• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 9, 2016

Google's ongoing effort to rid the Internet of malicious sites filled with malware, unwanted software, phishing attacks and social engineering software has led the company to add a tag to its arsenal of warning signs.

Now the company will flag "repeatedly dangerous" Web sites as unsafe. The new classification, triggered automatically or at the request of the webmaster via the Search Console, resides under its Safe Browsing Initiative and aims to better protect visitors from malicious Web sites trying to undermine the system.

"Starting today, Safe Browsing will begin to classify these types of sites as 'Repeat Offenders,'" Brooke Heinichen, strategist, safe browsing operations at Google, posted in blog.

"Sites that repeatedly switch between compliant and noncompliant behavior within a short window of time will be classified as Repeat Offenders," according to Google.

Google said Web sites that are hacked will not be classified as Repeat Offenders, but rather sites that purposefully post harmful content.

After Google's system has determined that a site is a Repeat Offender, the site's webmaster will not have the ability to request additional reviews through the Search Console for 30 days.

Warnings also will continue to be shown to users. When a site is established as a Repeat Offender, Google will notify the webmaster via email to their registered Search Console email address.