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6th April 2018

5M credit cards leaked and Chrome kicks cryptojacking to the curb | Avast

Fashion faux pas: Data breach at Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor Toronto-based retail enterprise Hudson’s Bay — parent company to Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF Fifth, and Lord & Taylor — disclosed on Sunday that no less than five million of their customers may have suffered credit card compromises in a data breach that occurred last May.

5th April 2018

Take back control of your privacy with Avast Secure Browser | Avast

As the digital landscape evolves, so must the tools we use to securely and privately access it. Today’s mainstream browsers don’t adequately address both security AND privacy. Users are left on their own to find additional layers of protection via extensions and other software, and there is much misunderstanding amongst consumers regarding this topic. In a poll of 10,000 people, 42% stated they use the Incognito or Private Browsing Modes offered by today’s browsers, and 65% mistakenly believe these modes anonymize their identity and obscure their browsing habits from spying eyes like governments, organizations, and advertisers. Additionally, 77% wrongly believe that their browser will alert them to potential web-based threats, including those from installed third-party extensions. Avast, a global leader in digital security products, is proud to announce its updated secure browser with one unwavering purpose: to deliver both a secure and private browsing experience with all the necess..

5th April 2018

Maybe you shouldn’t use LinkedIn

UPDATE: 4/6/2018 LinkedIn reached out for comment on the article, and we’d like to clarify our position based on their concerns. They wrote: Members control their connections, who can see them (including keeping them private if they wish) and only first degree connections can get access to your contact info on LinkedIn. This is correct. LinkedIn visibility controls are clear and easily accessible to the non-technical user. What we were concerned about, however, is the categorization of the connections themselves. Any direct relationship the user instigates is a first degree connection. First degree connections have a predefined level of access that is symmetric, and for the most part, not user editable. LinkedIn has added a lockdown option that allows you to restrict your viewable connections and email address to not be viewable by anyone. What it lacks are granular permissions on specific data elements assignable to each level of connection. LinkedIn also informed us that they do..

4th April 2018

How risky is your Android security app? | Avast

Does your smartphone need an antivirus app? The answer is absolutely yes, and the truth of the matter is that there are a multitude from which to choose. As an aid to consumers, independent testing lab AV-Comparatives periodically assesses security software to evaluate its effectiveness. The lab did such a study recently on Android antivirus products and learned that over half of those tested were “risky,” meaning they were at best buggy and at worst deceptive. Avast, however, received a perfect score of 100% malware detection.

2nd April 2018

A week in security (March 26 – April 01)

Last week, we looked at the thought process behind creating a ransomware decryptor, the inner workings of QuantLoader, the ways one can protect their Android devices, the exploit kits we have encountered this winter, the now-known epidemic of data breaches, the coming of TLS 1.3, and the ways one can protect their P2P payment apps. Other news “Lone wolf” sextortionists pose as hot women behind fake Facebook profiles. (Source: Sophos’s Naked Security Blog) Sad fact: Willing victims of romance scams actually do exist. Not only do they send money to “their partner” whom they haven’t met yet but they also knowingly act as mules. (Source: Security Week) While a majority of IT pros recognize that IoTs are so insecure, not that many are actually doing anything about it. (Source: ZDNet) What happens when you send an application into the background? This SANS diary attempts to answer that. (Source: SANS ISC InfoSec Forums) Well, will you look at that—Monero isn’t that untraceable after all. (S..