Developers say the upgrade makes K9 Web Protection the first consumer filtering software to warn users about new websites that ‘phish’ for sensitive data.
According to industry researchers victims of phishing lose an average of $3,000, and the total cost is thought to be as high as $1bn a year.
The Blue Coat software compares websites against a database and automatically sends unrecognised sites to a ‘data centre’ for analysis. Users are then warned against visiting the site and the software can block access altogether. Blue Coat said this entire process takes between 250 and 750 milliseconds.
Joel Boucree, who uses the software, said, “I received a phishing email that told me I needed to confirm my email address on Amazon.com. It looked authentic so I figured I’d give it a try.
“K9 blocked the phishing site dead in its tracks. I’ve also noticed it works to block phishing traps accessed through use of the MySpace website.”
John Carosella, vice president of strategy and outreach at Blue Coat, said,”A majority of first generation internet parents are still getting up to speed on today’s basic online technology and lack experience in dealing with deeper concerns such as phishing and identity theft”.
“The internet is constantly evolving. K9 Web Protection helps parents stay a step ahead of the harmful content and malicious scams that social networking vehicles, email and web content bring into the home.”
