What is phishing

What is phishing?

Phishing is a fraud method in which criminals try to obtain confidential data via fake websites or emails. These fake pages often look almost identical to real websites, for example the login pages of banks, online services or even your own website. The aim is to trick you into entering your login details or other personal information, which is then stolen.  

How do you fall victim to phishing?

Phishing can happen in various ways:  

• Fake emails: you receive an email that looks like it comes from a trusted provider (e.g. your bank or an online service). It asks you to click on a link and enter your details. However, the link leads to a fake website.  

• Deceptively genuine phishing websites: These websites often look very similar to real sites, but usually differ in the URL. You can be lured to these sites by a link in an e-mail, a text message or by search engines.  

• Fake web forms: Sometimes forms are also included on hacked websites that look like they are part of your normal website. When you enter data, it ends up with the attackers.  

What can you do about this?

There are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself and your website from phishing:  

• Check emails carefully: only open links in emails if you are sure that they come from a trustworthy source. Phishing emails often contain spelling mistakes, unusual requests or urge immediate action.  

• Pay attention to the URL: Before you enter your details on a website, check the address in the browser bar. Is it spelled correctly? Does it use “https” (with the little lock symbol)?  

• Use two-factor authentication (2FA): If possible, enable 2FA for your hosting account. This will require an additional security step to access your accounts.  

• Secure your website: Always keep your software and plugins up to date. Outdated versions can contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers.  

• Use security tools: Install security plugins that monitor your website for suspicious activity and protect you from potential phishing attacks.  

• Backups: Make regular backups of your website so that you can react quickly and restore data in the event of an emergency.  

If you follow these tips, you can significantly improve the security of your website and your data and effectively protect yourself against phishing attacks.

How does Hoststar support you in the fight against phishing?

Hoststar actively protects you against phishing attacks by securing every .CH and .LI top-level domain with DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions). DNSSEC ensures that visitors to your website are not redirected to fraudulent or manipulated pages that attackers could create. This makes it virtually impossible for cybercriminals to create a fake phishing page that impersonates your website and lures your customers or visitors into a trap.    

DNSSEC verifies and authenticates every DNS query and ensures that your customers are visiting the real website. This means that attackers cannot use false DNS records to redirect your visitors to a fake site.    

In addition, we actively monitor our servers for suspicious activity and offer comprehensive security tools to help you protect your website and your visitors. With these measures, Hoststar helps you to maintain the trust of your customers and ensure the security of your website.