<s>
A	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
describes	O
one	O
website	O
that	O
poses	O
as	O
another	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
often	O
applies	O
a	O
mechanism	O
that	O
exploits	O
bugs	O
in	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
technology	O
,	O
allowing	O
a	O
malicious	O
computer	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
mostly	O
harmless	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
more	O
noticeably	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
usually	O
do	O
not	O
exploit	O
bugs	O
in	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Redirects	O
can	O
also	O
take	O
place	O
in	O
a	O
hosts	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
,	O
redirecting	O
from	O
legitimate	O
site(s )	O
to	O
another	O
IP	O
,	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
URLs	O
are	O
the	O
address	O
of	O
a	O
resource	O
(	O
as	O
a	O
document	O
or	O
website	O
)	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
that	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
communications	O
protocol	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
name	O
or	O
address	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
on	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
and	O
that	O
often	O
includes	O
additional	O
locating	O
information	O
(	O
as	O
directory	O
and	O
file	O
names	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simply	O
,	O
a	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
web	O
address	O
that	O
illuminates	O
an	O
immense	O
amount	O
of	O
deception	O
through	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
appear	O
as	O
an	O
original	O
site	O
,	O
despite	O
it	O
not	O
being	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
prevent	O
falling	O
victim	O
to	O
the	O
prevalent	O
scams	O
stemmed	O
from	O
the	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
,	O
major	O
software	O
companies	O
have	O
come	O
forward	O
and	O
advised	O
techniques	O
to	O
detect	O
and	O
prevent	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
very	O
important	O
to	O
first	O
verify	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
on	O
a	O
digital	O
certification	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
SSL/TLS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
characters	O
that	O
are	O
commonly	O
found	O
in	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
are	O
:	O
%00	O
,	O
%01	O
,	O
@	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
universal	O
defining	O
identity	O
for	O
phishing	O
scams	O
,	O
pose	O
a	O
serious	O
threat	O
to	O
end-users	O
and	O
commercial	O
institutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
prevent	O
users	O
from	O
future	O
victimization	O
stemmed	O
from	O
a	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
,	O
Internet	O
vigilantes	B-Application
have	O
published	O
numerous	O
tips	O
to	O
help	O
users	O
identify	O
a	O
spoof	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
are	O
:	O
using	O
authentication	O
based	O
on	O
key	O
exchange	O
between	O
the	O
machines	O
on	O
your	O
network	B-Architecture
,	O
using	O
an	O
access	O
control	O
list	O
to	O
deny	O
private	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
on	O
your	O
downstream	O
interface	O
,	O
implementing	O
filters	O
of	O
both	O
inbound	O
and	O
outbound	O
traffic	O
,	O
configuring	O
routers	B-Protocol
and	O
switches	O
if	O
they	O
support	O
such	O
configuration	O
,	O
to	O
reject	O
packets	O
originating	O
from	O
outside	O
the	O
local	O
network	B-Architecture
that	O
claim	O
to	O
originate	O
from	O
within	O
,	O
and	O
enable	O
encryption	O
sessions	O
in	O
the	O
router	B-Protocol
so	O
that	O
trusted	O
hosts	B-Protocol
that	O
are	O
outside	O
your	O
network	B-Architecture
can	O
securely	O
communicate	O
with	O
your	O
local	O
hosts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
PayPal	O
,	O
an	O
e-commerce	O
business	O
allows	O
money	O
transactions	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
common	O
target	O
for	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
forgery	B-General_Concept
of	O
a	O
legitimate	O
PayPal	O
website	O
allows	O
hackers	O
to	O
gain	O
personal	O
and	O
financial	O
information	O
and	O
thus	O
,	O
steal	O
money	O
through	O
fraud	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
spoof	O
or	O
fake	O
emails	O
that	O
appear	O
with	O
generic	O
greetings	O
,	O
misspellings	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
false	O
sense	O
of	O
urgency	O
,	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
are	O
an	O
easy	O
way	O
for	O
hackers	O
to	O
violate	O
one	O
’s	O
PayPal	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
www.paypalsecure.com	O
,	O
includes	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
a	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
designed	O
to	O
deceive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remember	O
to	O
always	O
log	O
into	O
PayPal	O
through	O
a	O
new	O
window	O
browser	B-Application
and	O
never	O
log	O
in	O
through	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
that	O
you	O
do	O
receive	O
a	O
suspected	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
,	O
forward	O
the	O
entire	O
email	O
to	O
spoof@PayPal.com	O
to	O
help	O
prevent	O
the	O
URL	O
from	O
tricking	O
other	O
PayPal	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
crime	O
associated	O
with	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
is	O
identity	O
theft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
thief	O
will	O
create	O
a	O
website	O
very	O
similar	O
in	O
appearance	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
popular	O
site	O
,	O
then	O
when	O
a	O
user	O
accesses	O
the	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
,	O
they	O
can	O
inadvertently	O
give	O
the	O
thief	O
their	O
credit	O
card	O
and	O
personal	O
details	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
might	O
use	O
“	O
too	O
good	O
to	O
be	O
true	O
”	O
prices	O
to	O
lure	O
more	O
and	O
more	O
looking	O
for	O
a	O
good	O
deal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
crime	O
associated	O
with	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URLs	I-Protocol
is	O
setting	O
up	O
a	O
fake	O
anti-malware	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ads	O
for	O
these	O
programs	O
usually	O
appear	O
on	O
popular	O
websites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
dating	O
sites	O
or	O
social	O
media	O
sites	O
like	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phishing	O
is	O
performed	O
through	O
emails	O
containing	O
a	O
spoofed	B-Protocol
URL	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
links	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
