Behind the Scenes: July 2007 Archives

Hi5 has a team of people devoted to protecting your security and privacy.  Recently we shutdown several malicious "Phishing Sites" which attempted to steal Hi5 passwords.  Here's some background on how we dealt with this problem:

• Problem was reported, we found that there was a site containing a fake Hi5 home page.
• We immediately reported the site to all the Phishing clearinghouses.
• Then we looked up who hosts the server and who was hosting the domain/DNS.
• In this case we found that the phisher was using a Dynamic DNS service.  We contacted their customer service which shut down access.
• Then we contacted the web hosting company in Malaysia.  This required multiple emails and phone calls in the middle of the night.
• Finally the web site was shut down.
• Details about the identity of the perpetrators was supplied to the appropriate authorities.
  

Phew!  It's a lot of work protecting Hi5 users from unsavory elements!

We do our best to keep on top of this, however you can protect yourself from Phishing attacks by following a few simple steps:

• Use a current browser.  The latest versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer contain Phishing protection.  When we find evidence of a phishing site we report it immediately.
• Pay attention to your browser bar.  Insure that the URL starts with http://www.hi5.com before entering your password.
• Report suspicious phishing emails to us.  Click on the contact link on any page to alert customer service about this type of activity.
• Remember, if an email sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Hi5 will never solicit financial or personal information via email.
• Read more about protecting yourself from Phishing attacks.  Microsoft and Wikipedia both have good articles about protecting yourself from Phishing attacks.