PornHub users hit by sustained, targeted malvertising campaign

Malware shield

Millions of PornHub users in the US, UK, Canada and Australia were targeted by a malicious advertising campaign lasting for more than a year. The malvertising attack tried to trick users of the world's most popular porn site into installing fake browser updates.

Security researchers from Proofpoint found that PornHub users had been exposed to Kovter ad fraud malware for over a year. The KovCoreG group is believed to be responsible for distributing the Kovter ad fraud malware, so if you've visited PornHub recently, it might be a good idea to check your system for signs of infection.

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How to check that you're using the real Adblock Plus Chrome extension

News broke recently that a fake version of the Adblock Plus browser extension had made its way into the Chrome Web store. It is thought that 37,000 people installed the phony version, and now Adblock Plus -- the real one -- has responded to the news.

While acknowledging that the fake extension was removed from the store fairly quickly, Adblock Plus questions how it got there in the first place. It also provides instructions for anyone who is concerned that they may have a malicious version of the extension installed.

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Microsoft invites you to report malicious and phishing websites as it crowdsources security

Microsoft is opening itself up to submissions from the public, making it possible for people to provide information about malicious websites. A new page on the Windows Defender Security Intelligence (WDSI) website gives anyone the opportunity to pass on details of phishing sites and other malicious pages directly to Microsoft.

The WDSI portal is described by Microsoft as being in preview, so it's possible that what you see now may change over time.

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Look what's back! It's only Twitterrific 5 for Mac

It seems like an eternity since we last used Twitterrific. It was a hugely popular Twitter client for the Mac and was our go-to tool for ages. Development slipped and we switched to other tools such as the official Twitter tool.

Sadly, the official Twitter client is awful. It’s resource-heavy and direct messages can take ages to go through and we often see messages appear on our iPhone or iPad, minutes before they hit our Mac. A frustrating experience, but at least it’s free.

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Kodi: Users who stream illegal content should 'Bugger off'

A week ago, Kodi took to Twitter to express its hatred for popular third-party add-ons site TVAddons, claiming that it should be shut down as it brought "nothing but misery to everyone."

The media software developer has continued its war of words since, attacking not only TVAddons again, but also end users, stating that anyone who uses Kodi to stream content illegally "can just bugger off and never come back." And that’s not all.

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New platform cuts the cost of using Google BigQuery

Box file image

Companies often have multiple business intelligence tools deployed across different departments. This means IT teams can end up having to build data pipelines dedicated to each tool at the cost of agility and resources.

BI and big data specialist AtScale is launching its latest platform, AtScale 6.0, which aims to help users deploy analytical workloads on Google BigQuery, cut costs and speed up delivery of results.

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Banks targeted in hybrid debit card scam

ATM keypad

Researchers at SpiderLabs, the research arm of Trustwave have released results of their investigations into a major attack targeting Eastern European banks.

The attack uses mules to open new accounts with minimal deposits and, crucially, request a debit card. When the new card is delivered it's shipped elsewhere and hackers then use stolen credentials to manipulate the bank's systems and raise the overdraft limit, allowing cash to be drawn from ATMs.

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Install Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Bloatware Free Edition now

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is due to begin its rollout on October 17, but if you want to install it right now, and without joining the Windows Insider Program, you can.

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Bloatware Free Edition isn’t an official release from Microsoft -- it’s a special edition built using the MSMG Toolkit v7.7 and the latest Windows 10 Fall Creators Update RTM Build 16299.15. As you can tell from the name, the Bloatware Free Edition removes a lot of unwanted extras from the OS.

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Enterprises expect AI investment to pay off in two years

Artificial intelligence

Businesses are putting increasing amounts of investment into artificial intelligence, and 64 percent of decision makers expect to see a return on investment from their AI in under two years.

This is one of the findings of a new report by cyber security company Cylance which surveyed 652 IT decision makers in the US, UK, Germany and France, and finds optimism about the value of AI-powered solutions in the enterprise is high with widespread plans to continue investment in the technology.

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Microsoft killing Surface line is just a 'tabloid rumor'

Even though Microsoft is not making a lot of money by selling Surface devices, it is hard to imagine that the PC line will be put out to pasture by 2019 because of it, as some top industry executives believe. It plays too big of a role in the PC ecosystem to be killed off.

As I explained in the article discussing those claims, we should not look at Surface "as a standalone effort, but rather as part of a long-term strategy" through which "Microsoft is not only making high-end Windows devices more attractive, it is also encouraging its partners to come up with better designs." Unsurprisingly, my view is mirrored by Surface chief Panos Panay, who calls those claims the "tabloid rumor of the week."

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Roku blocks XTV channel and shows FBI warning to pirates

Roku has started to clamp down on pirate channels such as XTV. In addition to the channel closures, Roku is also displaying an FBI anti-piracy warning to those who try to access them.

In recent months the focus has been on piracy on Kodi, but the problem also exists on other platforms. Roku closed down the XTV channel -- which was "known and loved by hordes of Roku users looking for free access to cable channels and popular network shows" -- and it didn't take long for it to reappear as XTV-2. This too has now been closed down, and the anti-piracy warnings have started.

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Cyber attacks are as serious as terrorism, says UK's GCHQ

Cyber attack

Cyber-attacks are as serious of a threat as terrorism, the head of UK security body GCHQ has said.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Jeremy Fleming said extra funds the institution is getting are being spent on making GCHQ a "cyber-organization" as much as a counter-terrorism, or intelligence one.

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Fake Adblock Plus extension fools thousands of Chrome users

The proliferation of online ads means that more and more people are turning to ad blockers, and Adblock Plus remains one of the most popular. Taking advantage of this, fraudulent developers pushed a fake version of the Adblock Plus extension into the Chrome Web Store, bypassing Google's checks and filters.

In all, 37,000 people were tricked into downloading the fake version of Adblock Plus. Google has now acted and removed the fake listing from the store.

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Nokia pulls back on VR and axes 310 jobs

Nokia

Nokia is blaming "the slower-than-expected development of the VR market" for its decision to focus its energies and investment in digital health. The company says it will not be developing any more virtual reality hardware, but will continue to support its OZO VR customers.

The shift in focus will result in the loss of 310 jobs, which Nokia says will be mainly in Finland, the US and the UK. The figure represents around a third of the Nokia Technologies workforce.

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Twitter is working on a 'save for later' bookmarking system

Twitter logo in hand

Twitter has said that it is working on a bookmarking feature, overcoming one of the complaints users have about the micro-blogging service. Twitter users currently have the option of liking tweets, but this means running the risk of influencing the algorithms that control what appears in your timeline -- and perhaps making it appear as though you like something you actually disagree with, or result in you publicly liking something you'd rather keep private.

The company's head of product, Keith Coleman, made the new bookmarking revelation on Twitter, saying it is a frequently requested feature. The new 'read it later' option came out of Twitter's HackWeek, and while no launch date has been announced, it is coming "soon" and an early design has been previewed.

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