What is Urlscan.io?
Urlscan.io is a powerful scanner technology that allows IT security and risk management professionals to analyze and understand the potential risks associated with a particular URL. It provides a comprehensive analysis of a website or URL and helps identify any potential threats or vulnerabilities that may be present.
Urlscan.io works by taking a snapshot of the website or URL and analyzing its content, structure, and behavior. It examines various aspects such as the presence of malicious code, suspicious links, phishing attempts, and other potential risks. It also checks if the website has been flagged or reported as malicious by other users or security platforms due to prior abuse. This is called a reputation check.
What are its key features?
Urlscan.io scans and monitors websites to uncover risks and vulnerabilities. Key capabilities include:
Comprehensive Analysis: Checks the domain, IP address, SSL certificate, website code, structure, and content for outdated software, insecure settings, or known threats.
Real-Time Monitoring: Tracks changes to websites over time, detecting suspicious modifications or unauthorized activity.
Behavioral Inspection: Examines HTTP requests, response headers, and JavaScript execution to reveal phishing attempts and malicious scripts.
Detailed Reporting: Produces in-depth reports with identified vulnerabilities and recommended mitigation steps.
Security Integration: Works alongside other platforms to strengthen overall defenses and speed up response.
Is Urlscan.io safe to use?
Urlscan.io is generally considered safe to use for various security purposes, and is a widely recognized and reputable website scanning tool. Moreover, Urlscan.io’s scanning process is performed in a controlled environment, ensuring the safety of the user submitting the URLs. The tool offers various security features such as sandboxing, which isolates the website being scanned from the user’s device, minimizing the risk of any potential harm.
Furthermore, Urlscan.io has gained popularity within the cybersecurity community due to its transparency and commitment to open-source principles. The tool’s source code is publicly available on GitHub, allowing security professionals to examine its inner workings and contribute to its improvement. This level of transparency adds an extra layer of trust and confidence to the tool’s safety.
Of course, Urlscan.io isn’t the only option for analyzing suspicious websites. Depending on your needs, you may want a tool that emphasizes phishing detection and brand protection.Â
About CheckPhish
CheckPhish is a real-time URL and website scanner. Once a URL is submitted, our engine spins up an automated headless browser to capture a live screenshot, natural language content on the webpage, DOM, WHOIS, and other essential information. The engine sends this information to multiple deep learning models in the backend that can recognize essential signals like brand logos, sign-in forms, and intent. Our engine then combines these signals with our proprietary threat intel data to identify phishing and scam pages.
