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November 20, 2004
Internet Librarian - Art of Detection
There's no question, the Internet is becoming a scary place. Between phishing, viruses and spyware, it's enough to make you want to turn off your computer and hide under the covers. Even experienced users can be fooled as scam artists become more sophisticated. But don't panic, Genie Tyburski offered hints on how to avoid scams and bad information in her program, "The Art of Detection."
Phishing is the latest scam, and incidents have been proliferating. According to Genie, phishing scams have a 3% success rate, so don't expect it will stop anytime soon.
The scam artists have technology of their side. They can:
- Spoof the origin of an email
- Disguise the destination address
- Copy the look and feel of a Web site
- Control your browser
I consider myself fairly well informed on such matters, but hadn't seen some of these techniques in action. The URL in your browser can actually be covered with an image file, making it appear that you are at a valid site when you're not. (Check for the telltale smudge to the left of the URL.) And I was shocked to see how cross-site scripting can pop a window up over a valid web site, such as ones provided by financial institutions, asking the user to fill in financial information. The tip off on the later is that you aren't yet logged in, so the site can't know who you are at this point, an indication that you SHOULDN'T provide any private information.
Since phishing has become harder to detect, you must change unsafe habits. Set email to display in text format, and don't follow links from an email. Make sure to confirm web page security by checking for the lock on the bottom right of your browser window whenever you are entering any kind of financial information including credit card numbers. Double-click on the lock to check the security certificate.
Always surf with awareness and assess the information and web sites that you frequent.
In an emergency, if you're on the Internet and think you're in trouble, pull the cable. That's likely fast than trying to turn off your computer.
For more information on spyware, see SpyWareGuide.com.
There's much more and as soon as Genie's PowerPoint is up, I'll link it so you can review the entire presentation. In the meantime, be careful out there.
