To limit the risk of phishing that can lead to irreversible cryptocurrency losses, DefiLlama has launched its own search engine. How does this new tool, called LlamaSearch, work?
DefiLlama launches a search engine to protect against phishing
When it comes to security, whether in the cryptocurrency ecosystem or any other field, the human factor is often the first point of failure. This is why various phishing techniques can be so effective, as haste, a lack of vigilance or knowledge can lead to serious losses.
With this in mind, 0Xngmi, the founder of DefiLlama, presented a tool at the end of last week to help limit the risk of phishing. In fact, it’s a rather unusual search engine, sending visitors directly to the right destination site:
People keep losing money to scams on google ads
DefiLlama was impersonated, even alameda lost 100M…
We have to stop this.
So I built an extension that replaces the new tab page with a custom search that prioritizes safe domainshttps://t.co/2yUXu43DYZ pic.twitter.com/zTPUkBz151
– 0xngmi (@0xngmi) October 12, 2023
For example, if we take the MetaMask wallet, the most popular Web3 wallet on the market, it’s easy for a malicious actor to promote a fake version of the wallet, notably using the Google Ads sponsorship tool.
Someone not paying attention to the URL could then download a compromised version of the wallet, which would end up draining that victim’s funds. This is indeed what recently happened to billionaire investor Mark Cuban, resulting in the loss of $870,000.
Simple operation
So LlamaSearch is a seemingly classic search engine, but one that allows you to open your search without going through the Google results. As shown in the example below, the first result sends you directly to “metamask.io”, avoiding any disappointment by clicking on a fraudulent URL :
Preview of DefiLlama’s LlamaSearch search engine
Having tested it on various searches, LlamaSearch works for most of the best-known applications in the ecosystem, even if we’ve never been there before in our history.
For the more obscure protocols lost far down the CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko rankings, however, it may not work at all, or may only offer the result of their token, for example. In any case, we would tend not to recommend you to use such protocols for other reasons.
Of course, no matter how effective this search engine is, there’s nothing to stop you checking the authenticity of the URL you’re looking for yourself, although Llama Search can already provide an effective bulwark against many common phishing attempts.
In addition, 0xngmi points out that searches are performed locally, which also limits data collection by DefiLlama’s servers, thus providing a certain additional layer of confidentiality.
As far as compatible browsers are concerned, DefiLlama’s search engine is currently available on the Chrome Web Store as well as Firefox.
