{"id":39959,"date":"2014-12-08T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=39959"},"modified":"2025-08-17T20:10:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T03:10:35","slug":"what-is-pharming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/privacy-identity-protection\/what-is-pharming\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Pharming?"},"content":{"rendered":"

. For a lot of kids today, mash-ups are all the rage\u2014whether it\u2019s combining two videos, two songs, or two words.<\/p>\n

Mash-ups have even caught on in the tech world. The word pharming is actually a mash-up of the words phishing<\/a> and farming. Phishing is when a hacker uses an email, text, or social media post asking for your personal and financial information. On the other hand, pharming doesn\u2019t require a lure. Instead of fishing for users, the hacker just sets up a fake website, similar to farming a little plot of land, and users willingly and unknowingly come to them and give them information.<\/p>\n

How does it work? Most hackers use a method called DNS cache poisoning. A DNS, or domain name system, is an Internet naming service that translates meaningful website names you enter in (like twitter.com) into strings of numbers for your computer to read (like 173.58.9.14). The computer then takes you to the website you want to go to. In a pharming attack, the hacker poisons the DNS cache by changing the string of numbers for different websites to ones for the hacker\u2019s fake website(s). This means that even if you type in the correct web address, you will be redirected to the fake website.<\/p>\n

Now, you go to the site and thinking that it is a legitimate site, you enter your credit card information, or passwords. Now, the hacker has that information and you are at risk for identity theft and financial loss.<\/p>\n

To prevent yourself from a pharming attack, make sure you:<\/p>\n