Google Safe Browsing in VitalSite
How VitalSite uses Google Safe Browsing — the same blocklist behind Chrome’s red warning screens — to check your domain for malware and phishing.
Google Safe Browsing is one of the most widely used threat-intelligence services on the internet. It powers the full-page red warnings you see in Chrome, Android, Firefox, and Safari when a site is known to host malware or phishing. VitalSite queries it on every scan so you find out immediately whether your domain is flagged.
What it provides
Safe Browsing maintains a continuously updated blocklist of unsafe web resources across several threat types — malware, social engineering / phishing, and unwanted software. Because billions of devices consult this list, a listing has an outsized impact: browsers actively steer users away from flagged sites.
Why we use it
When we tell you your domain is "clean," that claim is only as good as the data behind it. Safe Browsing is the gold-standard reputation source — the same data Google Chrome uses — so a clean result here is genuinely meaningful. And if you are listed, you want to know before your traffic collapses, not after.
How VitalSite uses it
On each scan, VitalSite submits your domain to the Safe Browsing API and reports the result in the Malware & Blacklist check. A match is treated as critical, because a live listing is actively harming your traffic and reputation right now. A clean result is shown as a trust signal you can share with clients.
What to do if you’re flagged
A listing almost always means a compromise, not wrongdoing on your part:
1. Remove the malicious code — usually an injected script or redirect added after a breach.
2. Patch the entry point — frequently an exposed sensitive file or outdated plugin.
3. Request a review in Google Search Console’s Security Issues report; delisting typically takes a day or two.
Our explainer on what Google Safe Browsing is covers the recovery process step by step.
Every VitalSite scan draws on this source automatically. Run a free full-domain scan to see your results, or compare plans and pricing.
See if this affects your site
Run a free full-domain scan — this check runs on every page, with an exact fix guide.