What are phishing attacks and how to prevent them?

With the development of the Internet, phishing attacks are becoming increasingly common in cyberspace. Simply put, phishing is an attack that uses deception to obtain personal, financial, and sensitive information. In this article, we’ll explore what phishing is, what attacks look like, and how to protect against them.

Definitions involved in phishing attacks

Phishing attacks refer to the use of fake or disguised websites, emails or message publishing platforms and other social networks to deceive users or victims to leak or steal their information. or malicious tampering. Many times, this attack is targeted at an individual or organization. Attackers can attack via email, instant messaging, social networks, or even text messages, causing significant losses to victims.

Forms of phishing attacks

There are many forms of phishing attacks. The following are some common forms:

1. Email attack:

Email attack is one of the most common forms of phishing attacks. Attackers usually send simulated emails to users through email or other public channels to defraud users of sensitive information such as login names and passwords. The email content may be dressed up as talking about account security, credit card bills, or similar topics to entice the recipient to open and click on the link.

2. Social media attacks:

Social media attacks are also a common type of phishing attacks. Attackers usually use social media platforms to publish information to trick users into clicking or logging in.

3. Disguise as a legitimate website:

Attackers can also create fake websites that are similar to legitimate websites to trick users into entering personal account information or financial information, such as bank account information and credit card information. .

4. Watering hole attack:

A watering hole attack refers to an attacker pretending to be a normal user, leaving suspicious comments or content on commonly used websites, and guiding users to click on links to enter the deception. page or click on malicious links, ultimately achieving the purpose of stealing user information.

How to prevent phishing attacks

In order to better prevent phishing attacks, we should take the following measures:

1. Stay vigilant:

No matter You should be wary whenever you receive an email, text message, or other online message, especially if it involves account verification or a request for payment. If you have any questions about the authenticity of such information, please consult relevant personnel or contact the company's customer service to ensure the security of your personal information.

2. Be wary of unknown sources:

Do not easily open or download email attachments, photos, audio and other files from unknown sources to avoid bypassing security measures.

3. Update system and security software:

Regularly update the operating system and security software to prevent website failures and vulnerabilities and ensure high security when browsing the web.

4. Regularly modify and update passwords:

Change account passwords regularly, increase password complexity, and avoid using the same password or a single password to log in to multiple accounts.

5. Install security protection tools:

Install anti-virus software, firewalls, anti-phishing tools and other software to prevent virus infections and network attacks, and regularly update to the latest version.

Summary:

Phishing attacks are an attack method that was once widely popular in cyberspace. Although technological advances now make such attacks more difficult to pull off, preventing phishing attacks is still important. In daily life, we should strengthen self-protection, stay vigilant, regularly update security software and learn knowledge to improve network security awareness. When faced with unknown cyber attacks that are vague in our minds, we should choose to contact relevant personnel for consultation and seek professional help.

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