How Phishing works in the browser
Phishing can arrive by different means. For example, we can receive a link through social networks, through email or simply by clicking on a link on a page we are visiting. That link will redirect us to a fake pagewhich has been created simply to pretend to be another legitimate one.
It is widely used for steal passwords in bank accounts, social networks, email… By clicking on that link and entering our data, both the username and the password, that information will go directly to a server controlled by the attacker. In this way it will be able to steal the passwords and have total control of our accounts.
Therefore, simply by clicking on a fake link we can suffer the theft of our keys. To avoid this problem, the most important thing is common sense, always log in directly from the official page and not through the links we receive. But we can also help ourselves with certain programs and there the browser itself will have some extensions available.
The objective of these extensions that we are going to show for Chrome and Firefox is to alert us when we click on those types of fake links that are actually Phishing. In this way we will avoid logging in where we should not. Our password will be protected and we will reduce the risk of having intruders.
Extensions for Chrome
First we will show some plugins for chrome that will help us avoid Phishing attacks. Its mission is to alert us as soon as we enter a link that can be classified as dangerous and that could have been created simply to steal passwords and personal data.
Total WebShield
The first antivirus for Chrome that we want to show is Total WebShield. Use the artificial intelligence Y cloud based technology in order to detect threats. It allows you to detect online malware, possible Phishing links and web pages that may result in a security problem.
If you click on a link that takes you to a dangerous page and this extension detects it as such, it automatically blocks access. In this way, it prevents you from reaching a site where your data could be compromised or where there are files to download that could really be a virus.
The way to use Total WebShield is very simple. You just have to install it from the official Chrome store and from there it will be running in the browser. It will work automatically whenever you open the program to browse.
Dr. Web Link Checker
This security extension for Chrome is mainly focused on social networks. Your mission is detect malicious links from sites like Facebook. Keep in mind that these types of platforms are widely used by cybercriminals to launch online scams and compromise security.
To use it you have to go to the official website of the Chrome add-on store and download it there. The icon above will automatically appear.
netcraft
It is a tool that alerts us to possible phishing links that we receive when browsing the Internet. It offers specific information so that we are prepared in case we receive a link that could be a threat to our passwords. It is very simple to use.
To use it you have to download it from the official Chrome store. From that moment on, it will begin to assess the risk of the links and alert if there is something unusual that could put security at risk. It uses a database to compare the information there with the sites we visit.
ZoneAlarm
Other very useful tool to be protected against Phishing when browsing with Google Chrome is ZoneAlarm. Before we put any personal data on a website, it will be analyzed to determine whether it is reliable or may pose a privacy and security risk.
In case it detects that there is a security risk, if it sees that this website is part of a blacklist and is used to steal passwords, it will launch a warning. The objective is to prevent us from logging in through fake links, which have been created solely to scam. You can download it from the Google browser store.
Add-ons for Firefox
There are also extensions to prevent Phishing attacks for the browser MozillaFirefox. You will be able to avoid falling into the trap when browsing the Internet and avoid those fake pages that have been created solely to steal passwords. We are going to put a list of some interesting add-ons that help to be more protected.
Zelda Anti-Phishing
One of the Firefox extensions for detect phishing attacks that we can install is Zelda Anti-Phishing. It is responsible for scanning all the web pages that we visit and if it sees that there is any risk, it blocks it. It sends us a warning and prevents us from logging in or sending any type of information that can be intercepted.
Its operation is very simple and what you have to do is download the application from the browser’s official store and from that moment it will start tracking the websites you visit and will notify you if it finds something strange that could mean that the data is in danger.
PhishWall
Another add-on for Firefox that has the objective of detecting Phishing attacks is PhishWall. serves for crawl the pages that we open in the browser and it alerts us in case we are entering any that could be a security threat and be used to launch Phishing attacks.
You can download this tool from the Firefox store. It is one of the most downloaded of its kind. Very useful as a complement to other security programs, such as Windows’ own antivirus. One more way to maximize security.
emisoft
With Emisoft you will achieve a protection when browsing the web, visiting web pages or opening links. It is responsible for blocking malicious sites that may contain Phishing and thus prevent you from logging into services that are dangerous and where your personal data could be compromised.
It promises not to track the user and not to collect any information. Its mission is to alert if it detects a malicious website and prevent us from falling into the trap. You can download it from the Firefox store.
ahampoo
You can also download and use the Ashampoo extension. Like the previous ones we have shown, this plugin will also help prevent phishing attacks that can steal passwords and personal information. It will block all websites that it deems dangerous and launch a warning.
Once installed you won’t have to configure anything, since it will work automatically. It is, therefore, yet another solution to avoid phishing attacks when browsing that can put personal data at risk.
In short, these are some extensions that you can find for both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome to avoid Phishing attacks. They will be very useful to improve security and can act as an ideal complement to other tools, such as antiviruses. However, you should be aware that the most important thing to avoid falling into the trap of attacks like these is to avoid making mistakes.
