| 7th
December, 2006
MIKE SMITH
Recently
I was prompted to update my Internet Explorer web browser
and install version 7. One of the new features was a new anti-phishing
filter.
Reading
the documentation on the phishing filter I discovered that
it had been implemented in Hotmail, Microsoft’s public
email service, since 2003. I have been using Hotmail for my
email since 2001 and during this time I have had many spoof
emails from phoney companies pretending to be banks, eBay,
stockbrokers, the American government and even Hotmail itself,
asking for my details in order to correct errors in my accounts.
Proof, one would think, that Microsoft’s approach has
been far less than effective.
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PICTURE:
Sureash Kumar (www.sxc.hu)
|
But
what is phishing? Phishing is a term used to describe the
practice of creating websites that look like an official site
- for a bank, for example - which asks for your personal details
in order to fix a problem. You put your account details in
and usually there is a verification process whereby you give
additional information such as licence number, credit card
information or a secret password. This information is then
sent to the computer of the person who created the fake site,
giving them have all the information they need to steal your
identity.
How can you avoid being phished?
The first rule of thumb is that major organisations will never
send emails concerning account inquiries - including those
mentioned above. If you do get an email regarding the same
do not even open it, because it not only will be trying to
steal your identity, there is a high probability it will contain
a virus.
The second rule is if it can be avoided, never use your credit
card online - even online banking can be a risk if you don’t
have a really good firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware programs.
If you do want to use a credit card online, I recommend getting
a visa debit card with a low limit, specifically for online
use, this way if you ever do get phished there won’t
be a high cost.
The third rule is that if you are entering information on
the internet always look for a little lock symbol on the webpage
which shows that the page is encrypted, meaning the company
has been assigned a security certificate. Certificates are
only issued to reputable companies.
Spoofing pages may seem high tech, but the ease and speed
with which webpages can be created means that anyone can without
a lot of trouble set up one of these sites. Be on the look
out.
For
more information:
~
www.microsoft.com/mscorp/safety/technologies/antiphishing/default.mspx
~ http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/?ssPageName=f:f:US
~ www.antiphishing.org
What's been your experience of phishing?
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