AN ENHANCED MECHANISM FOR THE PREVENTION OF MALWARE INJECTION WITH URL REDIRECTION

Abstract

The growing dependence on web-based services has made users increasingly vulnerable to malicious activities, particularly those exploiting deceptive URL redirection techniques. Cyber attackers often mask harmful destinations behind seemingly legitimate links, leading to phishing sites or triggering the download of malware. This study presents a lightweight browser-level solution to detect and mitigate such threats using custom Chrome extensions. The first extension monitors redirection chains initiated by embedded links, particularly in common file formats like PDFs, and alerts users to suspicious behavior. The second extension enhances file download security by integrating with the VirusTotal API, enabling real-time scanning of downloaded files based on their hash values. Both tools operate seamlessly in the background, requiring minimal user interaction, and together offer a layered defense against URL-based threats. Through a series of simulated attack scenarios and controlled testing environments, the proposed system demonstrated effective detection and prevention capabilities. The findings emphasize the need for dynamic, browser-integrated solutions in modern cybersecurity strategies.