Items tagged with security
We are only months removed from the massive WannaCry cyberattack that hit hundreds of thousands of computers in over 150 countries, crippling some hospitals in the United Kingdom. WannaCry became an overnight global scare after spreading far and wide within the first few hours. Up until now, it was not clear where...
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A popular antivirus vendor is at odds with the United States government over ties with Russia, and things have turned ugly. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a government ban on any and all Kaspersky software, giving civilian government agencies 90 days to remove Kaspersky software completely from their...
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Another day, another Face ID fail that allows unauthorized people to log into the iPhone X. This time around, no creepy masks or 3D printing hardware was needed. The two women who can unlock the same iPhone X are not even related, as we have seen in the past when a child was able to unlock his mother's iPhone X using...
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Several months ago, Microsoft began bundling Keeper, a third-party password manager, with an image of Windows 10 that is intended for developers. Users noticed the password manager in the list of pre-installed apps after performing a clean installation of Windows 10 from a freshly downloaded build, so it was not...
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In geekier circles, Mr. Robot is one of the most popular television shows on the planet. It's well-written, well-acted, and most importantly, it's captivating. That said, the show isn't necessarily universally well-known and perhaps its most recent publicity effort just went a little too far. It was with great...
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Sometimes it feels like this whole cryptocurrency mining business is getting out of hand. The underlying technology—blockchain—is interesting and potentially very useful, but there are some side effects that are casting a dark shadow over cryptocurrency, such as driving up the price (and limiting availability) of...
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A security flaw that was first discovered in 1998 by Daniel Bleichenbacher has resurfaced, putting at risk some of the most popular websites and services, including Facebook and PayPal. Called ROBOT, the 19-year-old vulnerability can be exploited to perform RSA decryption and signing operations with the private key of...
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The largest spam botnet in the world has a new trick up its sleeve, prompting security outfit Check Point to place it back in its list of the top ten most prevalent malwares. Called Necurs, the botnet dished up more than 12 million emails in a single morning during the Thanksgiving holiday. What makes it even more...
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Google has announced that it has beefed up its efforts to keep Android users safe by expanding the enforcement of its Unwanted Software Policy. The updated policy will help Google to reduce unwanted and harmful behavior on Android. Android users will now see Google Safe Browsing warnings on app and websites that...
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Apple seems to be having a tough time getting out of its own way, in regards to a dopey security flaw that was recently discovered and fixed. The flaw allowed users to gain administrative access to systems running macOS High Sierra by typing "root" for the username and leaving the password blank. Apple rolled out a...
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Updated November 29th at 11:52am
Apple has issued a patch for the macOS High Sierra security exploit, less than 24 hours after it was made public. It is addressed in Security Update 2017-001, which Apple encourages all macOS High Sierra users to download immediately. Apple describes the security incident...
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iPhone X users must be feeling a little unsure of their Face ID security. Recently we have seen a son unlock his mother's phone using his own face just because they look alike. A security firm from Vietnam called Bkav was able to defeat Face ID security earlier this month using an ornate mask. Bkav is back at it again...
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Imgur has discovered what it calls a "potential security breach" that happened three years ago. The breach allowed the attackers to make off with the emails and passwords of 1.7 million user accounts. Imgur says that it is still investigating the breach, but that it wanted to warn its users of the intrusion and tell...
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Uber suffered a data breach back in October 2016 that affected tens of millions of people, and it is just now letting the public know about it, as 2018 rolls into view. This latest incident is yet another black eye for a company that has been beat up in the media over questionable decision making in the past, such as...
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A new study has found something very disturbing on some of the top websites in the world. Researchers from the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy have conducted research that found that over 400 of the top 50,000 websites in the world are using "session replay scripts" to track user behavior. This...
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Here we go again. In 2016, authorities tried to legally compel Apple to unlock an iPhone model that belonged to one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino shooting that left more than a dozen people dead. Apple resisted, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation dropped its lawsuit before the legal matter had a chance...
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OnePlus is catching heat from its customers yet again, this time for the discovery of a pre-installed application found on several of its handsets that could allow an attacker to gain root access. The application is a diagnostics tool called "EngineerMode" that Qualcomm developed and distributes to OEMs like OnePlus...
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As part of a recent case study, Google teamed up with the University of California, Berkeley, to better understand how hijackers attempt to take over email and social networking accounts. As any thirty-something who grew up watching G.I. Joe cartoons can attest, knowing is half the battle. So, after learning the most...
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Most people have probably never been to Cloudflare's San Francisco office, but those who have been there would have noticed a large wall of lava lamps in the lobby. It is hard to miss—after all, it is not everyday that you come across dozens of lava lamps arranged on a set of shelves, not even in Spencer's where these...
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been unable to access data on a locked smartphone that belonged to Devin Patrick Kelly, the individual who opened fire in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, leaving 26 people dead and several others injured. In a subsequent press release, the FBI identified the handset...
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Microsoft has published a new and official set of standards for consumers who want to ensure they have a "highly secure Windows 10" device. The new standards are for general purpose desktops, laptops, tablets, 2-in-1s, mobile workstations, and good old fashioned desktops. They are broken up into two...
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Google is working hard to make the web a more secure place and with its Chrome browser being the most popular browser on the market by most accounts, that was a good place to start. Google says that security has always been one of the core principles of Chrome and points out that it was found to be the most secure...
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