Skip to main content

Don’t mistype that URL, as it could lead to malware

researchers use ambient light sensor data to steal browser exhausted man computer problems desk hacking hackers malware frust
Shutterstock
Typo prone? You may want to clean up your act. In a malicious trend known as typosquatting, hackers are now taking advantage of our fast fingers and careless errors, attempting to send malware onto Macs by way of mistyped URLs. According to the security company Endgame, a whopping 300 popular .com sites have been registered in Oman, whose top level domain is .om. But this is only a cover — the .om sites try to load OS X malware known as Genieo onto the Apple devices of unsuspecting users.

Endgame first came across typosquatting when an employee made a typo in “www.netflix.com,” instead typing, “netflix.om.” As Endgame notes, “He did not get a DNS resolution error, which would have indicated the domain he typed doesn’t exist.  Instead, due to the registration of “netflix.om” by a malicious actor, the domain resolved successfully.” Luckily, being an Endgamer, he was able to spot the malware, and “retreated swiftly, avoiding harm.”

Recommended Videos

Other less savvy users, however, may not have been as lucky. The malware Genieo, Endgame notes, is a rather “common OS X malware/adware variant” that “typically infiltrates the user’s system by posing as an Adobe Flash update.” If the user accepts the update, then Genieo “entrenches itself on the host by installing itself as an extension on various supported browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari).”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Typosquatting isn’t all that new — indeed, malware has previously been delivered by way of mistyped addresses. But Endgame does say that it hasn’t previously come across “.om abuse.” So how concerned should we be? The security firm suggests, “Our research also indicates that .om domains associated with the vast majority of major brands may be unregistered. It does not appear that are widely including the .om in their typosquatting mitigation strategies. We strongly recommend doing so.”

So be careful when you’re typing, friends. This is one type of “om” you want nothing to do with.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Apple could finally be about to fix the Mail app on your Mac
Apple Intelligence's Mail features being presented at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2024.

If you’ve ever used the Mail app on your Mac and then compared it to more or less any of the best email apps, you’ll know that Apple’s offering is some way behind its rivals. After all, it lacked features like inbox sorting, message snoozing and undo send for years -- not exactly the height of technology, yet Mail strangely went without.

Sure, Mail has the advantage of solid privacy and security, including a Mail Privacy Protection feature that thwarts trackers’ attempts to harvest your data. But that’s never really been enough to make Mail particularly exciting. It’s simple and functional, but not much else.

Read more
Don’t worry — AMD’s RX 9070 XT is set to launch in a matter of ‘weeks’
Gigabyte's RX 9070 XT GPU.

AMD barely touched on its new RDNA 4 graphics cards during its CES 2025 keynote, not even showing the new GPUs during its presentation. Instead, details about the new graphics cards have largely been shared by AMD's board partners. It's a strange move, and one that left some Team Red fans worried about the new cards.

But don't worry. The RX 9070 XT is coming soon.

Read more
Check your expectations — Nvidia’s RTX 50-series benchmarks don’t tell the full story
Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang showing off the RTX 5090 at CES 2025.

Nvidia just revealed its range of RTX 50-series GPUs at CES 2025, and made some big performance claims. The company says that the flagship RTX 5090 is twice as fast as last gen's RTX 4090, and it's not alone. Across all of the benchmarks Nvidia shared, from the RTX 5090 down to the RTX 5070, Nvidia says the new GPUs are twice as fast as their last-gen counterparts.

We normally don't see that kind of generational uplift. Did Nvidia put some sort of magical GPU dust into its new graphics cards? If you look closely at the benchmarks, it becomes clear that, yes, Nvidia did exactly that. And that magical GPU dust is called DLSS 4.

Read more