What is mousetrapping in cyber security?

Mousetrapping is a very common technique used by attackers to prevent visitors from leaving their websites so that they can take advantage of that to spread malware. Mousetrapping is done by launching numerous numbers of pop-ups endlessly and/or by disabling back/forward or even the browser close button.

Different ways of mousetrapping

Mousetrapping can be done in different ways :

• Numerous numbers of new pages may open up.
• The same page may open several times.
• Browser buttons like Back/Forward or Close may become inaccessible and make the page harder to close.
• Several pop-ups may open up and alert you about something or ask you to take some action.
• Unwanted commercial ads, gambling requests, fake lottery requests, or adult content may start showing up again and again.

Threats of mousetrapping

Mousetrapping is normally associated with typosquatting (What is typosquatting?) or browser hijacking (What is browser hijacking and how to prevent it?). In typosquatting, attackers take advantage of misspelled URLs. And in browser hijacking, attackers change the settings of a browser to install more malware on the infected computer.

When a user misspells a popular URL in the address bar of the browser, a malicious website may open and start mousetrapping. Clearly, it takes time for the user to close all the open windows. And by then, the attackers start a drive-by download (What is a drive-by download ?) where malware code downloads to the computer automatically even when the user does not initiate any download by clicking on any link. Attackers can even change the browser settings of the computer so that the attackers can infect the computer with even more malware or perform more cyberattacks.

How to prevent mousetrapping?

There are a number of countermeasures that can be taken to prevent mousetrapping :

• If you ever run into mousetrapping, press keyboard shortcuts to close the windows. Most of the browser buttons become inaccessible at this time. However, closing web pages through keyboard shortcuts takes less time.
• If that does not work, you can try disabling the JavaScript functionality in your browser. In most cases, mousetrapping is implemented using JavaScript.
• If that also does not work, you can reboot your computer (e.g., With Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Windows)
• Never ever perform the actions suggested in the pop-ups. If you perform those actions, your computer will definitely be infected by malware.
• Keep all the software in your computer updated with security patches so that the attackers cannot take advantage of the security vulnerabilities of those software.
• Keep your computer updated with a trusted anti-malware program.
• Please remember that educating oneself on recent threats is always the best option.

This article gives a brief overview of mousetrapping. Interested readers who want to know more about how various malware and cyberattacks work may want to refer to the book “A Guide To Cyber Security.”