Before you click an unfamiliar link in an email or text, run it through a reputable scanner. These tools compare the URL against massive databases of known threats.

: The most important part of a URL is what comes right before the extension (e.g., .com, .org). In http://verify-login.net , the real domain is verify-login.net , not Google.

: Google’s proprietary tool that examines billions of URLs daily. It is the same technology that powers the red warning screens in Chrome.