Hacking, Security & Privacy News - Page 98

All the latest Hacking, Security & Privacy news with plenty of coverage on new data breaches and leaks, new hacks, ways to protect yourself online & plenty more - Page 98.

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Kaspersky says Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security

Trace Hagan | Apr 25, 2012 5:33 PM CDT

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who get up in arms over this, but I tend to agree. Apple is years behind Microsoft in terms of security because they have never had to worry about it since no one ever bothered to write malware or viruses for Macs due to their small market share. As it has increased, Macs has become a more attractive target.

Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of the influential Kaspersky security firm said:

For many years I've been saying that from a security point of view there is no big difference between Mac and Windows. It's always been possible to develop Mac malware, but this one was a bit different. For example it was asking questions about being installed on the system and, using vulnerabilities, it was able to get to the user mode without any alarms.

Continue reading: Kaspersky says Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security (full post)

20% of Macs house Windows malware

Anthony Garreffa | Apr 25, 2012 3:32 AM CDT

Most people think Macs are safe, and it's definitely a decision that sways some people when purchasing their latest kit. But, according to Sophos, one in five Macs actually harbors some kind of Windows-orientated malware.

The company looked at results over seven days from 100,000 Apple machines using its free anti-virus program, with 20-percent having one or more instances of Windows-based malware. Sophos have warned of this before, where last year they tested 50 USB drives lost in public. To their surprise, as well as mine, two thirds of these were infected. That's 33-percent! Seven of these owners of lost USB flash drives owned a Mac.

In their latest study, Sophos found that just 2.7-percent of the infected Macs actually contained harmful malware, with 75-percent of it being Flashback variants. Of the 20-percent harboring Windows malware, 12.2-percent carried Bredo, a three-year-old Trojan. Sophos does note that some machines contain malware samples that go back to 2007. Sophos have said the following:

Continue reading: 20% of Macs house Windows malware (full post)

A new Mac OSX Trojan exploits Word, not Java

Trace Hagan | Apr 16, 2012 2:33 PM CDT

A second Mac OSX Trojan has been discovered, but is likely not to be as widespread as the Flashback Trojan due to the process by which it infects the computer. As opposed to the Flashback Trojan which could be caught simply by surfing the internet, this new Trojan requires users to download a malformed Word doc.

Similar to the Flashback Trojan, this new Trojan requires no entering of a username and password so it could catch Mac users off guard. This Trojan should be less widespread due to the fact that users have to download a malformed Word document file. Once opened, it exploits Word and opens a backdoor for hackers to steal information or install further code.

The security vulnerability is actually pretty old. It comes from June 2009, so as long as you keep your Microsoft software up to date, you should be safe from this Trojan. With all of the recent outbreaks of Trojans, it won't surprise me if they start coming more frequently with more capabilities to do destructive things.

Continue reading: A new Mac OSX Trojan exploits Word, not Java (full post)

WARNING: Facebook Mobile for iOS and Android allows easy access to your login information

Trace Hagan | Apr 5, 2012 4:29 PM CDT

Once again, I get to be the bearer of bad news just to keep you, our reader, safe. Facebook's Mobile app for iOS and Android store your login information in a plaintext file that doesn't expire until the year 4001. The Facebook .plist file where your login data is stored could easily be swiped by a USB connection or via malicious apps.

Gareth Wright, a U.K.-based app developer for Android and iOS, is the discoverer of this bug. He discovered it after poking around in the application directories using the free tool iexplorer. He first found a plaintext Facebook Access token that was stored by DrawSomething and was able to query all of his data.

He then took a look at Facebook's directory where he found the .plist in question. He passed this file over to his friend and fellow blogger who, in the next few minutes, started posting status updates, sending private messages, and even liking websites. In other words, he had full control over the account.

Continue reading: WARNING: Facebook Mobile for iOS and Android allows easy access to your login information (full post)

Anonymous is up to no good: hacks Chinese government sites in protest

Trace Hagan | Apr 5, 2012 1:27 PM CDT

The group that everyone has secretly been cheering for has a new branch in China. An Anonymous China Twitter account was created late last month and endorsed by the official Anonymous account. Shortly after all of this, they went to work. Now hundreds of Chinese government, corporation, and other websites have been hacked.

A Pastebin post explains why they are doing this:

Hello, we are Anonymous.

Continue reading: Anonymous is up to no good: hacks Chinese government sites in protest (full post)

Anonymous at it again, this time threaten Operation: BLACKOUT, where they'll take the Internet down on March 31

Anthony Garreffa | Mar 29, 2012 3:23 AM CDT

Collective hacking group Anonymous are at it again, this time threatening more than just SOPA, PIPA or Facebook. This time they're threatening to take down the entire Internet. This is said to be as a protest to SOPA, Wall Street, the world's irresponsible leaders, and the beloved bankers who are starving the world for their own selfish needs out of sheer sadistic fun.

While I agree with most of those points, why threaten if you can't go through with it? I shouldn't laugh, but I'd cry if the Internet went down on March 31st. So, Anonymous are now saying they "will shut the Internet down" on March 31st. They go into detail, where "in order to shut the Internet down, one thing is to be done. Down the 13 root DNS servers of the Internet, those servers are as follows:"

A 198.41.0.4

Continue reading: Anonymous at it again, this time threaten Operation: BLACKOUT, where they'll take the Internet down on March 31 (full post)

iPhone password cracking easier than you think

Trace Hagan | Mar 28, 2012 11:28 AM CDT

A report was released last fall that claimed using a single repeating digit was a stronger pin code for your iPhone than using unique digits. All bets are off, however, when you are dealing with Micro Systemation, a Swedish security firm that helps police and military around the world crack digital security systems.

Just last week, the company released a video showing just how simple it is to crack an iPhone or Android device that is password protected. The video, which you can see below, documents a process where the company spokesperson uses an application called XRY and accesses the contents of the mobile phone in less than two minutes.

Immediately, all user information becomes available. This information includes GPS location, call history, contacts, and messages. The software doesn't use a flaw put there by the manufacturer. Instead it uses a brute-force method to try all of the combinations to guess the correct password. It's more akin to jailbreaking than hacking.

Continue reading: iPhone password cracking easier than you think (full post)

Microsoft raids office building, combats online crime

Trace Hagan | Mar 26, 2012 9:05 AM CDT

Instead of just sitting around waiting for the police to take action against online crime, Microsoft filed a civil suit in order to gain a warrant to sweep two office buildings in Pennsylvania and Illinois. The sweeps occurred Friday and resulted in a bunch of evidence, deactivated servers, and Microsoft seizing control of hundreds of Web addresses.

Why would Microsoft waste their money filing these civil suits and attacking cyber crime? Well, as it stands, Microsoft has a vested interest in taking down these cyber criminals. Many computers are powered by Windows, and since it has such a large market share, it is a main target for hackers. If Microsoft can make Windows more secure, they can combat Apple's main claim that OSX is more secure and stop losing market share.

Additionally, they can provide a better end-user experience, which Microsoft's customers would appreciate. "Taking the disruption into the courthouse was a brilliant idea and is helping the rest of the industry to reconsider what actions are possible, and that action is needed and can succeed," said Richard Perlotto, director at the Shadowserver Foundation.

Continue reading: Microsoft raids office building, combats online crime (full post)

iOS 5 contains Safari bug, opens users to malicious sites

Trace Hagan | Mar 23, 2012 11:31 AM CDT

This is a cautionary story for all of those iOS 5 users out there, including the new iPad 3 users. Germany security firm MajorSecurity discovered a bug earlier this month that can be used to trick you into visiting potentially malicious Web sites. The bug was first discovered in iOS 5 and was replicated in iOS 5.1. Apple was informed of the bug by MajorSecurity on March 3, but has not yet issued a patch.

"The weakness is caused due to an error within the handling of URLs when using javascript's window.open() method," explained David Vieira-Kurz of MajorSecurity. "This can be exploited to potentially trick users into supplying sensitive information to a malicious Web site, because information displayed in the address bar can be constructed in a certain way, which may lead users to believe that they're visiting another web site than the displayed web site."

Apple has acknowledged the bug, so they should be able to produce a patch, and I would encourage you to upgrade when it becomes available. Until then, watch the sites you go to, as it may not be where the URL bar is telling you you are at. If you would like to see for yourself, go here on your mobile device, select Demo in the upper left corner. This will open a new page that says Apple and looks like Apple but is still on MajorSecurity's server.

Continue reading: iOS 5 contains Safari bug, opens users to malicious sites (full post)

Is too much technology a bad thing?

Trace Hagan | Mar 22, 2012 9:01 AM CDT

We live in a modern age where technology seems to be taking over everything we do, from e-mails taking over for letters, to Turbo Tax taking over handwritten taxes. But, where do we draw the line? Can all of this technology be bad? Well, in one man's case, it is. A bug in the Norwegian's tax web portal has allowed anyone who went there to see his, his wife's, and his employer's information.

Users hoping to get an early start on their taxes went to the site, which resulted in a crash. When the servers were brought back up, everybody was inexplicably logged in as Kennith, the man in question. It seems that his login details were stored in the server's cache when the system went down, and after it was brought back up, logged everyone in as him.

The bug lasted only 15 minutes because they brought the servers back down, however, during that time period, anyone was able to log on and see his very private tax information. This isn't the first time the service has had issues. In response to the recent issues, the managing company has admitted that there were bugs when the system first launched and that they lacked the expertise to properly manage it.

Continue reading: Is too much technology a bad thing? (full post)