Annoying Typos May Pose a Danger

Posted: December 23, 2013

Online typos can be annoying. Worse than that, they can also be hazardous. Find out when typos might be dangerous and how you can protect yourself.

Online typos can be annoying. Worse than that, they can also be hazardous. Find out when typos might be dangerous and how you can protect yourself.

John E. Dunn, co-founder of Techworld, shares information on how typos may be harmful.

Typos online aren't just a hassle,they're a hazard

More than a decade after typosquatting became an Internet hazard, criminals and opportunists are still abusing misspelled domains on a scale that is leaving users and businesses out of pocket, consultancy High-Tech Bridge has found.

The company used its ImmuniWeb SaaS Phishing system to analyze 946 "typo" domains that were close but not identical to legitimate domains used by ten well-known antivirus firms; for example, entering "kasperski.com" or "mcaffee.com."

Of these, High-Tech Bridge detected 385 domains that appeared to be attempting to pass themselves off as one of these domains; just over 40 percent, or 164, turned out to be in some way fraudulent (such as redirecting to phishing sites, or displaying ads for bogus products and services). A further 73 were simply being squatted, presumably in the hope that one of the affected firms might buy them at some point.

Read the entire article Typos Online Aren't Just a Hassle, They're a Hazard on PC World.