{"id":92047,"date":"2017-08-31T11:11:24","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T11:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=92047"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:48:07","slug":"how-to-spot-links-you-should-not-click-under-any-circumstances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-spot-links-you-should-not-click-under-any-circumstances\/","title":{"rendered":"How to spot links you should NOT click under any circumstances"},"content":{"rendered":"

Links are the perfect bait to lure us to malware. It\u2019s extremely difficult to resist the temptation to click on a link, right? Is there a way to spot fraudulent links? In fact, we\u2019ve got a few little tricks. Alone, they aren\u2019t foolproof but together, they could help you avoid a bad situation<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fraudulent links usually appear in two different contexts: in an email or a social network conversation<\/strong> (for example, Facebook Messenger). So, the first step to spotting a deceptive link is to answer this question: do you know the person or entity who sent you the message?<\/span><\/p>\n

If the link has been sent by an unknown person<\/strong>, all you have to do is click on his\/her account and investigate a bit. You can even search for the name on Google, just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of email, look at the message\u2019s full header to see the address of the person or entity who sent you the message. If the address is suspicious<\/strong>, you can delete the message immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

What happens if you know the person who sent the message, but you notice something is off?<\/strong> Keep in mind that if a friend has been hacked, his\/her computer could be sending these deceptive links without anybody\u2019s knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

The solution for both email and messaging is simple: ask the other person<\/strong> if he\/she sent you the link. You\u2019re not in a rush, are you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of a trap.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

But sometimes, fraudulent emails or messages will use personal data to trick you<\/strong>. There\u2019s no black magic behind it: the wrongdoers involved simply have found some of the\u00a0information that the internet is crawling with. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to find out if these emails or messages have hidden traps. Do they ask you to give out information like your bank account, or password<\/strong>\u2026? Ah-ha! No reputable company will ever ask you for information like that.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want more evidence, hover your cursor over the link<\/strong> in question without clicking on it. Does a suspicious URL appear at the bottom of your navigation pane? Then it\u2019s better you don\u2019t risk it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Is the URL shortened?<\/strong> Use the <\/span>page<\/span> CheckShortURL<\/span><\/a>. Paste the address in it and it will give you a preview of the page hidden behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we finish, let\u2019s review the related topic of attachments<\/strong>, since sometimes viruses are hidden in them. For starters, sometimes they involve the easy trap of hiding an image with an embedded malicious link via a fake attachment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Be careful with Office documents that end in \u201cm.\u201d They\u2019re files that usually contain malware. Same with JavaScript files (.js).<\/span><\/p>\n

What are your tricks for avoiding fraudulent links?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Links are the perfect bait to lure us to malware. It\u2019s extremely difficult to resist the temptation to click on a link, right? Is there a way to spot fraudulent links? In fact, we\u2019ve got a few little tricks. Alone, they aren\u2019t foolproof but together, they could help you avoid a bad situation. Fraudulent links … Continue reading “How to spot links you should NOT click under any circumstances”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8032,"featured_media":92073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-92047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t