The Dangers Of Visiting OSFI's Website

While writing Oblivion: What Happens If My Life Insurance Company Dies?, I found a potentially harmful website from an unlikely source: OSFI. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), regulates banks and most life insurance companies in Canada. You'd expect their website to be very safe. Maybe it is. 

The Risks

The new Google Chrome web browser spots problems that other browsers miss and explains their concerns:

Of the 1092 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 304 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 09/21/2008, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 09/21/2008. 

Malicious software includes 934 scripting exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 2 new processes on the target machine.

--- Google 

Here is the screenshot.

Protecting Yourself

You can protect yourself by taking precautions

• up-to-date antivirus software with Internet security
• up-to-date web browsers other than Internet Explorer (e.g., FireFox, Chrome, Opera)
• visiting safe sites

Perhaps there are no risks on the OSFI website. Google may be over-reacting, as when this blog was temporarily blocked as spam. 

Links

• Google Chrome web browser
• OSFI website: www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca
• Oblivion: What Happens If My Life Insurance Company Dies?