How to Check for Anti-Phishing

Protect yourself from phishing sites.

Phishing websites imitate trustworthy websites, such as banking institutions, to obtain your personal or financial information. Anti-phishing software identifies bogus websites and fraudulent emails. A toolbar is integrated with the web browser and a spam filter is incorporated in the email client. The goal is to prevent counterfeit websites from masquerading as legitimate sites and to block infected or tainted emails.



The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Netscape and Opera are equipped with built-in anti-phishing functionality. Browsers get fresh updates of forgery sites several times daily. If phishing is detected, a warning is displayed at the top of the page. Directly below the last toolbar, you will see, "Reported phishing site. Phishing Filter has determined that this is a reported phishing website."

Instructions

1. Click the start button and open your web browser. If there is a shortcut on your desktop, click the icon that takes you to the Internet.

2. In Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, click "Tools," "SmartScreen Filter" and "Turn On SmartScreen Filter." You also have the option to "Check This Website" or "Report Unsafe Website."

   In Firefox, click "Tools," "Options," "Security," and click to place a check in the box next to "Block reported attack sites" and "Block reported web forgeries." Click "OK" to close.

3. Set the spam filters in the "Settings" or "Options" section of your email client. Delete without opening any email or instant message from someone you do not know. Delete all messages in your spam folder without opening unless it is email you were expecting.

Tips & Warnings

• The address bar turns red if the website is a known phishing site, yellow if it is a suspected phishing site.

References

• Anti-phishing Information
• Microsoft Safety and Security Center