Dangerous Hyperlinks
Nothing like a bogus hyperlink to wreck your day.
Question:
What can happen if you click on a hyperlink?
Answer:
What ever the creator of the link wants.
You receive an email, you're not sure who it comes from, but it
looks both harmless and interesting.
The email suggest you visit a website by clicking on a link. You look
at the link, it says www.friendly
greetings com you're familiar with this site, heck you have been
using it for years to send online cards. Without giving it a
second thought, you click on the link. Nothing unusual happens and you go
about your busy day.
Weeks later your computer starts acting strangely and running slow.
Maybe, there has even been an unauthorised withdrawal from your online
bank account. The following may explain what has happened.
The link in the email looked harmless. It did in fact take you to
Friendly Greetings, but it made a stop along the way. It was quick,
happened in the blink of an eye. That quick stop was the start of your
nightmare.
Think it can't happen to you
Try some of the links below. (It's safe they are just for
demonstration purposes)
www.bigpond.com
www.microsoft.com
www.mangocomp.com
www.whitepages.com.au
How Can I Avoid Dangerous Hyperlinks?
If you are not
sure who the sender is you might consider deleting an
email before you open it. Sure, you might delete a valid email but it's
better than giving someone access to your online banking.
If
you receive an email from a friend you should still be careful.
It is possible to send an email in anyone's name. Some of the most
notorious viruses send emails in the name of someone you know. If you
receive an email from a friend see if it contains some bit of information
to identify that it is from them to you.
Are you addressed by name
Does he use his nickname
or some other information that identifies the sender. "Hi George.
It sure is hot on Ramsey Street today.
If you are George and your
friend lives on Ramsey Street the email is probably legit.
If there is a link in an email such as
www.mangocomp.com, rather than click the link you could open your Internet
Browser (Internet Explorer is an example of a Browser), and type the
address in the address bar. Then you know you are going to that site. Of
course if the web address is some jumble of letters and numbers you have
no idea of where you will be going.
