WOT works for you on the Internet (any website like a personal blog, YouTube, Flickr, etc.). The posting must include a link to the WOT homepage (http://www.mywot.com/) and be tagged with keywords: WOT and MyWOT.
3. Submit the link to your entry by September 30th to the comments section of this blog. By participating in the WOT Million Download Contest, you give us permission to use the material in our marketing efforts.
4. The WOT panel will select one winner who will receive an iPod touch (8GB), and a second winner will be chosen from a random Lucky Draw. He/she will receive an iPod nano (4GB). Winners will be announced on our blog and notified by email no later than October 10th.

The WOT community is large, diverse and scattered across the globe, but we are united by a single purpose - making the Internet a safer place for everyone. Our new Community and Profile pages bring us closer together by giving us another way to communicate with each other.

Getting to Know You

Express who you are by adding a photo or avatar, writing a short description about yourself and sharing a few select details to show on your public profile page.

To access your profile, either go through your user name (top right) or the Community page. There is an edit tab at the top that will lead you to our simple Account Information page.

The Edit page is where you can upload a picture, add a signature (for writing on others' message boards) and give a little background information. You can make changes and updates anytime you want. If you want to connect with your new friends outside of WOT, you can add links to your Twitter, Facebook, IM and other accounts right on your profile page.

We protect your privacy

We value your privacy, so you choose what information to keep under lock and key. We will never reveal any personal details without your permission.

You can see what everyone else sees by clicking the “public view” tab on your profile page. It will show your user name, user level, recent scorecard comments, your board and messages you have posted to others or on the WOT forum and blog. When it comes to personal information you choose only what you want to show; no one needs to know where you live, how old you are or even if you're male or female, so you can retain that aura of mystery if you want!

Your private profile page is only visible to you – no one else. Private data includes:

• Number of ratings given
• Number of comments made
• Number of invitations sent
• Personal data such as DOB, gender, city and country

Meet and Greet

And now take a few minutes to create your WOT profile. You can meet other people by clicking on their names wherever you see them – on a scorecard, forum or blog posting or on your message board. Check out my profile here and greet me by leaving a message on my board.