Dubbed the TraceAssure Site Authentication toolbar, the software is the most comprehensive in the United States to protect customers from malicious phishing, spear phishing, pharming and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Identity thieves use these types of attacks in an effort to steal passwords, credit card information, etc., by either redirecting the user to a fraudulent Web site or trying to pose as a legitimate Web site. The TraceAssure toolbar is designed to foil these types of attacks by letting users know immediately if the Web site they've navigated to is truly the organization they intended to visit. Using technology that cross references every Web page domain with a corresponding IP address, this information is then validated against a secure "White List" which has been compiled by TraceSecurity from data collected through its own proprietary registration database.

"Phishing, pharming and man-in-the-middle attacks have been targeting with great success online banking users, who a majority of the time fall victim to these types of attacks," said Jim Stickley, CTO of TraceSecurity. "We created the TraceAssure program to protect the customers of organizations that maintain confidential information. Where most "black list" anti-phishing solutions fail, TraceAssure can not be fooled."

With over 33,000 members, the $250 million Florida Commerce Credit Union downloaded the TraceAssure toolbar for free because one of its board members was the target of a spear phishing attack. After downloading the TraceAssure Toolbar, Florida Commerce Credit Union began offering it to their members.

TraceAssure Site Authentication is a toolbar that shows up on a web browser, just like the other toolbars at the top of an open web page. Organizations customers can simply download and install the free toolbar. The toolbar works by checking several details about the website including the domain (the website URL), the IP address being used (a unique number like a phone number), a list of approved domains, and those domains' real IP addresses.

If the domain and IP Address don't match up, the TraceAssure toolbar will show that the site isn't safe, however, if the site is legitimate then the toolbar will show it as "authenticated" and list the organizations complete business name. As a result, visitors can browse a website and be 100 percent sure they are truly at the site where they intended to be.