PhishTank Case Study
Client: PhishTank on behalf of OpenDNS
Project: PhishTank SiteChecker
Services Provided: Anti-Phishing/Security Software, API Analysis, Website building, Browser Product Branding, Software Promotion, Test environments, Utilities
When PhishTank[1] first opened, they were looking for developers for their API[2]. They wanted a developer to use their API to show off how easy it was to use it. We were contacted to come in and work with their API to make a firefox extension that would use their phishing data to provide protection against phishing sites. At GameSpotting! Networks, we started to work on such an extension to do so. And within a day, an alpha build of PhishTank SiteChecker was made.
As time progressed (and as we pushed for some new API features that would bring in more developers, which it did), we improved PhishTank SiteChecker, while hosting it locally on our site.
When the time came, we released PhishTank SiteChecker and made a site for it[3]. And the extension sold like hot cakes (even though it was offered for free), and it protected users from harmful phishing sites, by blocking the pages. PhishTank SiteChecker got "Download of the Day" by LifeHacker[4], two days after it was released publicly. It was also mentioned in the report during the Study of Mozilla's default anti-phishing system, as an alternative/software we suggest to use.[5]
Currently, we still support this project and continuously add new technologies that we developed, like BloodHound, PhishView and many others. We also created 2 test like environments for users to try out the phishing filter and see if it works for them. Those two environments are PhishTest and Phish Me Please
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