Managed Hosting News 
Thursday, 14th April 2011, 15:08:59
Businesses should ensure their firewall is up-to-date as people are 'being tricked' by URL attacks
People are "being tricked" by web attacks that use shortened URLs, according to an IT security expert.
Con Mallon, director of Norton, said that in a recent study his company performed, two-thirds of malicious attachments it found were using shortened URLs.
This means businesses should ensure that they have the most up-to-date firewall and anti-virus settings so that company networks are properly protected if an attack occurs.
Research conducted by Symantec and published earlier this month (April 5th) revealed that attackers posted millions of shortened links on social networking websites last year to try and trick people.
Mr Mallon added that shortened URLs are posing a risk because they are less easy to spot as spam.
"Some people have become a little more savvy to looking at the URL to see if it really does look like a proper URL from that company or that individual or that website, but I think when you shorten it it changes the game and we are seeing that people are being tricked and they're clicking on those shortened URLs," he said.
Posted by Henry Thomas
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Categories: | Security |
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