7 September 2006

Microsoft is set to use new technology in a bid to combat phishing, potentially making the Internet a safer place.

Phishing attacks, in which fraudsters attempt to gain personal information about users' credit cards and banking, have been identified as a major cause in online fraud.

Microsoft is now set to use data mining techniques to combat the problem, to prevent users from being directed to illegitimate sites.

The technology will focus on financial companies and e-commerce sites, IDG News reports.

Dennis Maicon, vice president for financial services solutions at Digital Resolve, the technology provider, explains how the system works.

"When somebody goes to type in Barclays.com, it's able to then take that URL, resolve it to an IP address and then check against a list to see if it is an authorised Barclay's server," Mr Maicon said.

Avivah Litan, vice president of Gartner, added: "Making consumers feel safe when they are navigating the Internet should be a top priority for those players that have the greatest reach and can have the largest impact across the market."

© Adfero Ltd

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