Hackers hijack web browser address bar

[Mr. Natural]

This is an extremely important article everyone should know about. Hackers are now creating a dummy address bar on web browsers to make it appear you are visiting an authentic web site, when in fact you aren't.
Read about it here. (http://briansbuzz.com/w/040506/)

[Circlebreaker]

Thanks for the article, that looks like a potentially very dangerous exploit. The only real defence against it seems to be using your common sense, something a lot of people don't have, unfortunately. :thumbup:

[Terry Penrod]

.

I make it a policy before clicking on any (supposedly) secure link to ANY web site that requests sensitive personal / financial data to call the vendor or bank using a 1-800 or other phone number that I know is legit. It only takes a few minutes in most cases to confirm that your account is still in good order or if there is a serious problem. At that point, I usually just opt to call the appropriate (official) consumer account service line or bank manager to deal with the matter.

The key thing here is the fact that THEY CONTACTED YOU though either e-mail or an unsolicited phone call asking for this information. So simply refuse is EVERY case to do so before you independently verify the facts through an entirely separate channel that you know is reliable. If there really is a problem, then you can take care of it by phone / fax, snail mail or in person. In cases where you insitgate 100% of the online actions and have pre-verified the details, security codes, passwords, etc., then and ONLY then should you freely enter data like this on a web site.

In ALL other cases, you should see a bright red flag and immediately take a full defensive position. Nothing else will be nearly as safe or as effective.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Jagndeke]

.

The key thing here is the fact that THEY CONTACTED YOU though either e-mail or an unsolicited phone call asking for this information.

That is one of the key points to highlight in avoiding ID fraud or some such other nasty pratfall on the net. It's a point I hammer home at every chance with myself, my wife and my daughter. It's an unfortunate fact of internet life that "trust" is a fragile concept at best when dealing with email, links, etc., but it's a fact none-the-less. Just look at the daily escalating numbers of people who experience ID fraud first hand. :(: