If you are a person that surfs the internet a lot, you are bound to run into web sites that can be considered sketchy at best. When a person encounters one of these sites, instead of being on alert as they should, they go to the normal human instinct which is to be curious. Unless you are a really pessimistic person, then you probably have faith in most people. Unfortunately when it comes to the internet, that faith in people can cause you and your computer to be vulnerable. If you visit a web site and you feel that something is wrong, then you should really trust your instincts. In this article we will show you what to look for when you detect a web site is up to no good. We will walk you through the many signs that will let you know if you can trust the web site or not. Some of these signs may seem basic to the advanced user but to the newer people that are on the internet, they can be a life saver.

The first thing that you want to look out for when you a visit a site that you suspect may be a phising site is the domain name. Yes this seems simple enough but you would be surprised by the many phising sites that are using a domain name that look nothing like the web site that they are trying to spoof. People just remember what a site looks like and if it matches, they think that they are there. They have no idea that a web sites design can be faked pretty easily. So if you are a person that does not understand how the pinning’s of the internet works, then you should learn how to spot if you are on the right domain name or not. It is as simple as looking at the address bar but you must also be sure that the domain name is spelled right. If the spelling is even a little bit off then that means that you are on the wrong web site.

The next thing that you should look out for is if the site is secured or not. What we mean by that is that there should be a little yellow lock at the bottom of your browser. This means that the web site is operating under the SSL security protocol. This is especially important if you are putting any kind of personal information, such as your credit card or social security number in the web site. If the site does not have that lock, then you should be very suspicious. The SSL certificate can be faked but most of the time people who create a phising site would not go through all of that trouble. So if the site does not have a lock when they are asking you to place your personal information in it, then it should be avoided at all cost.

Spotting a phising site can be very tricky if they are made especially well. Fortunately for you, most are not. If you run into the average phising site then there will be signs of it being a phony right away.

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