security

Android phones from a variety of companies have reached business employees with malware already installed according to researchers. How and why it got there is not yet confirmed. The report comes from Checkpoint, a security company. It says it was ... examining devices used by staff at two businesses: one a "large telecommunications company" and the other a "multinational technology company." (Source: checkpoint.com ) While it's not unusual to find malware on employee phones during some checks -- that's partly the purpose of hiring services such as Checkpoint. ... (view more)

Voice messages from parents to children through a 'smart' cuddly toy could be compromised. The security risk is a combination of a flaw by the designers and poor security practices by users. The issue involves CloudPets, a range of $40 toys designed ... to help working parents stay in touch with their kids. The parent can leave a voice message via a phone app at any time and it will then be sent over the Internet and Bluetooth and played back through a speaker in the toy. The child can then press the toy's paw to record and send a reply. The problem is that while delivering messages ... (view more)

Researchers have found a way to track web users even if they switch web browsers. It could improve security but also weaken online privacy. The researchers at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania were trying to find ways of improving fingerprinting. ... That's a way to attempt to identify an individual user (or at least their computer) without relying on single identifiers such as login details, browser cookies, or an IP address. Instead, fingerprinting involves taking multiple pieces of information provided by a user's browser such as the browser name, it's version, whether they have an ad blocker ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tom G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently had to reinstall Windows, which also required reinstalling all my programs. Ever since then, whenever I try to access my work's website (which uses a Java applet), I receive an error ... message that says: 'Your security settings have blocked an application with an expired or not-yet-valid certificate from running.' I cannot proceed past that, and am therefore unable to access the website. The Java applet worked fine before I reinstalled Windows, so how can I get past this error? " My response: I had a sneaking suspicion that the website ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Mike B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read John Lister's article on ' 700M Android Phones Contain Chinese Spyware ', and I have a related question. I've just bought myself a Windows 10 phone (Lumia 640 XLT LTE). I like it, but am ... unsure what I need to do, if anything, about antivirus / malware protection. I'm a bit paranoid about this stuff and keep my home PC up to date and protected, and backed up. I read in a number of places that it's not necessary to have antivirus / anti-malware software on the Windows Phone. Is this true, or do I need some form of malware protection ... (view more)

A Harvard lecturer has warned Congress that only government regulations can prevent serious consequences from security attacks on the "Internet of Things." Bruce Schneier says there's little market incentive for buyers or sellers to fix a problem, ... should a problem arise. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the growing number of devices that can now be connected to the Internet, making them "smart devices". Rather than just computers and phones, the Internet of Things covers everything from thermostats to cars, often with the Internet connection allowing users remote ... (view more)

Microsoft has criticized Google for revealing details of what the search giant has dubbed a "critical" security flaw in Windows. The two companies dispute whether Google gave Microsoft enough time to fix the problem before going public. The ... controversy lies in the fact that Microsoft has yet to release a fix for the problem and has not even said if one exists. The bug applies to 32-bit editions of Windows and allows an unauthorized local privilege escalation. The effect is to undermine a security feature known as " sandboxing ," which is designed so that if a hacker ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned that scammers are trying to trick users with a fake "Blue Screen of Death" error message. The idea is to fool users into calling a bogus 1-800 tech support hotline. The Blue Screen of Death is an unofficial name given to a ... particular type of error message which appears when a Windows computer suffers a serious malfunction. In most cases, once the screen appears the only option is to reboot the computer, usually by switching it off with a physical power button or by resetting the machine with a reset button (if it is available). The idea of the screen is to give ... (view more)

Yahoo has blocked users from automatically forwarding incoming emails to an account with a rival provider. Many are interpreting it as an attempt to stop users jumping ship after revelations of a major security breach. The forwarding feature is ... pretty much a standard feature across the webmail industry, and means users can change from one account to another without having to worry about missing out on an important message during the switchover. Officially Yahoo says the feature is only temporarily disabled. It says the move was planned in advance and is to allow it to work on a range of ... (view more)

At Infopackets we're often asked to recommend security software and tools or give our opinion on specific products. While every product has its pros and cons, as the old saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. With that in mind, I ... thought I'd run down the actual tools I use in my day to day life rather than when we're testing out products. That means trying to find the balance of staying protected without taking up too much time and attention or computing resources. Permanent My main anti-virus software is Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows 7. It's ... (view more)