Or it might even download the virus directly without going to a web page. The link may take you to a website that infects your computer with malware like ransomware or a keylogger (a “virus” that captures everything you type into your computer like passwords and credit card numbers). You’d probably be none the wiser.įor an ongoing list of phishing alerts, check out FraudWatch International’s page. And if he’s clever then it would redirect you to the real site afterward. The bad guy has now captured your login info. For example, the link takes you to a fake site that looks like your bank, and you try to log in with your username and password. Once on the site, the user is tricked into giving sensitive information. Phishing is the term for sending emails (considered the bait) with a link to a fake website. What Are The Dangers of Email Links? Phishing If you click this button, it actually goes to a special page I created. This is an official PayPal button I got from a site somewhere. You can never tell where a link will take you based on what it says. Why? Because the HTML code I made in the background told it to. This particular link will take you to Google. Nothing new, right? So where is this link going to take you? It can be hard to tell. So what exactly is possible with hyperlinks? Hyperlinks (“links”) are possible because of the HTML working in the background. Practically anything you can do with a web page, you can do with an email. It’s possible to send plain text emails (without HTML), but that’s rarely done these days.

Emails are basically little web pages sent to your inbox. It’s the same language that websites are made with. How Email Links WorkĮmails are typically formatted in a language known as HTML. But what makes email links bad? What’s the worst that could happen if I do click one? This topic is cloudy for most people, so let’s break it down once and for all. This is by far one of the biggest ways I see clients get bitten. You’ve heard it a bazillion times: “Don’t click links in email!” That’s usually for a very good reason. 31 May, 2015 No Comments Bobby Email Security

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