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February 16, 2019 by Vertical Axion
In the world of hacking, steganography ranks as one of the most difficult methodologies to detect. If you’re not familiar with the term, it is the practice of embedding executable code inside images, which makes it virtually impossible to detect. The reason is simple: Virus scanners are built around the idea of searching for text […]
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February 15, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Google has kept no secret of their plan to eventually put an end to their social media experiment, Google+. In case you haven’t been keeping abreast of the company’s announcements where the service is concerned, be aware that it will be shutting down on April 2nd of 2019. The closer we’ve gotten to that deadline, […]
February 14, 2019 by Vertical Axion
On paper, UltraViolet seemed like a great idea. It was (and still is, for the moment) a service that stored your license information for various digital media you purchased. You could buy a movie from Amazon Prime, buy something else from some other online vendor, and watch them on any number of devices without having […]
February 13, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The first browser update of 2019 is officially out. Both Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers are getting a raft of security fixes that will help make Mac, Linux and Windows users safer and more secure. The latest build of Chrome addresses nearly sixty CVE-level flaws, seventeen of which are rated as being “high” severity, […]
February 12, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Apple’s latest iOS release contained a feature that wowed and excited its massive user base. Group FaceTime. It was heralded as ‘the next Big Thing’ in the Apple ecosystem. Unfortunately, there are problems, and the company has been forced to temporarily disable the feature while they wrestle with a major security flaw. A bug in […]
February 11, 2019 by Vertical Axion
When was the last time you conducted a company wide audit on all the software running on all the machines tied to your firm’s network? If you’re not sure the answer to that question, it’s almost certainly been too long. The risk, at least according to the latest survey from Avast, is that there are […]
February 9, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new strain of ransomware making the rounds, and it’s a nasty piece of work. Called Phobos by its creators, the latest threat on the ransomware scene first made an appearance in December of 2018. While details are sketchy, what we know so far about it is grim indeed. Researchers at CoveWare have been […]
February 8, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you’re like many seasoned ‘Netizins, you probably rely on some type of VPN to help ensure your digital privacy. Unfortunately, based on research conducted by Simon Migliano, you could very well be wasting your time. Mr. Migliano is the head of research at Metric Labs and is a respected name in the industry. He and […]
February 7, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Most reputable businesses don’t deal in illegal copies of commercial software, but there have been a few reported instances. There’s always the possibility that a cash-strapped individual that’s eager to do additional work from home might resort to installing a ‘cracked’ free copy of a program. Unfortunately, those who opt to go that route now […]
February 6, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you were one of the people who decided to give a Microsoft Windows Phone a try back when the company was still attempting to get into the market, this is a reminder that the company plans to end all support for the platform by December 10th, 2019. There’s still plenty of time to switch […]
February 5, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Google has recently announced a trio of new features for Gmail users that are going into place immediately, and may in fact be available for use by the time you read this article. Here are the details: One of the first things you’ll notice is a new strikethrough button, visible when you’re composing. You’ll find […]
February 4, 2019 by Vertical Axion
This is just a reminder for anyone using Google Hangouts. The company is moving forward with its plans to discontinue the service, starting with GSuite users and then later moving to the broader consumer shutdown. If your company is currently making use of the messaging app for communications and you haven’t begun making plans to […]
February 2, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you’re like most people, no matter how careful you are when you surf the web, you seldom think to review the permissions browser extensions ask for when you install them. It’s just one of those things that’s easy to lose sight of, and unfortunately, hackers are aware of this. That’s why vulnerable extensions have […]
February 1, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new zero-day vulnerability in Windows 10 you need to be aware of. As with all zero-day threats, this one is dangerous in the extreme, allowing a hacker to potentially execute code on your machine remotely. It was discovered by security researcher John Page, and reported to the company via Trend Micro’s Zero-Day Initiative […]
January 31, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Bad news is on the horizon if you’re one of the surprising number of people still using Windows 7. Microsoft is only offering one more year of free support. As of January 14th, 2020, you’ll no longer have access to critical security updates. While support will end entirely for individual consumers, businesses will still be […]
January 30, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Last year, the FBI issued a warning regarding BEC (Business Email Compromise) scams. Unfortunately, security professionals report that those types of scams are increasing in frequency, and worse, the most recent ones come with a disturbing new twist. The latest incarnation of the scam targets employees, seeking to move their direct deposited paychecks into accounts […]
January 29, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Some of our customers were affected by a Net2Phone outage yesterday and today. Since they don’t have a NOC site of their own at this time (something we’re asking them to implement), we figured we’d post an update here for customers and let them know the status of the outage. Net2Phone System Status Dear Valued […]
A recent court ruling handed privacy advocates a big, and much needed win. Prior to the ruling, law enforcement officials were in the habit of compelling “persons of interest” to unlock their phones via their face scan or fingerprint so that investigators could examine it. A US judge has now ruled that this is unacceptable, […]
January 28, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft has angered a portion of their user base with a change that’s coming in the next build of Windows 10. As of the next build, the OS will reserve a whopping seven GB of space on your hard drive, so that big updates don’t fail for lack of space. Unfortunately, the change means that […]
January 26, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Here’s some disturbing news: Hackers around the world are actively trying to exploit Valentine’s Day. This is according to new research from the Emerging Treats team at the security firm ProofPoint. The team has detected a massive new mal-spam campaign they’ve dubbed “The Love Letter Campaign.” Relying on basic social techniques, this campaign uses […]
January 25, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Cryptominers are among the most common type of malware in the wild today, based on the latest research by digital security company Check Point. While there are dozens of variants deployed by hackers, the cryptojacker “Coinhive” is the malware of choice this year. Once installed on a computer, it works in the background siphoning off […]
January 24, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Are you a Firefox user? If so, be advised that in Mozilla’s next release, Firefox 69, the company will be disabling support for the beleaguered Adobe Flash plugin. The change has been on the radar for quite some time, so it should not come as a surprise to anyone. It’s part of a systematic plan […]
January 23, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Here’s a side-effect of the government’s continuing shutdown that many people had not anticipated: Expiring TLS Certificates used for web security. Most people clearly see the impacts of national parks closing and the like. It’s worth remembering that the government’s IT staffed as been classified as ‘non-essential’ too, which means they’re currently sitting at home […]
January 22, 2019 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new strain of ransomware being deployed with increasing frequency. Believe it or not, it’s even more dangerous than the strains we’ve seen in recent months. Unlike other types of ransomware, this one not only encrypts your files and demands payment (which is bad enough) but it also attempts to steal your credit card […]
