19 February 2007
Internet security company Symantec has warned broadband users to change the default password on their routers to protect themselves from the latest identity-theft craze hitting webusers – dubbed 'pharming'.
Pharming is where users are taken to a hacker's website from a professional's site, such as a bank, without prior knowledge and any keystrokes inputted onto the site can be used by the hacker to get into the consumers personal files, including online banking.
This is not to be confused with the practice of phishing, which sees hackers send out false emails which look as though they have been sent from the consumer's bank.
This hacking practice is based on a relatively simple piece of Javascript which changes the DNS server. Once the router is rebooted, the user will be sent to another server – the hackers – meaning that all keystrokes inputted onto spoofed sites from this server can be seen and used by the fraudster.
Pharming is considered to be incredibly dangerous because unlike previous attempts, no links need be clicked or software downloaded. Victims need only visit a specially-designed website.
"The simplest thing you can do to protect yourself is change the default password on your home wireless router," Symantec told IT Pro.co.uk. "Also, in general, I'd recommend staying away from websites that aren't known to be at least reasonably trustworthy.
"And definitely don't blindly click on links in emails - even if the link came from someone you know. Remember, simply clicking on a link is all it takes for this attack to do its damage," Symantec added.
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