NordLabs Link Checker: A tool for avoiding malicious websites

Link Checker is a manual URL checking tool that examines the safety of websites before you visit them. Whenever you enter a URL into Link Checker, it scans websites for different types of malware and notifies you if the website is fake or ridden with phishing scams. The tool is available in all browsers and on all devices.

Link Checker is a product of NordLabs experiments, a response to the growing scale and intricacy of phishing attempts online. Thanks to hackers’ inventive strategies, malicious websites are becoming harder to spot with the naked eye. Well-known typography tricks (such as replacing “Amazon” with “Arnason” in a URL) that worked mainly for well-known domains are now upgraded to more elaborate strategies. For instance, suspicious elements can be hidden under a URL shortener, making phishing websites look legit.

If you fall for a phony website, the outcome depends solely on the hackers’ intent. Sometimes, getting out of the malicious web page without clicking any links may be enough to avoid jeopardizing your device and sensitive data. At other times, simply clicking on a malicious URL will open your device to a drive-by download attack. It can infect your device with malware or botnets, encrypt or steal your personal data such as login details and credit card information, or bombard you with malicious ads.

Designed as an everyday tool to help you avoid such scenarios, Link Checker inspects websites using public and private resources before you enter them. Take a closer look at how it works.

Link Checker operates by scanning the domains of the websites you want to visit and comparing them against a list of websites that are known to contain scams or malware. To check the website’s legitimacy, simply paste it into the given field, press “Enter,” and wait for a response. If the link is clear, the system will notify you that it’s safe to visit the website. However, if Link Checker finds malicious components within the inspected domain, it will warn you accordingly.

Link Checker draws information about malicious websites from third-party sources – massive online databases that security experts continually update. In addition, Link Checker uses NordVPN’s own machine learning model, which was created to recognize zero-day phishing patterns planted within websites. This proprietary model compiles public databases and NordVPN’s own gathered intelligence to identify bogus websites that intend to lure you into phishing scams. It incorporates the data of the world’s most popular brands, which phony variations hackers often use to disguise online scams or malware. In fact, Link Checker incorporates information on 95% of the most popular domains mimicked by cybercriminals.

Let’s discover the reasons to choose NordLabs’ Link Checker for safer roaming online.

Among the biggest advantages of Link Checker is its two-fold nature. Combining substantial third-party databases with machine learning techniques, NordLabs Link Checker offers one of the most inclusive data sources to detect harmful URLs.

Link Checker is a free tool to use for both businesses and individuals. It doesn’t require creating a special account or enrolling in a subscription. There’s also no limit to the number of websites you can check with Link Checker. Take a look at the benefits that the Link Checker can bring:

However, keep in mind that this is a manual tool to check a web page’s legitimacy – you have to enter websites into Link Checker one by one. If you’re interested in a more well-rounded online security tool, you should consider Threat Protection. This security feature automatically blocks malicious websites whenever you’re about to visit them and scans files you download for malware, preventing them from infecting your device. For those unsure how to remove tracking parameters from the URL, Threat Protection is also a convenient tool because it stops trackers and intrusive ads from infiltrating your device.

NordLabs is one of NordVPN’s latest projects. Nordlabs is oriented towards experiments and innovations in IT. It was created so that NordVPN’s software developers and engineers could explore the possibilities of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) and freely experiment with emerging technologies.

If you’re interested in NordLabs products, join the waiting list and be the first to try them out. You’ll be invited to test new, not-yet-released features for free and share your experience with the NordLabs team so it can improve and adapt new tools for mainstream use.