password

An increasingly prevalent method of seizing control over an individual's iPhone and permanently locking them out of the device is causing concern. As outlined in a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), certain iPhone thieves are exploiting ... a security feature called the recovery key. This technique makes it exceedingly difficult for owners to access their photos, messages, and other data. Disturbingly, some victims have reported unauthorized access to their financial apps, resulting in drained bank accounts. (Source: wsj.com ) How the iPhone Recovery Key Exploit Works It's important ... (view more)

Researchers say they can accurately figure out what somebody is typing from the sound of their keyboard. The "technique" has some significant practical flaws but is a useful reminder of good password practice. The researchers looked into a theory ... that seems to get tested every few years: that different keys make different sounds. That's partly because they are differing distances from the device recording the audio and partly because the gaps between pressing different letters may vary depending on the typing style. The main difference with this latest test was using deep learning, which aims ... (view more)

Google will stop some of its employees accessing the Internet. It's a bold experiment to see if it can reduce security threats without affecting performance. The idea is reduce the risk of hackers getting access to employee machines, either to get ... hold of data on those machines or to use them as an entry point into Google's network. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Google's internal data is particularly attractive to attackers, whether they are seeking financial gain, political or commercial advantage, or plain old mischief making. For example, attackers being able to find out how Google ranks ... (view more)

"Password" and "123456" continue to battle it out for the worst password choice according to two annual studies. While this tells us very little about why users continue to use such weak passwords, there's some mixed news elsewhere. Several ... companies chase headlines each year by publishing lists of the worst passwords, meaning the ones that appear most frequently. The data source is usually a collection of stolen website login databases published online. Sometimes these are stored in plain text while sometimes cyber criminals have successfully cracked decryption. The ... (view more)

Researchers say a thermal imaging camera could help crack passwords. It's not exactly a looming threat for the average user, though the study does reinforce the important of longer passwords. The research from the University of Glasgow appears to ... have been inspired by noticing that thermal-imaging cameras are becoming more affordable (less than $220 in some cases) and wondering how they could combine with machine learning. The researchers say they same idea may have struck would-be criminals, so it was worth trying to get one step ahead of them. (Source: zdnet.com ) The project followed a ... (view more)

Google is making it easier to change passwords on an Android device after a security breach. It's automating much of the process through the Google Assistant feature. It works with the saved passwords tool on Chrome, which can automatically fill in ... user names and password fields on websites. The passwords themselves are then stored securely in the user's Google account, which is one of the reasons it's so important to keep the Google password secure. On both desktop and mobile devices, Chrome can already warn users if their saved login details for a particular site is known to have been ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'ltb223' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a Windows 7 Pro computer which I haven't used for a long time. Now I want to use it, but I cannot remember my password. It has only one user account, so I believe I need to reset the admin ... password. Is there anyway to recover the lost password or am I stuck with reinstalling Windows and losing all previous data and programs? " My response: It's possible to reset the admin password, or any user password using a special password reset 'trick', known as the 'utilman' and 'sticky keys' exploit. This exploit ... (view more)

Google is giving free USB security keys to around 10,000 users whose accounts are at particular risk. They include politicians and human rights activists. The move follows a targeted campaign linked to Russian hackers to try to trick such users into ... revealing their passwords. The attackers could then not only look for sensitive information in email archives but also use the hijacked accounts to spread misinformation. The USB keys use the two-factor authentication approach , adding an extra level of protection, meaning that simply getting somebody's password wasn't necessarily enough to get ... (view more)

Microsoft has removed the need for passwords to log in to a Microsoft account. Users can choose from four other options including a dedicated app. A Microsoft account can cover a range of devices and activities including Outlook, Microsoft 365 (the ... online version of what used to be called Office), settings and bookmarks in the Edge browser, Skype calls, online storage in OneDrive and purchases and downloads from the Microsoft Store. It's also the default way to log in to Windows itself for many users, though some setups let users opt for a four-digit PIN code instead. Passwords Bring Dilemma ... (view more)

A government agency says three "random" words make for a better password than many other approaches. It says other strategies such as adding symbols and numbers can be counterproductive. The advice comes from the National Cyber Security Center ... (NCSC). That's a body in the United Kingdom that deals with major security breaches and gives advice to businesses and other government organizations. According to the NCSC, the advice is aimed at people who try to remember passwords. It says password manager tools are a good solution but remain widely unused. (Source: gov.uk ) Predictable Appr0@ch ! ... (view more)