Many hackers seek to deceive the user and send emails or messages through social networks with dangerous links using all kinds of increasingly sophisticated scams. To protect your data and your devices, here you will find the best techniques and guidelines to check a link and confirm its veracity.
Email and instant messaging are the main means of malicious links
Detecting a fake link can be complex, but following certain guidelines on a daily basis, the user will be able to discard the vast majority without complications. In this list you will find recommendations for safer surfing on the Internet.
Tricks to detect dangerous links on the Internet
-Slide the pointer over the link. To check a link, hover the pointer over the link. This will show the specific address of the link. Many times hackers hide behind a keyword, but the link tells us that we are going to a different page.
-Pages to analyze links. There are web pages dedicated to link analysis. There we can paste the link received, and the site analyzes its database for malware indicators. Sucuri, PCRisk and URLVoid are the most popular services of this type.
Just paste the suspicious link in the search bar of this page, and wait for the analysis. There we will see if the link really takes us to a safe page, or if it is a scam or phishing attempt to steal our information.
-Detect shortened links. Checking for a shortened link is a bit more difficult. Link shortening services like bit.ly have become very popular, but hackers use these to trick the unsuspecting user. You can place a shortened link on the GetLinkInfo.com website, and it will show you information about the destination of the link.
-Inspect the link. In the web browser, right-click on the suspicious link and open the Inspect option in the context menu. This will display information about the link, and you can read the path and detect any signs of irregularities in the link.
It is important to keep safe browsing practices in mind. Do not open links from unknown senders, make sure that the link has not come from an account with a spoofed identity, do not share passwords… Hackers seek to generate familiarity to deceive and catch the user unawares. If you use these techniques and check the links, the possibility of falling into the trap is greatly reduced.
