How Programs Automatically Beat Phishing
Several programs exists that are designed to stop phishing scams from exploiting users. One method is for the anti-phishing program to collect your credit card number and other vital information, and when it notices that you are entering this information into a web browser, it pops up, reminding you to check if the site is legitimate or not. This method keeps the user informed, but relies on the user to verify if a site is in fact legitimate or a scam.
Another method is collecting a blacklist of known phishing sites and not allowing your computer to access those sites. This method functions while the phishing site is blacklisted and the anti-phishing program has the blacklist, but it has several drawbacks. The anti-phishing program must have the most up-to-date blacklist downloaded from the anti-phishing company's website. The average lifespan of a phishing site in November 2004 was around six days (according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group), so the blacklist must be constantly updated.
One of the better methods for blocking phishing sites is for the anti-phishing program to maintain a list of definitions for the legitimate sites based on the content of the page. When the browser loads a page that matches one of the definitions, the anti-phishing program checks the page's URL against the known safe URLs for that definition. If the site does not match, the anti-phishing program displays a pop-up warning the user that the site is likely a phishing site and the user should not enter any information into the site.
Conclusion
Phishing is a very dangerous problem. Most Internet users are not technically savvy enough to know how to determine a genuine site from a phishing site, and as such more and more people are falling victim to identity theft via phishing. And phishing is a growing threat; according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the number of distinct phishing sites has grown at a monthly average of 28% between July 2004 and November 2004.
The best defense against phishing is education about the problem and proper tools to defend against phishing scams. Taking the time to learn about yet another Internet security threat can be disheartening, but not as disheartening as falling victim to identity theft. By following the guidelines mentioned above and using an adequate anti-phishing tool, you can protect yourself against the newest Internet threat.
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