How to use Google’s Password Alert tool to thwart phishing attacks

Google’s built a new tool in the fight against phishing. The free Password Alert Chrome extension keeps track of where you enter your Google account password and alerts you when you’ve entered it someplace other than accounts.google.com. This does two things: it prevents you from re-using your Google password on other sites, and it protects you if you’ve entered your password on a site that’s pretending to be Google to collect your private information, a practice also known as phishing.

Cnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you been scammed into giving up your gmail password?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

The market for cyber-insurance is growing

A survey in 2018 by KPMG found that only a fifth of it bosses thought their firm was well prepared for an attack. … The market is most developed in America, says Robert Hannigan, one of those ex-gchq bosses, thanks in part to Californian laws passed in 2003 that compel firms to confess to large data breaches.

The Economist click the link to read the rest of the story.

Is you firm covered by cyber-insurance?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Windows 7 migration warning: Plan now to avoid security worries later

Malware can spread much more easily on obsolete platforms, warns security body. With less than a year until the end of Windows 7 support, don’t get caught out. …Keeping software up to date is one of the most effective ways of keeping your networks and devices secure, it said in a blog post: “This is why planning your upgrades far in advance is especially important.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you planned the upgrade with your techs yet?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Mac Users Beware: New Ad Technique Infects You With Trojans

Recent months have seen an uptick in reports of JavaScript malware that hides in image files. This is often referred to as “image based malware” or “steganography malware” in more technical contexts. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you been hit by this attack?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

WordPress sites under attack via zero-day in abandoned plugin

WordPress site owners using the “Total Donations” plugin are advised to delete the plugin from their servers… This affects all versions of Total Donations, a commercial plugin that site owners have bought from CodeCanyon over the past years, and have used to gather and manage donations from their respective user-bases.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Were you using it?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

 

How to Spot Phishing: It’s the Most Common Cyber Attack

One percent of emails sent today are phishing attempts. And it often represents a more serious threat than the nuisance offers for free money we’ve all seen in our inboxes. Phishing is about stealing your password.

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Take their quiz?  How did you do on it?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Security researchers take down 100,000 malware sites last year

Over the last ten months, security researchers filed abuse reports with web hosting providers and have taken down nearly 100,000 URLs that were used to distribute malware … the organization noted that recent numbers indicate that the average take-down time has now increased to more than a week, to 8 days, 10 hours, and 24 minutes, giving malware authors more than enough time to infect thousands of device every day. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

How much damage could this cause your customers if your site were infected?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Windows 7 versus Windows 10: the final showdown

After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7 — unless you want to pay extra, of course. … According to Forrester’s survey of infrastructure decision-makers, 56 percent of company-issued PCs are currently running Windows 10 — up eight percent from last year, and 18 percent from the year before. “This shift is happening at a quick rate …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Are you on Windows 10?  When will you upgrade?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

PC security warning: That out-of-date software is putting you at risk

Over half of applications installed on Windows PCs are out-of-date, potentially putting the security of users at risk through flaws in software that have already been patched by vendors. … running out-of-date software can provide an open door for hackers to take advantage of holes left in programs that haven’t had critical security updates applied….

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

How do you make sure your computer software is up to date?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Configuring Your iPhone for Maximum Privacy and Security

In this article, it’s my goal to help you focus on security and privacy (two different but equally important matters) on the iPhone, specifically with regard to your phone’s data connection—the internet connection you use for surfing the web or using apps. … there is no such thing as perfect security or perfect privacy online, only best practices and best tools. Anyone who promises you otherwise is lying or ignorant….

betterhumans.coach.me click the link to read the rest of the story.

Which of his suggestions are you going to try first?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Chinese Facial Recognition Will Take over the World in 2019

The best facial recognition startups are in China, by a long-shot. As their software is less biased, global adoption is occurring via their software. … A computer system that can track and identify any face anywhere is coming to global citizens. This is because capitalism isn’t regulated, it’s bullish on AI in an exaggerated sense where profits matter and efficiency fits the crime. As Chinese innovation start to get ahead, so too will Chinese ethics infiltrate the rest of the world. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

What should be done to protect our privacy?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Cyberattacks now cost $1.1M for the average business

The report found… the top impacts being operational/productivity loss (54%), negative customer experiences (43%), and brand reputation loss (37%).  … These IT leaders perceive the goals of the attacks to be service disruption (45%), data theft (35%), unknown reasons (11%), or espionage (3%). …Some 21% of businesses experience daily cyberattacks, up from 13% last year, the report found. Another 13% said they were attacked weekly, 13% said monthly, and 27% said once or twice a year. Only 7% of organizations said they have never been attacked…

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

How much would it cost your business?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Microsoft’s Windows 7 has one year of free support left

One year from today — on January 14, 2020 — Microsoft’s support for Windows 7 will cease. That means no more updates or fixes, including security fixes after that date, which is the first Patch Tuesday of 2020, unless a customer pays.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you upgraded to Windows 10 yet?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How Much is Your Privacy Worth To You?

The price for our privacy is surprisingly low.

This first hit me quite some years ago, while I was working with a very successful restaurant group. I was conducting an experiment in customer service…

Hackermoon.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

How much is your privacy worth?
Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

‘Apple support’ phishing scams are getting really good

You know those voice mails you get claiming to be from “Windows support”? It looks like scammers are upping their game with convincing phishing calls claiming to be from Apple, security expert Brian Krebs said in a report Thursday.

The scam starts an automated call showing Apple’s logo, address and legitimate Apple phone number that warns the user to return the call because of a data breach, according to the security website. The message then gives a 1-866 number to call back. That number is “a known phishing source,” the security analyst said.

CNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you been hit with this scam?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

New Trojan attack adds a backdoor to your Windows PC to steal data

A well-resourced and prolific hacking group is distributing a new strain of malware that gives the hackers remote desktop access as part of an information-stealing campaign targeting banks, retailers and businesses. … The remote access trojan capabilities of FlawedGrace mean it allows attackers to gain almost full control over an infected device. Given how the campaign targets banks and retailers, it’s likely that acquiring money is the ultimate goal of the attacks…

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

How are you protecting yourself from these attacks?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Why you should be using encrypted email

Email leads users to share highly sensitive information in a seemingly private way when, in reality, it’s everything but private. Case in point: see the image below and note a typical unassuming email containing a person’s credit card information. This may seem like a stupid mistake, but you’d be surprised at how common these type of emails get sent on a daily basis (I’m looking at you, mom). The only factor taken into consideration by the sender in these cases is that they trust the person on the receiving end. The problem here is…

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Is your email secure? Are you certain?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Cybersecurity in 2018: the bad, the worse and the downright nasty

Just like in the previous years, 2018 had its fair share of data breaches. However, it’s rather impressive of how those breaches have evolved over those years. Because of the increased awareness, breaches seldomly go unnoticed anymore. And that’s a good thing.

Medium.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

How was your business affected by these security breaches?  Do you know if your business was breached?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How Our Data Got Hacked, Scandalized, and Abused in 2018

This year tech giants, governments, and even the humble sandwich chain have proved that we can trust no one with our personal data. At best, these companies were woefully underprepared to keep our data safe. At worst, they allowed the data we gave them to help others influence our fragile democracy.

When it came to data scandals and breaches in 2018, the only good news was…

FastCompany.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

What lessons did you learn about your security needs last year?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

U.S. Exposes Massive Chinese Spying Campaign

The threats we face have never been more severe and more pervasive and more potentially damaging to our national security, and no country poses a broader and more severe long-term threat to our nation’s economy and cyber infrastructure than China,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a news conference in Washington.

Bloomberg.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Are you concerned with nation state hacking of your business?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Why cryptojacking will become an even larger problem in 2019

Cryptojacking attacks will continue to grow in 2019, topping the list of ESET’s annualCybersecurity Trends report, released on Tuesday. Cryptojacking is the practice of surreptitiously using the compute resources of target computers to mine for cryptocurrency, which is a computationally complex task.

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you been threatened with a cryptojacking attack? What did you do?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

2019 Cyber Security – What to expect next

During 2019 we expect to see an increase… If a sophisticated attack involves not one but five top-notch threats synergistically working together, the defense panorama could become very blurry. Security experts have a recipe for disaster. …

The purchase of cybersecurity has led to expanding attacks that will become more sophisticated in 2019 and beyond. We will continue to influence societal expectations on security, which will trickle down to companies through hundreds of thousands of vulnerable and easy targets for attackers to profit. Driven by many falling victim to feature misconceptions, more will become key targets. Cyber products that provide consolidated feature sets have a hard time understanding each customer’s specific pain points and the bad guys know this.

In 2019, even more high-profile breaches will push the security and privacy, finally. Security is argued about until we die. That’s a particularly terrifying threat.

Medium.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

Are you ready to face these threats?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Cybersecurity Explained to your Grandparents

After blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, it’s time to become a cybersecurity expert. Cybersecurity is not an easy concept, but it can be understood as a peacekeeper against digital world’s growing threats. The startups in the Cyber@StationF program led by Thales help us get some answers to questions about this mysterious world that you didn’t even think of asking.

Medium.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

What technology have you needed help explaining?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How My Email Account Got Hacked and the Steps I Took

Warning: this story gets very cringeworthy.

How did I find out? Well I got an email saying that some malicious software had been downloaded on my computer and had obtained some scandalous information about me. The email threatened to release the information they captured if I did not pay them with Bitcoin.

Apparently this is a fairly common email scam that goes around. …

Hackernoon.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

Has your email been hacked? What did you do?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon

Going into the experiment, I realized that there was a good chance I’d come crawling back to some of the Big Five services when it was over. Yet as I discovered over the four weeks, switching to independent alternatives didn’t negatively affect most parts of my life, but it did take a little getting used to.

Before diving into the nitty gritty of what worked and what didn’t, however, let me explain the limits of the experiment.

Motherboard.com  click the link to read the rest of the story.

Are you interested in unplugging from the “Big Five” monopolies?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

How to Tell If A Website Is Dangerous

These days it can be very difficult to tell if a site is trustworthy or not. Many nefarious sites are being designed to look respectable. Thus you should always make sure that a site is not dangerous by using multiple approaches. This is especially important to consider before providing a site with sensitive information such as credit card numbers, banking information, your email address, etc…

In general you may want to be wary of a site if it asks you for unnecessary personal information, a credit card number, or a bank number when it’s not necessary.

TechSupportAlert.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

What do you look for before responding to these alerts?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Cryptocurrency 101 – What it is and why you need to know more

Let’s start with a quick history lesson about bitcoin. Bitcoin was officially unveiled to the public in a white paper published October 31st, 2008. The white paper is actually extremely readable, very short (just 8 pages), and incredibly elegantly written. If you want to understand why bitcoin is so compelling straight from the horse’s mouth, you must read this paper. It will explain everything better than I or anyone else likely ever could.

I won’t delve too much into the technical details of how bitcoin works (which are better elucidated in the white paper), but will instead focus on a broader exploration of its history and implications.

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you purchased cryptocurrency?  Anything we should know?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Think You Have Cybersecurity Taken Care Of? Think Again

If you learned that homes with your same model of alarm system were being broken into 32 percent more often this year than last, you might no longer think your system is secure enough. Yet many companies assume their IT infrastructure is still secure, despite the fact that cyberattacks jumped 32 percent between the first quarters of 2017 and 2018…

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

When was last time your operation was breached?  Did you even know about it?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!

Got ransomware? These tools may help

There may be a way to get those files back without paying a ransom. But first a couple of basic questions…

infoworld.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

Have you been hit with ransomware?  How did you recover?Join the conversation on our Facebook Page!