Pharming is a scamming practice in which malicious code is installed on a personal computer or server,misdirecting users to ______ Web sites without their knowledge or consent. Pharming has been called "phishingwithout a lure".
In phishing, the perpetrator sends out legitimate-______ e-mails, appearing to come from some of theWeb’s most popular sites, in an effort to obtain personal and financial information from individualrecipients. But in pharming, larger numbers of computer users can be ______ because it is not necessaryto target individuals one by one and no conscious action is required on the part of the victim. In one form ofpharming attack, code sent in an e-mail modifies local host files on a personal computer. The host filesconvert URLs into the number strings that the computer uses to access Web sites. A computer with acompromised host file will go to the fake Web site even if a user types in the correct Internet address orclicks on an affected ______ entry. Some spyware removal programs can correct the corruption, but itfrequently recurs unless the user changes browsing ______
A. fewB. fraudulent C. normal D. structured