Cybercons web site design and services spoofing page

We have published this page as part of our article content in the June 2004 issue of Hotel Motel and Resort News magazine.

If your browser is up-to-date and is Internet Explorer clicking on either of the first two links below should bring up the standard syntax error page which says " This page cannot be displayed". If you do not have the latest patches you will be surprised where these links take you.

First float your curser over the links and look at Explores' status bar. It will confirm the title of the link. But if you are up-to-date just look at what appears in the address bar when the error window opens. Just try it!

If you are not up-to-date, Internet Explorer will display the wrong address in both the status bar and address bar. You will visit the ABC site from the Microsoft link and Altavista from the Google link. From the Resort News link you will arrive at Google without any attempt to disguise that in the status bar.

If you are using other recent browsers you will see a very different destination in the status bar for these which will also be confirmed by the address bar. And that is the safeguard give away provided by other browsers.

Use Jscript commands to try to identify the actual URL for the current Web site:

If you have navigated to a site you are uncertain about delete the URL showing in your Address bar and insert the code below.

Use a JavaScript command in Internet Explorer (or any browser). In the Address bar, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

javascript:alert("Actual URL address: " + location.protocol + "//" + location.hostname + "/");

Caution Use caution when you type script directly in the Address bar. There are many commands which could cause serious consequences to your sytem. It is for this reason that we suggest you copy and paste the code from here.

The JavaScript message box shows the actual URL Web address for the Web site that you are visiting.

You can also copy the following JavaScript code and paste it in the Address bar for a more verbose description of the Web site URL:

javascript:alert("The actual URL is:\t\t" + location.protocol + "//" + location.hostname + "/" + "\nThe address URL is:\t\t" + location.href + "\n" + "\nIf the server names do not match, this may be a spoof.");

Compare the actual URL with the URL in the Address bar. If they do not match, the Web site is likely misrepresenting itself. In this case, you may want to close Internet Explorer or other browser post haste. You can do so quickly by pressing ALT + F4.

You can see an example of the Alert screen from here.

The Security Certificate example can be seen here when clicking on the lock symbol.

We hope this page has enabled you to test your browser and OS currencies and led you to a better understanding of how phishing and spoofing can trap the unwary.