McAfee warns of typo-squatting epidemic

**Glaswegian** · 11-24-2007, 10:59 AM

Security firm McAfee has released a new report warning of the ever-present threat of typo-squatting.

The report highlights the number of website squatters registering domains using common misspellings of popular brands, products and celebrities in order to redirect consumers to bogus websites.

These sites often use click-through advertising to generate revenues, and lure unsuspecting consumers into scams to harvest email addresses.

"Typo-squatting illustrates the Wild West mentality that remains dominant in major areas of the internet," said Jeff Green, senior vice president at McAfee Avert Labs.

"Even at its most benign, this practice takes consumers to places they never intended to go, and penalises legitimate businesses by siphoning off customers or making them pay a charge to reacquire customers.

"At its worst, typo-squatting leads to online scams, get-rich-quick offers and other risks."

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/22...typo-squatters

11-24-2007, 10:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,512 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	McAfee warns of typo-squatting epidemic Security firm McAfee has released a new report warning of the ever-present threat of typo-squatting. The report highlights the number of website squatters registering domains using common misspellings of popular brands, products and celebrities in order to redirect consumers to bogus websites. These sites often use click-through advertising to generate revenues, and lure unsuspecting consumers into scams to harvest email addresses. "Typo-squatting illustrates the Wild West mentality that remains dominant in major areas of the internet," said Jeff Green, senior vice president at McAfee Avert Labs. "Even at its most benign, this practice takes consumers to places they never intended to go, and penalises legitimate businesses by siphoning off customers or making them pay a charge to reacquire customers. "At its worst, typo-squatting leads to online scams, get-rich-quick offers and other risks." http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/22...typo-squatters __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner