It makes no sense.
What's really hilarious is the idea that TalkTalk's customers have some sort of collective conciousness. As TT say...
"In preparation for the launch of these services, as our users surf the internet, details of websites visited are put into a list. Scanning engines then compare this list to a blacklist (sites that have been found to contain recent threats) and whitelist (sites that have been recently scanned with no threats found); if the site is not on either of these, it will visit the site and scan it for malicious code. Sites that are already on either list are not scanned again until the following day."
In other words, TT are simply creating an updated blacklist based on sites that other TT customers have visited. If you are the first visitor to a site your on your own - the site isn't checked until AFTER you've been exposed to any risks. It also appears that any site visited by a TT will be continually monitored even if no-one ever visits that site again.
The whole concept is ridiculous - it only works if all TT customer only ever visit the same sites as each other or if TT scan the entire contents of the www at least once a day. If such a system was even possible, the costs involved would be so high that it would make far more sense for every ISP to be involved as a joint venture with the blacklist being shared amongst them with the whole process and system being overseen by an external watchdog to ensure that standards are met, the system is not abused and website owners have a means of appealing against incorrect (or malicious) flagging of their sites as "dangerous".
I can't believe that senior staff at TT aren't aware of the shortcomings in their explanation which makes me think that - like so much spyware - the security angle is just a front for spyware.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
