A few years ago most of the general public had never even heard of a phishing attack. These days it is better known. While still not a general
knowledge question it has been exposed a little bit more by the media
and web safety outfits. But just because the problem has seen a little
bit more daylight does not mean that it has gone away. No, the problem
of phishing attacks is still with us. And while that is still very much a
problem, the bigger problem is that now it is starting to move to a new
medium.
The mobile phone is becoming more and more the popular choice to surf
the web. What better way to waste time than to surf the web while you
are on the go. It is because of this activity that you are starting to
see more web sites optimize for smaller screens. But it is not only the
legitimate web sites that are focusing on the phone. The criminal web
sites are as well.
Surfing the web on your mobile phone is no longer a time when you can have your defenses down.
In the past when people would surf the web on their mobile phones they
pretty much knew that the attacks that were directed at users of Windows
and Apple computers could not hurt them. That is no longer the case.
Hackers know how to code for the phones now. But it is the web based
attacks like phishing that can hurt you no matter what platform you are
on.
What is a phishing attack?
A phishing attack is when one web site pretends that it is another. A
victim will go to that web site, thinking that they are safe but
instead they are really giving up all of the information that they type
in that site.
And that is why a phishing attack works on any platform no matter if
it is your desktop or your phone. It is strictly a web based attack to
obtain information. No matter how you give them the information it is
still going to work. The platform of how you give them the information
is secondary.
If you want to be able to avoid a phishing attack then the easiest
way is to make sure that you pay attention to the web address of the
site that you are on. Also, if you get an email and it says to click a
link to go to the web site, instead just type the name of the web site
in. Then you know exactly what site you are going to.
Source Article: Security-faqs
