A system and method are provided to receive a search query from a user, typically via a web browser, the Internet, and a web server. A search engine obtains a set of potential search results based on the search query. For each Internet domain or web site mentioned in the search results, a set of data sources is accessed to obtain information concerning the legitimacy of the business associated with the Internet domain or web site. The legitimacy information is used to reorder or to change or to augment the appearance or presentation of the search result for the Internet domain or web site. The processed search results are returned to the user.