Hortal.com

I’m working on the presentation for Sticky Websites next Monday. In order to do a final review at work before sending it off, I need to download Microsoft’s PPT 2007 viewer for my PC at work, so I went to Google and… this happened!

See the URL of the results page? http://thesource.ofallevil.com/. I actually followed the link the first time around without realizing what had happened. As expected, it worked:

Has Microsoft finally come out, or is this just a very well executed case of Google-poisoning? And if the second, what are the implications for brands if people are a) able to knock Microsoft off the top spots for its own products and b) use the technique to drive traffic to phishing sites? The source of all evil seems to be just an elaborate prank. The techniques used by it can surely be put to much darker uses.

Update

Apparently this has been going on for quite a while. I found references to this in Digg from over a year ago. It looks like it may have recently resurfaced. Well done to Google for telling it like it is

Roberto Hortal

Head of Digital - EDF Energy --- I am an eBusiness Director with many years of experience in great businesses across the world. Born and bred in Benidorm, Spain, I started my eBusiness career in the 90s with Nokia in Helsinki, heading Nokia’s Global Web organisation for a number of years. In 2004 I moved to the UK to join easyJet. I led easyJet.com into its current form at a frantic startup pace. In 2006 I joined RSA as MORE TH>N Head of eBusiness. From 2009 I led the effort of replicating MORE TH>N’s online success across Central and Eastern Europe. In August 2011 I became Head of Digital at EDF Energy, where I lead EDF Energy's ambitious Digital B2C Strategy.

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