Called AVG LinkScanner, the software checks web addresses as they are entered via a user's Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsing client, and poll's AVG's servers on the site/page risk rating.
The initial version of the software supports Windows XP and Vista users, and a version is planned for the Windows 7 environment, Infosecurity understands.
If LinkScanner spots a request for a risky URL, it will stop the user from accessing the page and flag up the fact.
The software also completes a similar analysis on Google, Yahoo and MSN search engine results, as well as checking users' existing bookmarks when it is used for the first time.
Interestingly, LinkScanner appears to be more than a simple database-checking URL application, as it also looks for malware signatures in the pages it is requested to access.
As with other URL checking software from companies like Finjan - which offers a free browser addin called SecureBrowsing - AVG allows users to anonymously pool their software's latest discoveries of possible suspect sites on a centralised basis.
Since LinkScanner's technology forms part of AVG's pay-for security offerings, the release of a free URL checking/analysis application will help AVG in gaining information on new - and possibly suspect - web pages for all its users, Infosecurity notes.