Jul 20 2007

Your first step towards online security awareness

Posted by Jeff as Reviews, Software Features

It seemed only yesterday when I first received my first phishing email: one fine and dandy Tuesday afternoon, I saw in my self-hosted mailbox what purported to be “PayPal” sent me a very lengthy (it was very lengthy, I tell thee!) email to verify my (at least the email said so) latest online purchase. The message was fancy in HTML, complete with the logo, pale blue PayPal-style border and all that jazz, with a confirmation link at the bottom. It took me a few minutes to realize, and thankfully I did, that I actually used my Gmail account to register for PayPal instead! (I would also like to point out that Gmail with its community-driven spam mail filtering system catches more malicious messages than any man-is-an-island, self-hosted solutions. Go Web 2.0 and community!)

Finally, an online test that’s worth spending some time on: McAfee SiteAdvisor has set up a 10-item quiz that test your mad, l33t phish-catching skillz with screen captures that range from funny grammar to poorly-recreated company logos and spotting the badges of certifying third-party body.

For a 10-item quiz, I certainly took a longer time and zapped more brain neurons to complete this one. Sometimes the hoaxes are not immediately identifiable until you actually read the miles-long texts (even bordering to what looks like a magazine article bleeding with already-proof-read draft with red pen marks all over).

Phishing is not all FUD. It is a real threat that has cost millions in the offline world. Read all about phishing here. Also thanks to my friend Arbet for tipping me in.

How did you fare? Here are my results:

Share and Enjoy:

Comments (4)

4 Responses

Arbet
20|Jul|2007

You are welcome, Fire Eye’d Boy!
Arbet
20|Jul|2007

And it’s McAfee, single F. I used to misspell the name; they should have stuck with Network Associates, he he. =P
Fire Eye'd Boy
20|Jul|2007

Gawd yeah. Then again, I might misspell “associates” instead. lol
DomainKeys, Protecting more Googler’s | IT Security Blog
08|Jul|2008

[...] more time to develop better protection systems. There are a lot of tips on the internet about online safety with regards to these email and other scams so you’d better brush up and stay informed of the [...]

Search Gadzooki

Our Features

Software and Security

Silverlight – Is This Going To Be Web 3.0?

It’s not that often when a technology comes along that leaves me amazed. You know, the sort of thing when you look at it you think “wow, this is good. Not just good, but perhaps is going to make a difference to websites in a very real way in the near future”. [...]

Read on
More Software Features

Hardware and Gadgetry

The CrunchPad is dead. Now what?

It’s dead, Jim.

And now, news of the CrunchPad’s demise has reached the blogosphere (twice-over, I must say), we’re here to examine the post-mortem. It was an ambitious project: an internet tablet meant to sell cheap. Everybody was waiting for it with bated breath, but it never came.

Read on
More Hardware and Gadget Features

Gaming

Sony reveals PlayStation Move

I have to admit, my mind is officially blown. Sony finally revealed its new PlayStation 3 motion controller at GDC 2010 in San Francisco, and boy is it looking good.

Dubbed the Playstation Move, the advanced motion controls on this baby makes it supposedly more accurate than that other motion controller from that little-known console from [...]

Read on
More Gaming Features

Automotive

Pagani Zonda R

The Pagani Zonda R is a truly awe inspiring car. With a price tag of about £1.3 million, this was always going to be a special motor. What made it even more impressive is just how tuned it is, the level of performance and technical specification is breathtaking. Here’s the official line [...]

Read on
More Automotive Features

GADZOOKI TEAM