etailology

Both these terms represent methods by which thieves try to steal personal information or money. The important difference between them is:

• Phishing is a CON GAME in which emails or fake web sites are constructed in order to trick users into entering their personal information. In a large sense, you can defend yourself against phishing by being a smart consumer, smart emailer, and letting that “something smells wrong about this website” feeling guide you.
• Pharming is a TECHNICAL HACK which involves attacks on DNS servers and can result in users arrival at incorrect websites despite the presence of the correct address in their address bar. Pharming is more insidious and harder to defend against — and it can affect DNS systems all the way down to your individual computer.