According to a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 54 percent of teens say that they spend too much time on their cellphones. Acknowledging you have a problem is the first, necessary step toward correcting it, and the survey reports that significant percentages of teens are taking steps to do just that. The Survey Specifically States: 52 percent of teens report that they are actively trying to cut back on their mobile phone use 57 percent report that they're taking steps … Read more
Archives for August 2018
Encrypted Chats Are Now Available In Skype
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it had entered into a partnership with Open Whisper Systems, the makers of the Signal app. The purpose of the partnership was to bring Signal's open source, end-to-end encryption protocol to Skype. As of the latest Skype builds, that is now a reality. Stable versions of Skype have been released for Windows, macOS, Linux, android, and iOS. If you haven't yet upgraded to the latest versions and want to begin making use of the new protocol, you … Read more
Gmail Releases New Confidential Mode
Google has introduced a new Gmail feature called "Confidential Mode," which seeks to make sending and receiving important or sensitive emails more secure. Unfortunately, it may have inadvertently created as many problems as it solves. Here's how the new feature works, and why you may be leery of using it: To send a confidential email, compose your message as normal, and then, click the "lock" icon located at the bottom of the email screen. When this button is pressed, you'll be presented … Read more
If You Use Photoshop, Update Immediately
Do you use Photoshop? Does anyone who works for you use it? If so, you'll want to apply the latest security patch immediately. Two new vulnerabilities were discovered after the release of Adobe's regularly scheduled August 2018 security patch update. This prompted the company to take the unusual step of releasing an emergency, out-of-band update to correct the issue. These two newly discovered vulnerabilities (tracked as CVE-2018-12810 and CVE-2018-12811) impact Adobe photoshop CC2017, … Read more
New Intel Vulnerability Named Foreshadow Found
Intel has had a tough time of things so far this year. The most recent trouble stems from yet another newly discovered security flaw in the company's processors, bearing the inelegant name of "L1 Terminal Fault," or "Foreshadow" by those who have discovered it. The attack can take one of three different shapes (so far), and ultimately allows a hacker to access sensitive data stored in the computer's memory or on third-party cloud-based storage services. This sensitive data includes … Read more
Macs Can Be Hacked With Synthetic Dismissal On Warning Boxes
Depending on the lens you view him through, Patrick Wardle (former hacker for the NSA and macOS security expert) is either your best friend or your worst nightmare. Most people (whether fans of Apple or not) will readily concede that the company works hard to make their products as secure as possible. Unfortunately, at this year's Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas, Wardle made a presentation that is currently sending shockwaves through the Apple user community. He exposed a major … Read more
Fax Machines Might Be Gateway To Next Hacker Attack
Nothing bad could possibly happen to your company's network if the only piece of information the hackers have is your fax number, right? Unfortunately not, according to recent research by employees at Check Point. They recently revealed details about not one, but two different REC's (Remote Code Execution) techniques that exploit flaws in the communications protocols of tens of millions of fax machines spread all over the globe. If you think the Fax machine has largely gone the way of … Read more
Cortana May Have Flaw Allowing Unauthorized System Access
Researchers at McAfee have demonstrated a method that hackers could use to perform an end-run around Cortana and access data, run malicious code, or even change a locked computer's password. In this case, however, the emphasis is on the word "could." The researchers readily admit that this attack is high risk, has never been seen in the wild, and has little possibility of going undetected for a variety of reasons. Even so, the research is disturbing and does point to a valid weakness that … Read more
Android Still Tracking Users With Location History Turned Off
According to Google's support page on the matter, disabling your phone's "Location History" in your phone's privacy settings will prevent Google from tracking every move you make. The support page reads as follows: "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored." That doesn't leave much in the way of wiggle room. A pity it's not even close to being true. A new investigation conducted by the Associated Press reveals … Read more
Survey Shows People Are Most Concerned About Data Theft
How seriously does the average consumer take data theft? It's an interesting (and fair) question, and one that Radware recently attempted to answer when the company sent out surveys. They contacted more than three thousand people to conduct its recent survey titled "Consumer Sentiments: Cybersecurity, Personal Data and the Impact on Customer Loyalty." As it turns out, today's consumers take the matter even more seriously than many other types of crimes. Here are some of the highlights … Read more
