Computer Safety & News

http://about-threats.trendmicro.com/us/malware/TSPY_USTEAL.USRJ QUOTE: The newer variant that we detect as TSPY_USTEAL.USRJ, drops ransomware—detected as TROJ_RANSOM.SMAR—on affected systems. These ransomware files are created by a new toolkit builder that gives the attacker full control over the ransomware’s behavior, from the types of files it will encrypt to the ransom note to be displayed.  We detect this toolkit […]

Tuning Facebook security and privacy settings offer improved protection.  Another new technique was shared by Facecrooks security team recently. http://facecrooks.com/Internet-Safety-Privacy/How-Disable-Facebook-Video-Auto-Play.html/ https://www.facebook.com/help/633446180035470 QUOTE: As you may have noticed, your Facebook News Feed recently began auto-playing videos. This can be annoying on a PC and downright harmful on your mobile device, as it can eat up your […]

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/hacking/323165-smart-home-kits-easily-hacked http://www.av-test.org/en/news/news-single-view/artikel/test-smart-home-kits-leave-the-door-wide-open-for-everyone/ QUOTE: After installing a smart home kit, you can control and monitor your house in many ways. Turn the air conditioner on before you get home, make sure doors and windows are closed, switch lights on and off; these are just a few of the possibilities. However, researchers at AV-Test found some smart […]

Network World shares 6 free NVA scanning tools as noted below: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/042914-free-network-vulnerability-scanners-281097.html QUOTE: Vulnerability scanners can help you automate security auditing and can play a crucial part in your IT security. They can scan your network and websites for up to thousands of different security risks, producing a prioritized list of those you should patch, […]

Facebook shares it’s balanced approach of targeting ads and maintaining user privacy. http://facecrooks.com/Internet-Safety-Privacy/Sheryl-Sandberg-Defends-Targeted-Ads-Says-Facebook-Protects-User-Info.html/ http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27108483 QUOTE: Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg recently defended Facebook’s privacy practices in an interview with the BBC, saying that Facebook is extremely protective of user information. Her response came when concerns were raised about Facebook’s targeted advertising. “Privacy is of […]

  Facebook has partnered with Storyful’s News Verification service to stop Fake news from circulating in scams, pranks, or malware attacks http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/towards-a-more-truthful-internet/ http://facecrooks.com/Internet-Safety-Privacy/Facebook-Teams-Up-With-Tech-Company-Stop-Fake-News.html/ QUOTE: Luckily, Storyful has developed a news verification technology and process that can distinguish between real and fake news. It digs to identify the original source of the news, and then reviews […]

Firefox 29 was launched today and includes the following changes in the new version: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/29.0/releasenotes/ QUOTE: Key new features include: * Significant new customization mode makes it easy to personalize your Web experience to access the features you use the most (learn more) * A new, easy to access menu sits in the right hand […]

ESET documents the iBanking and Qadars mobile security threats: http://www.welivesecurity.com/2014/04/16/facebook-webinject-leads-to-ibanking-mobile-bot/ http://www.virusradar.com/en/Win32_Qadars/detail http://www.welivesecurity.com/2013/12/18/qadars-a-banking-trojan-with-the-netherlands-in-its-sights/ QUOTE:  iBanking is a malicious Android application that when installed on a mobile  phone is able to spy on its user’s communications. This bot has many interesting phone-specific capabilities, including capturing incoming and outgoing SMS messages, redirecting incoming voice calls, and even capturing […]

A critical zero day vulnerability has been patched in Adobe Flash.  Corporate and home users should update as soon as possible. http://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb14-13.html http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/adobe-releases-patch-for-flash-zero-day-vulnerability/ QUOTE: Adobe has released a security advisory regarding a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2014-0515) found in the program Adobe Flash. According to the advisory, the updates pertain to “Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.182 and earlier […]

PC Magazine shares recap of the 5 most active mobile banking threats during 2014 so far http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/malware/323017-understanding-the-top-5-mobile-banking-trojans QUOTE: Mobile banking Trojans are very active, targeting user devices to gain access to your bank accounts. Just as you protect your PCs to prevent malware infections, be careful what you do with your mobile devices. Be careful […]