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March 16, 2020 by Vertical Axion
For the last couple of years, the primary means of communication when conducting phishing campaigns has been email. Phishing emails have been absolutely rampant. So much so that people are increasingly on their guard against them. Naturally, this prompts scammers to change their tactics, switching things up a bit to catch people by surprise. In […]
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March 14, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Unit 42 is a research division of Palo Alto Networks. Their researchers have discovered a sneaky and surprisingly effective phishing campaign that appears to have been launched in January of this year (2020). When targeted by this attack, a user will get an email containing a braded document containing the name of a legitimate cybersecurity […]
March 13, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Unless you’re plugged into the world of social media, you may not realize it. There’s a war on, and until recently, it was a war that Facebook was losing. The war is being fought with billions of fake accounts being used to fundamentally alter the social media landscape. It is influencing the kinds of content […]
March 12, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Another week, another data breach. This time, the target being US clothing retailer J. Crew. The company announced that sometime in April of 2019, an unknown group of hackers utilized a credential stuffing attack to breach one of the company’s databases and accessed some of its customer account data. Credential stuffing, as you may know, […]
March 11, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Since 2010, Google has been doing its part to help keep its massive user base safe. They introduced a small but critical service called Google Authenticator, which is used by a number of online accounts as a two-factor authentication layer. Google launched the service as an alternative to SMS-based one-time pass codes. While SMS-based codes […]
March 10, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Some states, including our own here in NC, have already declared a state of emergency as part of their ongoing efforts to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on their populations. As such, there will be a lot of encouragement from officials to businesses, health agencies, schools, and more to limit gatherings of people as much […]
A few years ago, the people who track such things announced that the PC had been dethroned. They said a slight majority of people were turning to their phones as their primary means of accessing the web. Since that time, the trend has continued. The Social Media Management Company Hootsuite and their partners, We Are […]
March 9, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Photos are a new kind of currency, and gaining in value. Clearview AI is a facial recognition startup used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the country. The company was hacked, giving the hackers access to literally billions of photographs. In addition to the images themselves, the hackers gained access to Clearview’s customer list. […]
March 7, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Every kid who grew up watching sci-fi has dreamed of the day when a Universal Translator would be available, making seamless communication possible and eliminating the language barrier entirely. That day hasn’t arrived yet, but Google is steadily marching toward that goal. The company has been making use of new machine learning and other advanced […]
March 6, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Nemty Ransomware isn’t an especially well-known threat, but it’s dangerous and should not be discounted. Recently, researchers have discovered an ongoing spam-email driven campaign that’s attempting to spread the ransomware far and wide. An unknown group of hackers are sending out what appear to be love letters from secret admirers in a broad pattern. They […]
March 5, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft Edge has been changed and improved many times. It is now Chromium-based, and is one important step closer to widespread release. At present, the new browser is available to Windows 10 Insiders in the “Release Preview” ring. It will remain there for at least a few weeks for testing. Assuming no major problems are […]
March 4, 2020 by Vertical Axion
It’s tax season, and if you’re like many people, you make use of one of the numerous e-file platforms offered by TurboTax, TaxAct, and similar companies. Unfortunately, tax season also presents a tremendous opportunity for hackers. So much that the IRS has issued a formal warning to accountants and taxpayers alike, urging them to enable […]
March 3, 2020 by Vertical Axion
In November of 2019, Microsoft made an announcement and gave users an early look at a new unified Office app designed specifically for Android and iOS devices. The purpose, of course, was to provide the essential functionality of Office in a faster, leaner, and lighter package that was better suited for use on mobile devices. […]
March 2, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Are you ready for the world of 5G? Even if you are, the available storage you have on your favorite devices may not be as robust as you’d like it to be. Anticipating this problem, Western Digital has announced a new bit of technology that will be available on the next generation of devices. The […]
February 29, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Finally, a smart device manufacturer is taking device security seriously, and that’s great news indeed. You may recall reading about a serious issue with Ring security systems recently. The news was that the security issue allowed hackers to commandeer user systems and spy on them. The hackers were sending the users messages and making disturbing […]
February 28, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Google continues to increase the versatility and usefulness of the G-Suite. This time they are adding the much anticipated Smart Compose feature to Google Docs, and it is now available to all G-Suite users. The new feature launched in beta in November of 2019 and was well-received. The technology relied on Google’s extensive AI expertise […]
February 27, 2020 by Vertical Axion
LokiBot burst onto the scene in 2015, and has earned a reputation as being a powerful. This fearsome trojan is being distributed in a new way that poses a very real threat to targets of all shapes and sizes. The latest campaign emulates the launcher for Epic Games, which is the developer behind the game […]
February 26, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Do you use the Dashlane Chrome web extension to help you manage your passwords? If so, you’re not alone. The extension has more than three million users based on download stats. Unfortunately, Google recently announced that they took the extension down from the store temporarily because of issues with the “Use of Permissions and User […]
February 25, 2020 by Vertical Axion
There was a day when worms were once common, terrifying threats on the internet. In the early days of the world wide web, there were a number of famous attacks that were considered highly advanced for their time. Time and technology have moved on of course, and these days, modern malware is significantly more advanced. […]
February 24, 2020 by Vertical Axion
For most of Apple’s history, the company has been able to cast itself as a safer alternative to Windows-based computers.Hackers tended to focus the bulk of their efforts on Wintel boxes (Windows processors), rather than Apple machines. That has been changing in recent months. According to research conducted by Malwarebytes, over the past twelve months, […]
February 22, 2020 by Vertical Axion
A lot of people raise a curious eyebrow when they hear the term Windows 10X for the first time. It’s a bit of a niche product, but it is interesting. In recent years, several smartphone manufacturers have announced that they’d be experimenting with models sporting larger screens. For example, folding smartphones that when unfolded give […]
February 21, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you’re not already familiar with the Emotet trojan, it deserves a special spot on your radar. It’s one of the most dangerous forms of malware in the world today. Their success is thanks to the fact that its creators have worked hard and diligently to keep it upgraded by bolting on a variety of […]
February 20, 2020 by Vertical Axion
There is no low that hackers and scammers won’t stoop to. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning about a worldwide scam in progress relating to fears surrounding the CoronaVirus. The FTC’s announcement speaks for itself. Their announcement reads, in part: “Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus. They’re setting […]
February 19, 2020 by Vertical Axion
On February 5th, after the latest Windows 10 update, many users found that they were unable to make use of the search function built into the operating system. The most common result was a blank black or gray box when a search is executed. While no one at Microsoft has stated definitively what the core […]
