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Don't Click That Link

The article emphasizes the dangers of clicking on malicious links, which are often used in phishing attacks to steal personal information or install malware. It provides tips for identifying and mitigating these threats, such as hovering over links to check URLs and avoiding unsolicited emails. The rise of phishing attacks on social media is highlighted, underscoring the importance of vigilance in cybersecurity.

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6 views2 pages

Don't Click That Link

The article emphasizes the dangers of clicking on malicious links, which are often used in phishing attacks to steal personal information or install malware. It provides tips for identifying and mitigating these threats, such as hovering over links to check URLs and avoiding unsolicited emails. The rise of phishing attacks on social media is highlighted, underscoring the importance of vigilance in cybersecurity.

Uploaded by

agbanagail
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DON’T CLICK THAT LINK

One of the most common cybersecurity tips you will hear is not to click on links
because it can result in cyberattacks. How malicious can these links be, how can we
detect them and how do we mitigate them? This is what we will be discussing in this
article.

A link (or a hyperlink) is a string of text that provides the address or location of a
file or service on a computer network. When you click a link, it moves you to the
target location called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A sample of a URL is
https://www.platview.com

Malicious links are utilized in Phishing attacks which occur when an attacker uses
social engineering strategies to trick a user into revealing confidential information by
opening an email, mail attachment, text message, or in this case, a link. These links
can be created on fake and legitimate websites.

Cyber attackers can use these URLs to gain access to user login credentials, private
information or to lure users into downloading malicious documents that enables
attackers to spy on the user or access the user’s system remotely. Attackers can also
redirect the traffic of a website the victim is visiting to a fake website through these
malicious links.

Recently, phishing attacks have migrated to our social media, where we are directly
and indirectly connected to billions of people globally but cannot distinguish the
masses. APWG (Anti-Phishing Working Group) recorded 1,270,883 phishing attacks
in the third quarter of 2022 where attacks against social media rose from 8.5% to
12.5% in the first quarter of 2022.
These social media phishing attacks can come in the form of
1. fake news; where the user has to click a link to read further,
2. a malicious shopping page; where the user pays for an item that does not exist or
gets their credit card information stolen,
3. an urgent message from a hacked friend’s account to click a link,
4. fake customer care support email to validate user credentials, and etc.
How to identify a malicious link?
If you are using a computer system, hover your mouse over the link and it will display
the URL. It is a malicious ,if it shows a different domain name than the domain name
it claims to lead to. Alternatively, if you are using a mobile device, press and hold on
the link. It will do likewise.

How to mitigate these malicious link attacks?


1. Never click on ads or pop-ups.
2. Do not click on email attachments from unknown individuals unless you have
confirmed that they are legitimate.
3. Do not click links (URLs) instead, search for them manually on the web browser.
4. Limit the amount of personal information you share on social media, so that
attackers will not know enough to trick you.
5. If you receive an email, ensure the email address is similar to the sender's display
name before engaging.
6. Look for inconsistencies in the email, webpage or message contents like spelling
errors and grammar, invalid company logos, or anything suspicious.
7. Check for website Security Certificates (The website should use a secure
connection, have a padlock at the web address and an HTTPS header).
8. Download spam filter apps.
9. Trust no one.

In Conclusion,
Cybersecurity is evolving daily with cyber attackers working tirelessly to create
new ways to harm you and make you their next victim. One of the numerous ways
they do this is as simple as making you click on a malicious link. So remember, when
you see a random link that you are not certain about, don't click that link!

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