Don’t get sucked in by Facebook Dislike button scams -- or vomiting snakes
You've probably heard talk recently of Facebook adding a Dislike button or an 'empathize' button. While this is certainly something that has been in the news, it is not yet a reality -- and it has created a great opportunity for scammers to cash in on people's impatience.
We don’t get know exactly what form the Dislike button will take, or when it will appear, but there are now several scams in operation that lure in victims with the promise of instant access to the yet-to-be-released feature. A variety of techniques are employed by scammers to encourage victim to "Download the official DISLIKE button now". It is, of course, a fake, and there are a number of things to look out for.
How bad is iOS 9 ad blocking for Internet advertising?
On Sept. 16, 2015, Apple released iOS 9, which enables users of iPad and iPhone to disable ads. The company claims the capability improves the overall user experience. As someone covering the tech industry for more than two decades, I perceive it as something else, too: Competitive assault against Google and means of pushing publishers to iOS 9's new News app. There is nothing friendly about Apple's maneuver. It is aggressive and tactical. But does it really matter?
Stated simply: More than 90 percent of Google revenue comes from contextual and search-related advertising. Apple derives about the same figure from selling devices and supporting services. At the same time, mobile is the future of Internet advertising and the battleground where the two meet. The entities' respective mobile platforms, Android and iOS, long ago put the tech titans on a collision course. Conceptually, what Apple can't gain from iPad and iPhone sales, it can take by shaking pillars supporting its rival's business.
Private keys leaked in D-Link firmware may have been exploited by hacker to digitally sign malware
Malware writers may feel as though they've hit the jackpot after a slip-up by D-Link. The networking company released open source firmware that revealed the private keys used to sign D-Link software.
It was discovered that the firmware for a D-Link DCS-5020L security camera included D-Link's private keys as well as the passphrases needed to sign software. Windows users could have been at risk as malicious software could have been signed allowing for the installation without alerting security software.
AVG's new privacy policy is brutally honest about tracking you
AVG has thrown down the gauntlet to other technology companies, challenging the rest of the industry to produce open, truthful privacy policies. AVG has done just that, and you might not like what you read.
The antivirus company has published its own brutally honest privacy policy that clearly sets out how it tracks users' activity, gathers data, and shares that information with others. Unsurprisingly, despite the fact that nothing has changed but merely been brought out in to the open, people are not happy. Is honesty about a disagreeable policy better than living in blissful ignorance?
DDoS attacks are more dangerous than you think
We all know that DDoS attacks are capable of causing massive inconvenience, but according to a new survey they can have major financial and data loss implications too.
The study of over 5,000 companies by Kaspersky Lab finds that almost one in three DDoS attacks coincides with a network intrusion.
Wanted: DDoS skills to fend off attacks
DDoS attacks regularly make the news, but what are companies doing to help them fend off and guard against the threat?
Security company Incapsula has conducted some research to find out if companies are actively seeking candidates with DDoS mitigation skills.
Securing the Internet of Things [Q&A]
The Internet of things is set to worm its way into many areas of our lives, but as our cars and domestic appliances become connected how can we be certain that they're secure? We've already seen issues with cars being hacked and do you really want to be installing security software on your fridge?
We spoke to Lev Lesokhin, Executive Vice President, Strategy and analytics, of software analysis and measurement specialist CAST to find out how developers of IoT products can keep them secure and retain consumer confidence.
Bypass the Android Lollipop lockscreen by entering a really long password
A lengthy password is a good thing, right? For some Android users running Lollipop, however, it may be possible to bypass the lockscreen simply by entering a password that is incredibly long. Copy and paste a lengthy string into the password field, and it is possible to crash the lockscreen and gain access to the phone or tablet.
While the vulnerability is worrying, it is not something that can be exploited remotely -- it is necessary to have physical access to the phone. The bug was discovered by security researchers at Texas University and while a patch has been issued for Nexus devices, other handsets remain vulnerable.
AirDrop exploit can be used to push malicious apps to iOS and OS X
A vulnerability has been discovered in iOS and OS X that could be used to install apps without permission, using AirDrop. The feature exists to provide a way for people to quickly send files from one device to another, but security researcher Mark Dowd has been able to exploit the vulnerability to push apps to iOS even if the user does not accept the file that is AirDropped.
Dowd has reported the vulnerability to Apple, but the company has failed to patch the problem so it still exists in iOS 9. Using a combination of techniques, it is possible to bypass the security screen that asks if an app is to be trusted or not, meaning that a malicious app can be installed without permission or notification.
IT decision makers worry about the security of containerized applications
Containerization makes deploying applications faster and more cost-effective than using traditional means. As a result container technologies have become more popular with Docker rising rapidly in popularity and market share.
But a new survey from enterprise security specialist Twistlock shows that 91 percent of respondents said they are concerned about container security.
Avira tops latest AV-Comparatives Protection test
Security lab AV-Comparatives has announced the results of its August 2015 Real-World Protection Test.
AVIRA took first place this time, although it was a very close contest. AVIRA, Bitdefender, Panda and Trend Micro all detected 100 percent of threats, and it was only the number of false positives which set the packages apart.
More than 21 million new threats detected in second quarter of 2015
PandaLabs, the malware research arm of Panda Security, has published its latest quarterly report showing that malware creation levels have broken new records.
It reveals that in the second quarter of 2015 there were an average of 230,000 new malware samples detected each day, which means a total of 21 million new types in these three months. Compared to the same period last year, where there were 160,000 registered samples, this is an increase of 43 percent.
SecureKey brings convenient, secure access to US online services
As we rely more on using online services to control various aspects of our lives we end up with a host of login credentials that can be difficult to manage.
Toronto based identity specialist SecureKey is today launching its SecureKey Concierge service in the US. This allows consumers to choose a trusted credential they already have and use frequently to login to other sites, thereby eliminating the need for additional usernames and passwords.
Popular travel apps have inadequate security
Travel apps have evolved to make life easier for users, with regular updates and enhancements to features and usability. But new research highlights inadequate security in the 10 most popular mobile apps for travel on both Android and iOS devices.
The study by self-defending app specialist Bluebox looked at more than a dozen security parameters in the 10 most popular travel apps on the App Annie iOS Top App Charts and Google Play Top App Charts and revealed that critical flaws were present in all of the apps examined.
Why the password is still here to stay
With everything from your local takeaway to fashion retailers and airlines now requiring an account, it is expected that within five years we will have, on average, over 200 accounts requiring passwords.
Managing passwords has become a nightmare for almost all internet users. In the face of this, people respond differently. Some of us use the same passwords for all our accounts. This is naïve -- each password acts as a gateway to our valuable personal data and using a single password means that one breach results in vulnerability on all fronts.
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