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State warns parents of fake FCAT Web site
(The Star (Shelby, NC)(KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 5--What is the difference between www.fcatparentnetwork.com and www. fcatparentsnetwork.com? More than just the S.
The first address takes users to a legitimate state Web site that allows parents access to their children's FCAT scores. Misspelling the address by adding the S takes parents to a revenue-generating fake Web site.
"The Department of Education is pleased to provide the FCAT Parent Network as a resource for parents," DOE Assistant Deputy Commissioner Cornelia S. Orr said in a press release. "It is unfortunate, however, that a Website is taking advantage of our wonderful new resource."
The fake Web site is a type of domain parking site, with an appearance similar to others like it. On these generic-looking Web sites, the owner uses keywords taken from the misspelled address to generate links and searches that return advertised listings.
Along with opening popup windows, this particular site displays links such as "2007 FCAT Results" and "Did my child pass the FCAT?" Other links have more general offers of free credit reports and airline tickets. All links create advertised search results.
By clicking the links, the Web site's owners can show their effectiveness to the advertisers they charge for the listings.
While most links at the fake Website appear to be benign, some sites that rely on misspelled phrases for traffic (known as " typosquatting") can be potentially harmful.
One misspelling of the popular search engine Google.com brings unsuspecting visitors to a site that bombards the screen with popup ads and self-executing spyware programs. A number of misspellings of Wikipedia.com, one of the Internet's most visited sites, lead users to similarly malicious pages.
While the FCAT Web site misspelling may be mainly a hassle to parents, the DOE worries that parents may have trouble locating the correct Web site if they visit the wrong one by mistake.
Parents wishing to view their children's FCAT scores online can obtain a password from the school then visit the real Web site, www.fcatparentnetwork. com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Walton Sun, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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