Fake Chrome ad blockers used to create botnets
More than 20 million Chrome users have been tricked into installing fake ad blockers that could see their machines recruited into a botnet, according to a new report.
A fake AdBlock Plus extension fooled many users last year. As many Chrome users discover ad blocking by browsing available extensions, so creating cloned fakes has become a popular tactic for cyber criminals according to AdGuard.
Facebook reveals new privacy controls for users around the world
Facebook has been hit with renewed criticism of its privacy policies in recent weeks in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Having promised to give users more control over their privacy settings -- and after already introducing some tools to this end -- the social network has now revealed how it will comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and bring new "privacy protection" to users around the world.
With the impending arrival of GDPR, it had previously been thought that European Facebook users would have greater privacy controls than those in other parts of the world. But the company then revealed that GDPR-style privacy controls would actually be made available to everyone. Today, Facebook makes good on that promise, starting the rollout of new privacy settings in Europe and then around the globe.
Password manager RememBear exits beta with official launch
After around six months in beta -- and two years in the making -- the team behind the TunnelBear VPN tool has officially launched its password manager, RememBear.
Vying for attention in an already somewhat crowded marketplace, RememBear takes a leaf out of TunnelBear's book, and concentrates on offering functionality that's simple to use. There's also the same quirky use of animations throughout, but this should not distract from the fact that this is a powerful and secure place to store passwords.
International Shopping experience comes to the Amazon Shopping app
Amazon is making it easier to browse for goods from international sellers and have them shipped to your home country. The company is bringing the "International Shopping" experience to the Amazon Shopping app, and this simplifies the process of accessing Amazon with local language support and to track down items that ship to your country.
The new experience is available to iOS and Android users, and there is support for Spanish, English, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and German. To start with 25 currencies are supported, but more are due to be added later in the year.
Microsoft, Facebook and Symantec are among 34 companies pledging not to help governments launch cyberattacks
More than 30 technology companies have signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, making a number of pledges relating to cyberattacks. Microsoft, Facebook, Dell, HP and LinkedIn are just a few of the companies signing on the dotted line, promising -- among other things -- never to help a government launch cyberattacks against innocent citizens and enterprises.
The overall aim of the accord is to protect customers against malicious attacks by cybercriminal enterprises and nation-states. It is described as a "watershed agreement", and it sees a number of very big names coming together -- although there are a few notable exceptions.
Intel Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs to boost performance
The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities really focused people's attention on the security of processors, and Intel has been at pains to convince users that it takes security seriously. With this in mind, the company has now announced a new Threat Detection Technology which introduces two new malware-fighting techniques.
Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs, taking the strain off CPUs and helping to improve performance. There's already interest, with Microsoft planning to add support to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Intel has also revealed Advanced Platform Telemetry which is supposed to cut down on false positives.
Facebook: Yep, we track non-users -- but everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't we?
In a blog post addressing some of the questions Mark Zuckerberg failed to properly answer in front of Congress, Facebook has admitted that it tracks both users and non-users as they use the web. This is something the social network has historically denied.
Facebook's product management director, David Baser, conceded that "when you visit a site or app that uses our services, we receive information even if you're logged out or don't have a Facebook account." Not happy to make this concession without pointing fingers, he then goes on to point out that other companies such as Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn behave similarly.
MSPs and resellers see containers as the biggest opportunity since virtual machines
A new survey of channel partners by container platform specialist Diamanti reveals that resellers and service providers see the adoption of containers as a massive disruption and opportunity.
Enterprises are rapidly adapting their applications and systems for the cloud, and containers are viewed as a key enabling technology. According to Diamanti's survey, more than 75 percent of channel partners say containers represent a moderate or major money-making opportunity.
Most companies not prepared to meet GDPR compliance deadline
A new survey reveals that 60 percent of companies are not likely to meet the May 25 deadline for compliance with the new European GDPR legislation.
The study from Crowd Research Partners shows only seven percent of surveyed organizations say they are in full compliance with GDPR requirements today, and 33 percent state they are well on their way to the compliance deadline.
Yubico brings FIDO2 passwordless Windows 10 login to enterprises
Hardware authentication specialist Yubico is announcing a new FIDO2 compatible security key which will be supported in Windows 10 devices and Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
This means that organizations will have the option to enable employees and customers to sign in to an Azure AD joined device with no password, simply by using the security key to get single sign-on to all Azure AD based applications and services.
Microsoft made its own IoT-ready Linux kernel for Azure Sphere OS
Microsoft has opened up its heart to Linux in recent years, but now the company has done something that would have previously been unthinkable: it has built its own Linux kernel.
As part of its embracing of the Internet of Things, Microsoft has announced Azure Sphere, an ARM-based platform for the IoT with a focus on security. Key to Azure Sphere are small MCU-powered (microcontroller) devices -- essentially SoC devices -- which run Azure Sphere OS and securely connect to Azure backends. Security comes thanks to the use of a custom Linux kernel.
TaskRabbit app and website are down while a 'cybersecurity incident' is investigated
IKEA-owned TaskRabbit is offline while the company investigates a "cybersecurity incident". Very little information has been given about the incident, but the company says that it is working with "an outside cybersecurity firm and law enforcement to determine specifics" of what happened.
While even vague details are unavailable, the fact that the TaskRabbit website and app have been taken offline could well be indicative of the severity. The company is advising its customers to change their passwords elsewhere if they have reused their TaskRabbit credentials for other sites and services.
US and UK issue joint warning about Russian hacking of routers and ISPs
Global fears about cyberattacks by Russia are not calming down, and the US and UK have just issued a joint alert warning of state-sponsored attacks on network infrastructure devices, including residential routers.
The west is accusing Russia of an espionage-driven malicious cyberoffensive, and the Technical Alert -- which comes following a joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) -- warns that both governmental and residential hardware is being targeted to "potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations".
Microsoft reveals more about the 'blocking bug' that is delaying Windows 10 Spring Creators Update
With the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17134 (Redstone 4) to the Fast Ring, Microsoft has given a little insight into what went wrong with build 17133, which had been thought to be the RTM build but was delayed due to a "blocking bug".
The release of Windows 10 Spring Creators Update was expected this month, but the launch date is now seemingly increasingly likely to slip into May. Microsoft has revealed that build 17133 was proving problematic and the company says it wants to fix the issues now, rather than after the fact.
Microsoft releases new Windows 10 Spring Creators Update RTM candidate, Build 17134
Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17133 was widely thought to be the RTM for the forthcoming Spring Creators Update after it rolled out to Insiders on the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings in quick succession.
However, Microsoft’s discovery of a blocking bug threw a rather large spanner in the works and delayed the release of the forthcoming feature update.
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