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Risks

Should we be afraid of the internet?

Of course not! The risks are to be understood as those of everyday life.
But to know them better is to better protect yourself!


Learn how to identify them


  • Phishing

    Phishing is a technique used by scammers to access personal information in an identity theft scheme. The technique consists of making the victim believe that she is talking to a trusted third party - bank, government, etc. - in order to obtain personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, date of birth, etc. It is a form of computer attack based on social engineering (information security). Phishing can be carried out by e-mail, fake websites or other electronic means.

  • Mules

    A "mule" is the name given to a person used to transport illicit materials: explosives, weapons, drugs, sometimes without their knowledge. On the Internet, mules are ""recruited"" by e-mail to ""transport money"" for a fee. To recruit it, the pirate abuses an Internet user who thus becomes an accomplice in a fraud (theft, embezzlement or money laundering) punishable by law.

  • Pharming

    Pharming is a hacking technique that exploits DNS vulnerabilities. This technique consists in hijacking access to a website to a hacker website. The URL is correct, but the Internet user is on a fake website. Confidential information is then seized by the hacker.

  • Spam

    Spam or junk mail is unsolicited electronic communication, primarily via e-mail. It generally involves sending large quantities of e-mails for advertising purposes. Phishing and hoaxes partly use this technique.

  • Scams and hoaxes

    Like spam, a scam is an e-mail that you never asked to receive and that usually offers you a quick and easy way to win money (lottery, stock market, etc.) or that asks for your sympathy. In some cases, the scam may involve turning you into a mule. But beware, you become an accomplice of the pirate and his malpractices and you risk a lot. Hoaxes often take the form of an e-mail or a chain letter. In the latter case, the Internet only amplifies a phenomenon that already existed through traditional mail. Unlike spam, which is usually sent automatically to a list of recipients, hoaxes are relayed manually by bona fide individuals who are asked to forward the message to everyone they know, or to a specific e-mail address.

  • Viruses

    A computer virus is malicious software designed to spread to other computers by inserting itself into legitimate programs called "hosts". It can affect the functioning of the infected computer to varying degrees of severity. It can spread through any means of exchanging digital data such as computer networks and CD-ROMs, USB sticks, etc. It can also spread through any other means of digital data exchange.

  • Spywares

    Spyware is malicious software that installs itself on a computer with the aim of collecting and transferring information about the environment in which it is installed, very often without the user's knowledge. The growth of this type of software is associated with the growth of the Internet as a means of data transmission.

  • Les chevaux de Troie

    A Trojan horse is a legitimate-looking piece of software designed to surreptitiously (covertly) execute actions without the user's knowledge. In general, a Trojan horse attempts to use the rights belonging to its environment to hijack, spread or destroy information, or to open a backdoor that enables an attacker to remotely take control of the computer. Windows Live Messenger, the downloading of free programs and the sharing of programs or other files are the main sources of Trojan horses. They are also very common in certain types of e-mail.

  • Information transmitted

    When using the services of a website, information is often personal (e-mail, last) name, first name, login, password, credit card No., etc.). To be sure to communicate safely with your banking or online shopping website, a few precautions and verifications are necessary. Refer to our "Best Practices" section.