While the idea of spending a nice summer day on the lake sounds appealing, that isn't quite what we're talking about here. Phishing is the act of someone trying to find out your username, password, or personal information, including credit card numbers by sending you official-looking E-Mail messages asking you to give them this information, or click on a link in the E-Mail to log onto a web site and "update" this information. It's obvious that this can be quite dangerous if you give this information to the wrong people.

But how do you know if the message you received is genuine, or a piranha in the vast waters of the internet? Most places you do legitimate business with (including Active Web Hosting) will never ask you for your account information, passwords or especially credit card information via E-Mail.

Another Phishing Scheme will notify people via E-Mail that they need to update their account information or their account will be terminated or suspended. This is a tough call as there are times when this is actually necessary. However, if you receive any such E-Mail from Active Web Hosting, or a request from a registrar to update your WHOIS information, send us a message to support@activewebhosting.com and we can help you make the necessary changes. If it is any other place that is asking you to update the information, it's best to go to their web site directly from an address you have visited before and update your information from there.

Most of the time, you want to avoid clicking on links in your E-Mail unless you know and trust the sender. For instance, Active Web Hosting staff may give you informative links to our FAQs, Tutorials and other services in response to a question you have asked us. Maybe your friends and relatives have a photo gallery which they updated with new pictures. Use your discretion and never ever click on a link in E-Mail from a source you do not know or aren't sure about.

The biggest reason for not clicking on unknown links in your E-Mail is because if they come from unknown sources, they can lead you to spoofed sites. These are web sites designed to look like the official site, but are actually run by criminals who are trying to steal your identity, gain access to your bank account or credit cards, or try to send you spam. They often trick people by making a site look official, and have a form where they want you to enter your personal account information. Even with special add-ons in your web browser, sometimes it is not easy to tell if a site is spoofed or not.

Always be careful not to give out any information to anyone you do not know or haven't previously done business with. For more information, please see our FAQ titled Phishing Scams: How to tell if E-Mail from Active Web Hosting is genuine.