Several decades ago, surfing the Internet was not the most normal thing in the world. Neither was having your own mobile phone capable of communicating with people around the world, consulting any information at any time or taking photos and videos of very good quality… all from the same device.
Every advance that is made has its good and bad sides. We can surf the Internet wherever and whenever we want from a mobile phone or computer, but so can cybercriminals. They have evolved in the same way and continue to do so. The good news is that, thanks to technology, we too are responding to this evolution, and we reflect this in our products and services.
Advances in Internet surfing are increasing. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect malicious domains while surfing the internet in order to avoid them. Fortunately, we have developed a new feature built into Latch called 2FWB (Second Factor Web Browsing) that helps you do just that, check for malicious domains and surf with the peace of mind that Latch protects you and won’t let you wander around suspicious websites.
Risks of surfing the Internet and visiting malicious domains
It is worth bearing in mind the risks we face when we decide to surf the Internet and click on malicious websites unwittingly.
Personal information
Fraud is one of the most common practices. They are deceptions designed to obtain benefits at the expense of the victim. One of the most well-known and widespread frauds today is phishing, whereby criminals manage to obtain personal information from users by misleading them. Through emails, text messages or even spoofed websites that mimic legitimate organisations, cybercriminals trick people into providing sensitive data, such as passwords, credit card numbers or login credentials. But this doesn’t have to be a problem if you take the right steps, so you can follow some of our tips on how to protect your privacy and security.
Phishing can have serious consequences for victims, as the personal information obtained can be used, for example, for identity theft. They can use it to carry out financial transactions, open bank accounts in the victim’s name or carry out money transfers without reflecting them in their own accounts, making it difficult to trace their activities. In many cases, we do not realise what has happened until the consequences are already considerable.
In addition to phishing, there are other techniques that criminals use to obtain valuable information. Sometimes, by simply tracking a person’s online activity, cybercriminals can collect enough data, such as frequented locations or personal preferences, to be exploited in a variety of ways.
Electronic devices
It is likely that at some point you have received a message accompanied by a dubious or suspicious link. Such messages are often accompanied by warnings such as “Don’t click, it’s a virus” or “Be careful with this link, it could be dangerous”. Such warnings are quite common, not least because cybercriminals have perfected their malware distribution methods, disguising links that at first glance appear harmless.
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Distributing malware disguised in such messages is incredibly easy these days, and with a single click on the wrong link, you could be allowing a virus to install itself on your device. Once installed, this malware can cause considerable damage, affecting both the performance of your device and putting your personal and financial information at risk.
User consent
You will not always receive a message in which you have to accept a long document of conditions in order for the cybercriminals to continue their activity. Some websites may redirect you without your consent to other malicious domains and you may not realise it until it is too late.
Spyware attacks work in a similar way, installing spyware on devices.
How to check malicious domains with 2FWB from TU Latch
Latch not only protects you against unwanted access attempts to your accounts, it also includes the 2FWB functionality called Safe Browsing which, as the name suggests, allows you to surf the Internet safely. As if it were a guide who knows the routes very well, it alerts you in case you approach (click on) a path unknown to it (a suspicious url). And if you get lost and don’t know how to get back to the last safe path, Latch gives you that option too, so you can feel safe again immediately.
We have developed the technology to validate the authenticity of the websites you click on. It detects threats from malicious domains automatically and blocks you, no matter which Wi-Fi network you are connected to.
- Download the Chrome extension on your PC and install it in your browser.
- Connect your mobile to your PC via Bluetooth
- The Latch app installed on your smartphone will analyse your browsing in real time in order to detect and warn you of possible threats.
As you can see, it is very simple. This is how Latch protects you, also from your PC, so that you can surf the internet with complete peace of mind and completely risk-free.
