The word Pharming is coined from the words “phishing” and “farming”. It refers to the cybercrime activities such as phishing, where a website’s traffic is hacked in order to steal the sensitive data. Basically, Pharming utilizes the sequence of letters that form an Internet Address that converts into an IP address to carry out the malicious activities.

In order to gain access, the hacker secretly installs a Trojan or Virus on a user’s Computer which quietly replaces the computer’s hosts file to direct traffic toward a fake website instead.

Secondly, the hacker may infect a DNS server, thereby redirecting numerous users to unintentionally visit the fake website. The fraudulent websites are utilized by the online fraudsters to spread viruses or Trojans on the user’s computer. They are also used to gather personal details to use in identity theft.

Pharming is definitely a grave matter of concern for everyone and that essentially includes the cyber crime team which tries to control the unlawful activities. In all the attacks that are carriesd out, firstly, the DNS server is infected by the online criminal, a user may have a perfectly malware-free computer but still become a victim. Nevertheless, manually keying in the website address or always using trusted bookmarks isn’t enough, the redirection occurs after the system sends a connection request.

In order to steer clear from these types of scams, it is important to have virus protection software installed on your computer. A robust anti-virus solution would help to dodge questionable websites and never click on the links in questionable email messages. Basically, this approach will help stay away from most malware attacks that focus on accessing a system’s host file.

To stay protected, the user should refrain from visiting websites that are doubtful and never enter personal or banking details on suspicious websites. If the user is bit unsure about the website — especially the ones that ask for personal or financial information, just leave the website before it can cause any damage.

In case a website appears to be strange, the address in the address bar looks off, or the website begins probing for sensitive information. Double check these things to ensure yourself – the lock icon in the address bar which denotes a reliable website – click on the lock to ensure that the website has a trusted, up-to-date certificate.

For the ones that run DNS servers have some fairly complex anti-pharming techniques at their disposal. However, the threat of being manipulated is always there, so you can only decrease the chances through a perfect blend approach of personal protection and Internet awareness. Always remember this stay safe, when there is a virus infection perform a virus removal asap and delay no further.

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