Typosquatting
The registration of domain names similar to those of popular websites
Typosquatting or URL hijacking is the practice of registering a domain that is very similar to
that of a popular website, like examlpe.com instead of example.com.
A website is then hosted on the domain to attract visitors who make a mistake when trying to enter the
genuine URL in the browser's address bar. Sometimes this is done in a relatively harmless way and a generic
page with advertisements is shown.
However, sometimes the site attempts to infect the user's computer with malware
and/or pretends to be the original website, thus aiming to steal the user's personal information.
Phishing emails regularly contain links to typosquatted domains, therefore users are advised
to scrutinise URLs sent in emails or, better still, use a previously bookmarked version of the link.
