Jekyll or Hyde? Better browse securely

Surfing the web is like walking through London in 1886. Usually you meet nice Dr Jekyll, interact with him and everything is fine. But at other times, at night, you might encounter the malicious Mr Hyde. He just wants your money and your secrets, and wants to take advantage of you.

As in the novel by Stevenson, good and bad web pages can be very close together. Most web pages exist to provide information or a service. But one click away, one Google page down, there are malicious web pages that aim to steal your password, infect your computer, or lull you into disclosing personal information.   

So remember: “STOP - THINK - CLICK!” should be the standard when browsing the Internet. If you are presented with a link that looks strange or contains gibberish (like http://211.268.156.277/.PayPal/cgi-bin/wbscrcmd_login.php), just ignore it! It is always better to type simple, comprehensible web addresses like “www.paypal.com” than clicking on obscure links. If you are asked for your password, be vigilant and think about whether this is justified (and do not use your CERN password on other sites!). Also, first check whether or not the connection is secure, i.e. that the web address starts with “https” and not just with “http” without the “s”. Otherwise, private correspondence and passwords can be intercepted by a malicious third party.

Also take care when typing a web address. “CERN.CH” is of course not malicious, but just one typo away and you might accidentally enter “CERN.CG”, “ERN.CH” or “XERN.CH”. These are not under our control. Many companies have bought those so-called “Doppelgänger domains” or “typo domains”. At CERN, we have blocked the obvious ones in the CERN domain name server, so you will not be able to visit them from CERN. But at home, be vigilant!

For further information, please contact the Computer Security Team or check our website.

Access the entire collection of Computer Security articles here.

by Computer Security Team