Phishing certainly stands out among the most widespread scams worldwide, which every year causes considerable damage to ordinary people but also to society, given the modern techniques used to deceive others and fake alert help messages with incredible truthfulness. Although you must always be very careful when opening new e-mail messages, it is preferable to get help to recognize phishing by using some security programs, such as anti-phishing, so that you can immediately intercept suspicious messages and prevent you from opening suspicious links. or attachments.
In the following guide you can find the best security solutions to combat phishing, such as how to avoid the various types of phishing and what to do in case you have been the victim of an attack of this type, so as to prevent it from happening again in the future. a similar mistake.
What is phishing
Phishing is a name that derives from the English term to fishing (i.e. to fish) and labels the computer scam with which one tries to extrapolate access data to sites, credit card numbers or bank current accounts through deceptive messages, which do indeed "Bite the hook" the poor victim users.
Over the years, the deception has become increasingly difficult to guess, as attackers exploit people's fears to make people click wherever they want: everyone is afraid of losing their money, so phishing messages often involve unauthorized transactions of the your bank, blocked account logins or other similar deceptions, designed to make even the most attentive user fall into the trap. Fortunately, it is possible to use effective anti-phishing tools to immediately intercept suspicious messages and prevent the scam from affecting our wallet as well.
The different types of phishing approaches
There are many types of phishing that you can come across, but they can be summarized in some very specific categories:
All these attacks always exploit people's mistakes and naivety: trusting too much an apparently legitimate email or panicking over losing all their money (which is not true anyway) will lead more and more people to fall victim to phishing if no the necessary measures are taken.
The best anti phishing scams 2021
Below you can find the best anti phishing scams with which to decrease the effectiveness of scam emails, thanks to advanced systems for recognizing malicious links, the most common phishing email screen recognition systems and OCR recognition systems (for messages scam hidden inside the images). We can find both free solutions and payment solutions.
Avira
For those who want to integrate a good anti-phishing module on their computer, they can rely on the protection offered by Avira Free Security, available free of charge for all Windows systems. With this antivirus you can immediately block scam emails, pop-ups with misleading messages or irresistible offers, fake search results and fake websites, so that you never have to enter your login credentials and get your passwords or money stolen from your card. of credit.
The free version offers a good level of protection against phishing, but for the most demanding users it is possible to obtain a higher level of security by focusing on the paid version Avira Prime.
>> Go to the Avira Prime price list
Avast
Another antivirus with an effective anti-phishing system is undoubtedly Avast Free Antivirus, available for free download on all Windows systems. By installing this famous antivirus it is possible to obtain a reactive threat detection system, a module for monitoring links (even those present within the scam emails), a network connection control module and a module to scan all emails received, so as to block any phishing attempt in the bud.
Also in this case, the free version of the application offers a more than adequate level of protection, but for those who are particularly demanding or receive many phishing emails, they can opt for the paid version of Avast Premium Security.
>> Go to the Avast Premium price list
Bitdefender
If you often use your PC on unsafe networks or on corporate networks that are particularly sensitive to cyber attacks, it is advisable to focus on a paid solution such as Bitdefender Internet Security, compatible with all Windows computers.
Among the features included in the suite you can find a particularly efficient anti-phishing module, able to immediately block any scam email or suspicious link. An efficient scanning module, a latest generation firewall, a network control system, a monitor for Wi-Fi connections, a parental control system and an integrated VPN also complete the suite.
Norton
Another company particularly active in the fight against phishing is Norton, which offers the Norton 360 Premium paid security suite, particularly effective against any scam email or suspicious link.
By focusing on this solution, it is possible to obtain an advanced antivirus, a multilayer firewall, a control module for sites and links displayed on browsers, an active control of received emails, a parental control, a secure VPN, an automatic file backup system. personal data and a password manager.
>> Go to the Norton price list
McAfee
Another valid security suite capable of effectively blocking phishing is McAfee Total Protection, downloadable on all Windows operating systems still supported by Microsoft.
With this security suite it is possible to intercept scam messages and links without any interference with the work carried out during the day, thanks to the synergy of the various modules and integrated protection systems: the antivirus can stop any malware attack, the control system of email blocks phishing and the cloud protection system can also stop and report new threats not yet known, so as to also block new phishing attempts (such as links hidden within images). To increase the level of protection we think the firewall, the payment protection system and home-banking sites, the system for managing passwords and the family protection system (parental control).
>> Go to the McAfee price list
Sophos Home
Sophos Home Premium stands out among the best anti-phishing systems that can be applied to your PC, which offers a security suite designed for home use and also available with a free 30-day trial.
By focusing on Sophos Home, phishing will no longer be a problem, also thanks to the antivirus capable of intercepting malware, links, fraudulent images and pop-up scams; together with the antivirus it is also possible to find a protection system against ransomware, a protection module for user privacy, intelligent threat detection system using artificial intelligence and web filter for minors.
>> Go to the Sophos Home Premium price list
ESET
Phishing can also affect mobile devices, making it necessary to adopt a complete and effective security solution also for Android and iPhone; for total protection, you can rely on ESET Smart Security Premium, the most advanced suite offered by the ESET company.
By focusing on this suite it is possible to protect PCs, Macs, Android devices and iPhones from phishing, thanks to an extremely effective antivirus module against hidden threats, to the proactive scanning module, to the cloud-based scanning system (for next generation threats) and a system that interactively protects apps and sites dedicated to e-commerce or home-banking.
>> Go to the ESET price list
G Date
Another security suite with an advanced anti-phishing system is G Data Total Security, available for Windows PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
By focusing on this solution, it is possible to block every phishing email, counterfeit website or malicious link thanks to the real-time scanning system of every link or email received, the integrated browser with anti-phishing, the reputation module of the websites visited and others effective security systems such as firewalls, parental controls and the protection system for home-banking and e-commerce.
>> Go to the G Data price list
How to protect yourself from phishing: general tips
To protect yourself from phishing, it is advisable to add prudent behavior to any of the anti-phishing scams seen above, any email you receive. Below you can find the best tips to apply to effectively protect yourself from phishing:
By following these tips it is possible to avoid the vast majority of scams brought via email, so as to let phishing fall into the void.
Victim of a scam? How to behave
Unfortunately, it can happen that you end up being a victim of phishing, even with all the necessary precautions. If you have fallen victim to an email scam or noticed a money transaction from your account immediately after taking a bite of a scam email, it is advisable to follow these steps right away, without falling victim to panic, anger or fear:
By carefully following the tips seen above, it is possible to regain control of your hacked accounts, start the procedures for restoring stolen money and report the incident to the police, so as to be able to launch a targeted investigation and block other phishing attempts. similar.
Summary and conclusions
As it is easy to understand, anti-phishing systems tend to be very effective but a lot also depends on the user: technology cannot yet replace or intercept human reactions, so it takes very little to fall victim to these scams. With a security suite equipped with anti-phishing protection it is possible to block malicious links as soon as you click on them (by mistake or to "hook the hook"), prevent you from viewing web pages modified or fake to steal personal data , delete scam emails immediately and prevent image phishing from spreading.
If your computer is part of a corporate network or you use the e-mail client a lot to communicate with colleagues or suppliers, having an anti-pishing is essential, since attacks of this type are often carried out with the help malware that “steals” trusted contacts from the computer or mail client address book, so as to feed the phishing chain; in the worst case, the email account can be exploited to carry out targeted and difficult to intercept attacks, especially if we are the managers of the company or administrative directors (our employees will immediately open well-packaged or unsuspected emails, causing non-financial damage indifferent).
Fortunately, the anti-phishing systems are updated regularly along with the other components of the security suites and, as long as we keep the subscription active, we will be protected from the scams and deceptive emails that you can run into nowadays.