A security firm has just launched a free tool that allows users to scan websites for malicious code or other types of attacks before they access them.
The LinkScanner tool, developed by Exploit Prevention Labs, is the latest outcome of the SocketShield project. This will compete with McAfee’s SiteAdvisor tool.
Chris Weltzien, an expert from Exploit Prevention Labs, stated that LinkScanner can fully scan links returned from search results obtained from any search engine.
McAfee’s SiteAdvisor also has a similar capability – scanning search results from Google, Yahoo, or MSN. However, McAfee’s tool uses a completely different technology compared to that of Exploit Prevention Labs.
When users enter a URL hyperlink into LinkScanner, the tool scans the target website for malicious software code or other attack exploitation methods. The results are immediately reported to the user.
However, the tool does not have the capability to warn users about potential harmful websites. Some sites identified as phishing links by Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 were not detected by LinkScanner. This seems understandable since LinkScanner is solely designed to detect malicious software code.
“We do not delve deep into the website,” Joe Chiarella, product director of Exploit Prevention Labs, stated. “LinkScanner can only scan the specific target website from the URL address entered by the user. The tool cannot scan the subpages dependent on the main target website. We could scan deeper, but users cannot wait. Users can only wait approximately 30 seconds. LinkScanner takes 10 seconds to scan a website.”
LinkScanner is a free tool and will always remain free, Weltzien affirmed.
Users can access this tool at http://www.explabs.com/linkscanner/
Hoàng Dũng
