Published Online:June 2012
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Information Technology
Product Type:Article
Product Code:
Author Name:Swapan Purkait
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Engineering
Download Format:PDF
Pages:17
Virtual Browser: An On-Demand Service to Prevent Phishing Attacks Swapan Purkait* Phishing has grown significantly in the last decades or so, becoming the most common web threat today. Ranging from security toolbars to web browser add-ons, hundreds of anti-phishing mechanisms currently concentrate on how to inform the user whether the website is fake or not. Our findings reveal that different approaches proposed in the past are all preventive by nature. Phishers continually target the weakest link in the security chain, namely, consumers in their attacks. Various usability studies have demonstrated that neither server-side security indicators nor client-side toolbars and warnings are successful in preventing the vulnerable users from being deceived. In this study, we propose a new mechanism—‘Virtual Browser (VB)’—to counter phishing attacks. Instead of identifying the fake ones, VB will allow access only to the genuine sites. Users will be given an on-demand browsing service over the Internet, where they can remotely connect to a secure server and use pre-configured browsers to securely connect to any websites of their choice. Keywords: Phishing, Anti-phishing, Virtual Browser (VB), Cyber crime, Internet security
Phishing is a term derived from fishing, in which the fish catcher puts a bait to catch fishes.Similarly, in today’s modern cyber world, phishing attacks combine technology and social engineering to gain access to restricted information of a user.The most common phishing attacks today send mass e-mail or instant messages asking the victim to visit a fake website to disclose personal credentials.Although phishing is a simple social engineering attack, it has proven to be surprisingly effective.