Author Topic: Brightcloud.com is an Excellent Tool Checker for URL Reports  (Read 2492 times)

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Jack 1000

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Brightcloud.com is an Excellent Tool Checker for URL Reports
« on: March 22, 2012, 05:31:30 AM »
Dear Avast,

Although nothing can take the place of up-to-date anti-virus protection, Brightcloud.com is a pretty good URL checker for malware and other security threats for sites that you may not be sure about.  Here is the link:

http://www.brightcloud.com/index.php

Jack

Offline polonus

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Re: Brightcloud.com is an Excellent Tool Checker for URL Reports
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2012, 01:24:54 PM »
Hi Jack 1000,

Yes there are various scanners available online. Brightcloud isn't a bad one as is Zscaler Zulu. For pre-scanning you can also use Bitdefender TrafficLight, DrWeb's URL pre-scanner, M86 secure browsing extensions. WOT is too dominated by user input to have reliable data, as a web rep tool it is better to use webutation.org (has WOT scores incorporated but separately).
 Look upon it as this - they all overlap each other while trying covering the whole detection range. Often DrWeb's URL checker flags URLs that avast does not flag and v.v.. For malcious javascript http://sitecheck.sucuri.net/scanner/ is a scanner that finds up a lot. For instance for blacole alerts urlquer.net is a scanner of choice. Sometimes we have to go to that site with a special browser like malzilla (if the avast network and webshield do not block us). Use these scanners s only sandboxed, in a VM, and on a standalone computer in lab settings. There are also specific scan sites for security experts, but these also should be used with utmost care (script blocking active (NoScript), sandboxed etc.). Going to live malcode with a proxy is a bad idea, because the code could go under the anti malware radar. Oh, I forgot about comodo's siteinspector. Well have a look where we scan suspicious URLs in the virus and worms section of these forums and you get an idea of what we do there (Pondus, Asyn, spg SCOTT, !Donovan, DavidR. You see we have a lot of resources (sitevet, bizimbal, Ipilion, abuse.ch etc. etc.),

polonus

Oh just a remark, if you check with Zscaler when available they give a link to VirusTotal and you can see at a glance whether avast has detection. Brightcloud functions more as an IP/URL risk indexer, green, yellow, red and a risk score, e.g. red 50.
You can combine such a scanner also with a Privacy Score scanner. Avast webforum scores 80 and cnn a meagre 38,

Cybersecurity is more of an attitude than anything else. Avast Evangelists.

Use NoScript, a limited user account and a virtual machine and be safe(r)!

Offline polonus

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Re: Brightcloud.com is an Excellent Tool Checker for URL Reports
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2012, 11:54:31 PM »
It is even good when there is new activity from a certain IP: 61.19.124.106 - HACKING - filed under Hacking (FTP server reported at IPillion, BrightCloud gives it as suspicious with a yellow 40 rep index meaning suspicious, Zscaler Zulu sees it as benign, Offensive IP database does not even have it, suspicious: step2.php',

polonus


Cybersecurity is more of an attitude than anything else. Avast Evangelists.

Use NoScript, a limited user account and a virtual machine and be safe(r)!