Yahoo Inc. is testing a security service designed to prevent Web surfers from landing on sites that look like they are from Yahoo but actually fakes set up by criminals to carry out phishing scams. The service, currently supporting only U.S. Yahoo Web sites, lets users know if they have landed on a legitimate Yahoo sign-in Web page, preventing them from entering their Yahoo ID and password on a phishing site. A Yahoo spokeswoman said it is being tested and hasn't been officially announced.
A huge online security problem, phishing scams set up legitimate-looking Web sites from well-known companies, such as banks, online stores, and Web portals, and try to lure people to them via e-mail and other methods. The scammer's main goal is to convince people to enter sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, leaving them vulnerable to ID theft and fraud.
Each Yahoo sign-in seal will be associated with an individual computer, requiring to installation on every computer a person plans on using. Once installed, the seal will appear on Yahoo sign-in screens, letting the user know the site is genuine. To create a seal, users will need to either enter text terms or upload an image unique to them. This information is displayed in the seal that only appears on legitimate Yahoo sign-in screens.
Test this new Yahoo! service or read more about it in the PCWORLD article Yahoo Tests Antiphishing Service.
