SEATTLE – Microsoft said Thursday that it has added three data providers in its effort to help customers defeat information-stealing attacks called phishing ? which seeks to get users to hand over personal information such as their username or password.
The software maker said it has struck deals with Cyota, Internet Identity and MarkMonitor, each of which will provide Microsoft with regular updates on confirmed phishing Web sites, CNET.Com reported.
The information will be used in a variety of Microsoft products, including its Internet Explorer browser, its Hotmail e-mail program and in Windows Live.
Microsoft has already partnered with WholeSecurity to create a blacklist of known phishing sites.
Phishing scams ? increasingly by criminal syndicates in Russia, China and Eastern Europe – are seen as a threat to the growth of e-commerce and other online services, such as banking.
In addition, Microsoft said it has released a final version of its anti-phishing plug-in for the MSN Toolbar. A test version of that feature was released in August. The company is also building anti-phishing features into Internet Explorer 7, the new version of its browser, which is currently in limited beta testing.
