A typo can end up leaving you surfing in Cameroon

Do you ever have one of those days when you can’t seem to spell? Every so often I have that problem. It is like my brain and fingers just aren’t in sync and I reverse letters or leave some out. I especially hate when it happens as I type in a web address. Often I don’t realize it until the wrong website pops up.

I mentioned before about the time I accidentally typed “.com” instead of “.gov” and brought up an adult website on my computer at work. Did I mention I was a receptionist and sitting in the lobby at the time? Yeah. That was a banner day!

Today, McAfee revealed their third annual “Mapping the Mal Web” report which documents the riskiest domains in the world to surf. Last year the top domain was Hong Kong (.hk). In the past year, Hong Kong has cracked down on bad websites and fell a whopping 33 places and now ranks 34th in the world. Way to go .HK!

The “winner” this year is … Cameroon! (golf clap) with 36.7% of the countries domain names (websites) containing garbage that will muck up your shiny new computer. Ah-hem, I mean, containing malware, malicious downloads, adware, etc. that could potentially harm your computer. Imagine that!

Take one second and imagine that if you typed in a web address, you had a 30% chance of downloading a virus or keylogger. Yikes!

Take this one step further… I learned from this report that the top-level domain for Cameroon is “.cm”, painfully close to “.com” for me. I thought of how often I accidentally don’t hit the “o” key hard enough. Just one typo… and I can end up surfing in Cameroon instead of the legitimate US address for which I was aiming. Just one typo… and I risk my brand new laptop getting infected with malware.

Luckily my computer is protected with a complete antivirus, firewall, SiteAdvisor – you name it, I got it! I am not taking any chances. The more I learn about this stuff, the more I realize that an ounce of prevention saves a whole lot of headache later.

Rounding out the top countries are the People’s Republic of China (.cn) with 23.4%, Samoa (.ws) with 17.8% and the Philippines (.ph) with 13.1% of their sites being risky. I would like to give props to Ireland for having Europe’s safest web domain with only .1% of their sites being risky (huge applause!) and again to Hong Kong for kicking some cybercriminal butt this year (raise the roof!).

CyberMom’s Tips of the Day
1. Antivirus, antivirus, antivirus! A comprehensive security suite protects your computer, period. Get as much as you can afford, preferably with virus protection and a firewall.

2. Check for typos before hitting enter. When the difference between a safe site and a site containing malicious code is the letter “O”, it makes sense to take a second to check the address you just typed before you hit enter.

3. Reason #1 for not having antivirus installed. If money is tight this year and you don’t have the extra money to renew that antivirus subscription, check with your internet provider. Some offer free software with your subscription. Comcast and Verizon are just a few.

Check out the cool interactive map with the latest scary domains on McAfee’s Security Advice Center (www.mcafee.com/safe-searching).

Tracy
cybermommcafeecom
@mcafeecybermom

Tags: map, mapping the mal web, typos, web sites