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Free Anti-phishing toolbar for Internet Explorer

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Carol Haynes:
This looks like quite a useful tool for Internet Explorer users (unfortunately they don't seem to support other browsers - at least not yet).

Check out http://www.callingid.com/Default.aspx

I received an email from Rose City this morning - here is their take on this software:

This month's fr-eeee software offer
With each edition we will try to bring you a useful software offer... just as we did in previous months. Some are direct from Rose City and some are great toys and tools we have discovered elsewhere that we think you will like!

This month we have a special one for you called CallingID for the Internet.

Download CallingID from the developer's web site CallingID lets you see the owner of the site you are accessing, where it is located and whether it is safe for sending personal information. It automatically detects, warns and helps you avoid phishing sites, and verifies safe sites. It executes 52 verification tests on each page you visit and provides you with simple easy, to understand risk assessments.

Many online frauds are perpetrated by deceiving victims into trusting a Web site and revealing confidential information such as credit card numbers. Many times users are lured to these websites by phony Phishing emails. According to Wikipedia, "Phishing is a form of social engineering, characterised by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message."

phishing The term phishing arises from the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to "fish" for users' financial information and passwords. These kinds of fraudulent practices are common with scammers posing as eBay, Paypal, various banks and other trusted organizations. You can't always tell the site is fraudulent even if you look in the address bar of your browser. These guys are pretty tricky.

One of the ways to help spot fraud is to find out who has registered a particular Web site; this may not prevent all fraud, but it is a step in the right direction. If you are looking at a site that claims to be in Florida but the owner lives in the Czech Republic (no offense to Czechs intended), it could be a scam.

Among other things, CallingID provides automatic DNS lookups for all URLs. A quick installation of this free product adds a new bar to the IE window showing ownership information, including geographical location for the Web site being visited. CallingID provides full risk assessment for users that send personal or confidential information (such as password, credit card details, etc.) over the Web. Click here for a demo of how CallingID works.

There's no adware, no spyware. Try CallingID... it can help keep you surfing the web safely.
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rjbull:
I couldn't easily see the cost from their Web site, but the PC Magazine link they have said its $39.9x per year.  I'd prefer a cheaper alternative that supported other browsers...

Carol Haynes:
I couldn't easily see the cost from their Web site, but the PC Magazine link they have said its $39.9x per year.  I'd prefer a cheaper alternative that supported other browsers...
-rjbull (January 05, 2006, 04:36 AM)
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Don't know where $39 comes from. On the page I posted it says "Free Download" and it works fine for me. No suggestion it is a trial version.

I think they have paid for services for website owners to register their websites for enhanced status, maybe that is causing confusion.

My only gripe is that it is limited to Internet Explorer (it doesn't work with Maxthon for example).

rjbull:
I think they have paid for services for website owners to register their websites for enhanced status, maybe that is causing confusion.
-Carol Haynes (January 05, 2006, 05:31 AM)
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Maybe that's it.

Don't know where $39 comes from. On the page I posted it says "Free Download" and it works fine for me. No suggestion it is a trial version.

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I think I've seen Web sites where "Free Download" doesn't mean "freeware," just some kind of free trial, shareware or otherwise; hence a certain wariness.

Carol Haynes:
Doesn't seem to be so there - maybe something will happen in the future to suggest they want cash (though I don't think that would make a good impression on users) but at the moment there isn't a hint that any payment is expected now or in the future.

I have been looking at the reviews. Only one of them mentions money (PCMAG which says it is free for a year) but none of the other reviews mention this at all, and there is nothing on the website to suggest it?

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