You may be familiar with the regularly circulated advice to keep our computers safe from viruses or our bank accounts from being fraudulently accessed. But in the deep vast ocean of the internet, a menace lurks in corners unexpected, factor of cybersecurity threats - phishing websites. Therefore, as netizens, it's essential to fully understand what is a phishing website and the peril it represents.

Let's start with what is a phishing website? A phishing website is a guise under which cyber thieves operate. They clone the look and feel of a legitimate website, only with a sinister goal - to steal your personal and financial information. This could be your social security numbers, bank account details, credit card numbers, or your login credentials. A victim who inadvertently enters this information, thinking they're on the real site, hands over these details right into the thieves' hands.

For many, the question arises: But how can such a website fool users on the face of cyberspace? The world of phishing websites is more complex than it meets the eye. They employ a variety of strategies from domain spoofing to typosquatting, even using internationalized domain names, and SSL certificates to appear authentic.

Domain spoofing is one of the most commonly used techniques in creating phishing websites. Here, the URLs are designed to look nearly identical to those of the real websites. Minute differences are inserted that can easily go unnoticed. For example, phishing websites might replicate 'www.bankofamerica.com' as 'www.bankofamerica-secure.com' - adding a dash and a word that ironically purports increased security.

Similarly, typosquatting, also known as URL hijacking or cybersquatting, relies on typographical errors made by internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. For instance, a user inadvertently typing 'gmal.com' instead of 'gmail.com' might be led to a well-disguised phishing website.

Internationalized domain names (IDN) are also exploited by phishing websites. Such domains use characters from non-English scripts or special characters, and to an untrained eye, they look identical to the URLs of legitimate websites. It's called an IDN homograph attack. For example, 'wikipedia.org' and 'wikipedia.org' might look the same, but the first 'a' in the latter could be a Cyrillic 'а'.

Another way phishing websites establish credibility is by using SSL certificates. Users are traditionally instructed to ensure a website is secure by looking for HTTPS and a padlock icon in the address bar. However, phishing websites too can be encrypted and dispense SSL certificates, thus appearing secure and deceiving users into thinking they are safe.

All these strategies have one purpose - to deceive a user into believing they are interacting with a trustworthy entity. The stolen information is then used for various cyber crimes, ranging from identity theft to sophisticated targeted attacks on organizations.

As users, the best defense against phishing websites is awareness and proactive protective measures. This includes scrutinizing every URL before clicking, checking for SSL certificates and domain names, regularly updating and strengthening passwords, using multi-factor authentication, and keeping the software and security patches up to date. Internet users should also make use of antimalware or antivirus software with phishing protection, and be wary of unsolicited emails, an often-used vector for phishing attacks.

The fight against cyber threats like phishing websites requires concerted efforts from different quarters. While cybersecurity firms continue to develop advanced software and measures to counter these threats, it's equally crucial that users are educated about these phishing techniques. Greater awareness and understanding of what is a phishing website and how they operate is key.

In conclusion, though phishing websites are a potent threat in the cyber world, the right knowledge about their strategies and adopting vigilant cybersecurity practices can greatly reduce their risk. By understanding what is a phishing website and the implications of falling prey to one, we can ensure that our personal and sensitive information remains safe, maintaining the sanctity and security of our virtual presence.