Criminals use phishing as a way to lure unsuspecting people into revealing private information. Then they use that information to gain access to their financial accounts. The bait are fake websites designed to look and feel like the legitimate ones.

A phishing scam normally comes in the form of an email message that appears to come from a legitimate source. The email will try to scare you by stating that you are receiving it due to fraudulent activity on your account. This method also stresses some urgency, making it more difficult to ignore. It will ask you to “click here” to verify your information.

Spear phishing is when the attack is directed at specific individuals, roles, or organizations. Attackers go to great lengths to gather specific personal or institutional information. This makes the attack more believable.

The best way to avoid a spear phishing attempt is to discard information securely by using a shredder. Also think twice before responding to seemingly random requests by phone or email.

You can get more information about reporting phishing at antiphishing.org.

Malware

Malware is short for Malicious Software.

The term Malware is used, based on the intent of the creator rather than the features of the software. Software infiltrates the users computer and does something different than the user intended. A website that has this warning might not actually be infected, but it might link to somewhere that is.

Webmaster are also informed of these warnings and can take steps to get your website off these lists.

The best way to protect yourself is to make sure your software is always up-to-date. Most software updates are for security fixes. So, keep the software on your personal devices and your website up-to-date and be aware.