I feel compelled to take a break from my usual posts on interesting topics in science and technology to address an issue that has been raised this morning.

Apparently some security software has been warning people that my webpage has been reported for phishing. For those of you not familiar with the term, phishing is a scam in which people are fooled into submitting personal information or private banking information to a fake website. Sometimes these websites claim to be a bank or credit card company, or sometimes they are fake businesses.

However, as frequent visitors to my website are aware there is nothing here that requests information. Everything that I post is provided free of charge and is solely to inform and entertain. 

So why would my site get falsely reported? Three possible explanations come to mind. The first is simply that my webhost might have been reported because of the actions of other users unrelated to my website. The second option is that the same person who hacked my site in 2011 and posted information falsely attributed to me is attacking again. When one is responsible and honest, those who are not sometimes seek revenge. The third option relates to several spam e-mails that I received a few weeks back telling me to send money to the sender to protect my site from attacks. Or the fourth option could simply be that the security software in question has a bug in it and is falsely flagging sites in general.

But be assured that I will never ask for private information on this or any other website that I maintain. I will also never use any widgets that are dodgy. I value my own privacy and would never knowingly invade anyone else's.