I Googled castlecops to find some feedback about an anti-phishing tool called Spoofstick, a Browser Helper Object for IE and extension for Firefox, that reveals spoofed URLs. The program is produced by Corestreet, a company out of Cambridge, MA.

I found 3 forum posts (by [url=by /modules.php?name=Forums&file=profile&mode=viewprofile&u=79]LoPhatPhuud[/url] Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3) recommending it.

Wondering if anyone has had experience with the program.

It comes recommended by Anti-Phishing Crusade of the UK and others listed in this article roundup, "SpoofStick 1.0 is here" - Phil Libin

scupper,

I didn't see this before now. Did you end up trying it?

I didn't install it. I was looking for something for my parents, as they've been getting hit pretty hard lately with spam and phishing emails, as well as 419s and lotteries from the Netherlands.

Ended up redirecting their existing pop accounts to Yahoo accounts, and setting up new POP accounts for them, only to be shared with trusted recipients and businesses.

Another toolbar I came across when looking at these was the Earthlink toolbar, that comes with their "ScamBlocker tool". PC Magazine did a review of it recently on 11/18/2004. The Antiphishing Working Group also recommends it as a possible defense. (1) (2).

I read an article back in September about the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) launching a "Counter-Phishing Initiative", with a few of it's goals being to identifying new tools for customers and online communities to communicate with/through about these new tools. <br><br>Maybe there's an opportunity for castlecops to do a Q & A feature/article with the FSTC Counter-Phishing project's leaders, Zach Tumin (zachary.tumin(AT)fstc.org), or Jim Salters (jim.salters(AT)fstc.org), and for them to get feedback from the castlecops community about tools the FSTC has recommended, and for FSTC to get recommendations/input from castelcops about tools/practices the castlecops community has used/recommended/tested.

here is a reference by apluswebmaster:

/t91287-Pop_up_Loophole_Opens_Browsers_to_Phishing_Attacks.html

Thanks scupper,

I'll see what I can do. I have been in contact with the anti-phishing workgroup, and have previously referenced FSTC in one of my articles, they are both extremely good resources. I think your idea is a great one! It will take me a little bit to put some Q together to ask them.

nfntjy,

Thanks nice to know there is yet another vulnerability

The best product I've seen so far is http://www.fraudeliminator.com. It's pretty new but has by far the best interface and is also really designed for novices---I specifically installed it on my mother's machine.

It also identifies the country that all websites are hosted in, which is very valuable info (should Cit1bank.com be in Russia?) and the real URL (like Spoofstick).

IMO SpoofStick is worthless for novices. Newbies should get EarthLink's product (ScamBlocker) or FraudEliminator.

Just my 2 cents,

Mike

I will be doing an Interview with the CEO of the Anti-Phishing Working Group shortly.

Cool---will you be publishing that here?

Will be very interested to read.

Mike

Yes it will be published here in the news. I'll try to remember to post a link to it from this topic once it is up. It will also be available in my article archive.

Never too late

I noticed when I was adding SpoofStick to the Reviews, that they have released a newer version.

Have you tried both for IE and Firefox?

On 11/03/2004 Spoofstick version 1.04 was released for Firefox. Version 1.02 for Internet Explorer was released on 8/18/2004. I have used it for several months. When FraudEliminator 2.12 was released on 12/17/04 I began using it and prefer it features, especially the update button in "real time." With Spoofstick, the user has no way to know how long it has been since the database was updated.

Another tool I have not heard discussed much is a free service called PhishGuard: http://www.phishguard.com/

Instead of adding a toolbar, PhishGuard installs as a startup program in the system tray. It allows configuration of some preferences and the ability to check for updated versions.

On 11/03/2004 Spoofstick version 1.04 was released for Firefox. Version 1.02 for Internet Explorer was released on 8/18/2004. I have used it for several months. When FraudEliminator 2.12 was released on 12/17/04 I began using it and prefer it features, especially the update button in "real time." With Spoofstick, the user has no way to know how long it has been since the database was updated.

Another tool I have not heard discussed much is a free service called PhishGuard: http://www.phishguard.com/

Instead of adding a toolbar, PhishGuard installs as a startup program in the system tray. It allows configuration of some preferences and the ability to check for updated versions.

Thank you Quietman7.

I've added those two to the Reviews as well.

/wreview-31