Introduction

This tutorial aims to provide a thorough understanding of phishing attacks. Phishing is a cyber attack that involves disguising as a trustworthy entity to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, etc.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Understand what phishing attacks are
- Identify different types of phishing attacks
- Implement practical steps to prevent them

There are no specific prerequisites for this tutorial, a basic understanding of internet usage and interest in cybersecurity would be beneficial.

Step-by-Step Guide

Phishing attacks usually come in the form of emails, messages, or websites that look legitimate, but they're not. They trick the user into providing sensitive information.

Types of Phishing Attacks

1. Email Phishing: The most common form where the attacker sends fraudulent emails appearing from a legitimate source.

2. Spear Phishing: This involves targeted attacks on individuals or companies. The attacker usually gathers personal information about the victim to increase their chance of success.

3. Website Phishing: Here, attackers clone a website and trick users into logging in, thereby collecting their credentials.

Identification and Prevention

Identifying phishing attempts is critical. Here are some tips:
- Check the email address or URL closely. Phishing attempts often have misspellings.
- Be wary of emails asking for immediate action or personal information.
- Install an antivirus solution, schedule signature updates, and monitor the antivirus status on all equipment.

Prevention methods include:
- Educating yourself and others about phishing attacks.
- Updating your systems and software regularly.
- Using multi-factor authentication.

Code Examples

Here's a basic example of a PHP form which could be used in a phishing website. However, we'll also illustrate how to identify such malicious code.

<?php
// This file collects and stores the user's input
if(isset($_POST['username'], $_POST['password'])) {
   $username = $_POST['username'];
   $password = $_POST['password'];

   // The data is written into a text file
   $file = fopen('credentials.txt', 'a');
   fwrite($file, $username . ':' . $password . "\n");
   fclose($file);

   // The user is redirected to the real website
   header('Location: https://legitimate-website.com');
   exit;
}
?>

<!-- Here's a simple login form. -->
<form method="POST">
   <input type="text" name="username" required>
   <input type="password" name="password" required>
   <input type="submit" value="Login">
</form>

This code illustrates a basic phishing attempt. When the user inputs their credentials thinking it's a legitimate website, the information is stored in a text file and the user is then redirected to the actual website.

Summary

We've looked into what phishing is, how to identify different types of phishing attacks, and steps to prevent them. Understanding phishing attacks is the first step to cybersecurity.

For further reading, consider topics like cyber security best practices, advanced phishing techniques, and other forms of cyber threats.

Practice Exercises

1. Exercise 1: Write down five characteristics of a phishing email.
2. Exercise 2: List three ways in which one can prevent phishing attempts.
3. Exercise 3: Write a simple HTML form and a corresponding PHP file to handle the form data. However, make sure it's secure and can't be used for phishing.

Solutions and Explanations

1. Solution 1: Suspicious email address, poor grammar and spelling, request for personal information, urgent action required, mismatched URLs.

2. Solution 2: Regularly update systems and software, install an antivirus solution, use multi-factor authentication.

3. Solution 3: For this exercise, security measures can include sanitizing user input, using HTTPS, implementing CAPTCHA, and more.