Fighting email phishing attacks utilizing brand icon (Favicon) : An Empirical Research

Authors

  • Jerry Pullan  Nova Southeastern University, College of Computing and Engineering, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
  • Eidan J. Rosado  Nova Southeastern University, College of Computing and Engineering, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
  • Allen Anand  Albertian Institute of Science & Technology, Department of Computer science & Engineering, Kochi, Kerala, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRSET21821

Keywords:

Phishing, Human-Computer Interaction, HCI, Think aloud, Heuristic Evaluation, Favicon, email, Gmail, webmail, Security, Spam.

Abstract

The release of tablets and smartphones, which offer more advanced communication and computing capabilities, has led to the strong emergence of communication media on the market. Email systems are continuously being improved. In addition to facilitating communication between businesses and customers, users and businesses are proposing new communication methods such as App-based chat and instant messengers. Nevertheless, email is still the most popular means of communication in use. Google’s Gmail is one of the most widely used email service applications in the email market. It is top-notch at filtering out spam and offers useful extras such as quick links to track deliveries, amend reservations, and more without opening the email and looking for a link. Google has interpreted “know your user” and designed a system that can be accessed even by the novice computer user [1]. As of May 2016, Google announced in their I/O Developers Conference that Gmail now has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, giving Gmail the largest email user base [2]. Usability becomes a key factor in the adoption of these applications, which are often used by people who have problems when using mobile devices, spammers and hackers, and those who have limited experience with technology. The aim of this paper is to conduct an empirical study to evaluate the Gmail Sender’s Icon feature to stop phishing. The result of the study will provide recommendations that may help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of email communication and avoid phishing, scam.

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International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

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Published

2020-02-28

Issue

Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February-2021

Section

Research Articles

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
Jerry Pullan, Eidan J. Rosado, Allen Anand "Fighting email phishing attacks utilizing brand icon (Favicon) : An Empirical Research" International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology (IJSRSET), Print ISSN : 2395-1990, Online ISSN : 2394-4099, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp.287-298, January-February-2021. Available at doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRSET21821