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A security company says it found a simple way to turn antivirus software into a weapon for attackers. Most major manufacturers have now fixed the problem, but it's a reminder to keep such software updated. The discovery by Rack911 Labs effectively ... meant that a hacker could force the antivirus software to delete files on a computer. That would mean the hacker would need to have gained access to a computer first - whether internally on a network, or remotely using malware. The exploit is based on one of the most fundamental actions of any antivirus software: they scan files, check if they are a ... (view more)

A third-party Android app store has been hit by a big data breach. Aptoide users who registered between 21 July 2016 and 28 January 2018 may be affected. Aptoide works in a same way as Google's own Play app store, but isn't subject to its content ... regulations or security vettings. As with all third-party stores, users must confirm they accept security risks when installing apps from it. A hacker has published data from 20 million users and claims to have details of another 19 million users altogether. That's a big chunk of the 150 million people Aptoide claims have used its service at some ... (view more)

A new ransomware variant takes advantage of a Microsoft Excel feature. It's a good reminder to keep security software up-to-date. The variant has been reported by security company Lastline. It involves a known ransomware called Paradise that ... operates in the familiar fashion: the attackers find a way to get remote access to a computer then encrypt files and demand a fee to restore access - sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars, or much higher. In this case, the attackers try to trick victims into opening a file attachment that creates the opening for accessing the machine. The ... (view more)

Ransomware forced an unplanned shutdown of a US gas pipeline for two days. It's not yet clear if the attackers intended to have that effect. The full details, including the identity of the pipeline and its operators, have been kept under wraps. The ... only official information that's been made public comes from a security alert bulletin by the Department of Homeland Security (DoHS). (Source: us-cert.gov ) The attack started as an all-too-familiar "spear phishing" attack. That's a deliberately targeted email that tries to fool somebody (that typically works for a corporation) into clicking on a ... (view more)

Reports suggest that Apple has been pressured by the FBI to drop plans to improve the security of its customer backups. The plan was to better encrypt backups on the iCloud service. iCloud serves two purposes: it's a way for Apple users to store ... data and documents online and access them from anywhere (from any Apple device) with a password; it's also a way to automatically backup the contents of iPads and iPhones. Data from the iCloud is stored on Apple servers in an encrypted format, which means that if somebody gained access to the files (either through a remote hack, or a physical breach ... (view more)

Have you ever tried to watch a trending online video, only to find that it's not available in your region? A Smart DNS proxy is a solution can help. Here's how it works: A Smart DNS proxy can be used to unblock geo-restricted content from around the ... world. It does this by collecting data related to your geographical location and re-routing it through a computer server located in a region where access to the blocked content is permitted. They do this by changing your Domain Name System (DNS) settings so that the websites you visit think you're in a location where you are permitted to access ... (view more)

More than one million fingerprints were exposed online for at least a week, according to security researchers. The company responsible for the data says it will take immediate action if there's a security threat. The data is held by Suprema, which ... operates a biometric lock system called Biostar 2. It lets building owners restrict access by fingerprint or facial recognition, rather than relying on measures such as physical keys or pass codes. The Guardian newspaper reports that Biostar 2 is used in a wider system that has 5,700 customers accessing 1.5 million locations across 83 countries. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'JustRosy' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a laptop that I use daily, and for security reasons I want my WiFi permanently disabled in Windows 10 . Unfortunately my Windows 10 laptop WiFi does not have an 'on / off' switch which ... would disable my WiFi permanently. Instead, I have been using Windows 10 "airplane mode" to disable the WiFi, but this doesn't work 100% of the time because my WiFi seems to activate spontaneously. I am super paranoid about having a WiFi connection because I don't believe there is a 100% secure WiFi, and therefore I don't ever want to use WiFi on my ... (view more)

A security researcher says he's found a major security flaw in the Mac's password storage tool. But he's refusing to publish the details as a protest against Apple's "bug bounty" program. Linuz Henze has produced a video showing what he calls an ... exploit of the Keychain feature in MacOS Mojave, the current edition of the operating system for Mac computers. Keychain is an application on Macs that lets users save passwords for online accounts and digital certificates so that they don't have to type them in again. Users can also open Keychain and access a full list of passwords. Normally every ... (view more)

Microsoft is beefing up Windows Defender, the built-in antivirus and antimalware security tool in Windows 10. It's now using the same sandbox technology that's used in other tools, including some major web browsers. The concept of a sandbox is taken ... from the child's play area of the same name. It's a metaphor about the way the child has an area to play in freely and do what they like, but also has clearly defined boundaries. Fortunately, computer code tends to follow instructions better than a child told to stay in the sandbox. In computing terms, the sandbox is a concept about access that ... (view more)