Something tells me the title of this post would probably draw in a few more clicks than it ordinary would. Power of sensational journalism you would say. Well, you are here already, why not just skim through the post, you just might find it informative.

The internet terminology called “Phishing” is derived from the word “Fishing”. Wikipaedia defines Phishing as a way of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Just like fishing with a fishing rod, a bait is set for a would be sucker to swallow usually by setting up fictitious web sites for use in collecting confidential login details to, usually, emails and internet banking sites.

And, surprisingly, such fake websites are usually very easy to setup, the reason why you find so many kids and scam artistes with little or no technological know-how delving into such acts. Most of us in Nigeria would have had the “opportunity” to have come across such mails several times. Guess what, it takes just a few minutes to set up a fake Gmail login page!

The world of hacking is extremely interesting and the few days i have spent studying for an Ethical Hacking certification has been a big eye opener. And contrary to what a lot of techies out there think, it is not always easy to detect such internet scams. Forget about all those scam emails being sent out by those academic half-literates and technological illiterates that you can easily spot a mile away, just pray to God (or whoever you pray to) that you do not meet up with the “whiz kids”.

Some may think it unnecesary and most may think that any free one will do, but I do strongly preach in favour of using, not just an Anti-virus, but an internet security software (Click Here) to protect yourself on the Internet. It is not foolproof, but it does help a lot. If there is just one single software you would be paying for, let it be an Internet Security software. And please, try not to get the bootleg ones from Computer Village, you just might be doing more harm to yourself than good.

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