Monday, February 18, 2019
EFF Graphics.Here’s a sneaky trick used by many hackers: they purchase and set up a fraudulent website with a URL that is a close misspelling of a legitimate one. For example, instead of www.facebook.com they create www.faceboook.com (with an extra o).
All you have to do is accidentally fat-finger a single letter in the real URL and up pops a very legitimate-looking fake copy of the site you were trying to get to. In these traps, the login and links are full of key-logger malware and virus land mines waiting for you to click on them.
This is particularly important for any social networks you belong to. Bookmark them. And always remember to beware — and type with care.
Alan Edwards, CISM, is chief information officer at Computerware, Inc., in Vienna, Virginia.