Here’s a common scenario: an employee receives an email that alerts them to the fact that their important online account has been breached. They follow the link in a rush to salvage the situation and prevent the loss of data, a negative PR incident or worse.

Unfortunately, the unsuspecting user has fallen victim to a well-rehearsed threat tactic by attackers that is becoming more sophisticated. Attackers send malicious links that are benign at first but then become dangerous at a later date. This allows them to slip by many email virus checkers and become a serious threat when clicked on several days later or when forwarded from one team member to another. This is why organizations need an advanced malware protection solution like Mimecast Targeted Threat Protection with URL Protect that scans links in every email, on every click, regardless of when they were received.

What is a link scanner?

Scan link for threats are often hidden within images, attachments or code. By scanning the source code of a web page, a link scanner can authenticate if it is safe to visit or not. This is especially useful in detecting and preventing phishing attacks, malware downloads and other cyber threats.

Using an online tool to scan for threats is easy. There are many free and paid options available to perform a link safety check. A popular option is to use a free link scanner that scans the destination URL for malware, phishing sites, and other harmful content.