What Is Typosquatting, Why Does It Matter, And How Do I Tackle It?
ESET, Thursday, February 12th, 2026
Typosquatting attacks abuse look-alike domains and user typos to steal credentials, spread malware and hijack traffic. Learn how modern typosquatting works in 2026, the main attack types, and how users, security teams and brands can prevent it.
Picture the scene. You're in a hurry, on the move, and need to check a website on your phone. You type in what you think was the URL, but get it slightly wrong. The site you're after appears to load as normal. But in the background, it's pushing malware to your smartphone, and now, just like that, the threat actor behind the scenes can monitor everything you do on that device.
This is typosquatting. It's been around for decades. But in 2026, it's arguably more stealthy, malicious, and widespread than ever.
This guide explains how typosquatting works, how it is evolving, and what individuals, security teams, and brand owners can do to defend against it.