Let's take a little time to talk about the vast numbers of smart devices in use around the world. You probably have several in your home or office. Smart devices need operating systems, just like your phone and your PC. Of course, mobile device operating systems must be much smaller and more compact.
Ransomware Now Sends Malicious Texts Through Mobile Device
If you own an Android device, there's a new threat to be at least moderately concerned about. It takes the form of a new ransomware family that spreads from one victim to the next with text messages that contain poisoned links to every contact on an infected device.
Playing Videos Could Allow Hackers Into Your Phone
Do you have an Android device? Are you running Android Nougat, Oreo, or Pie (versions 7x, 8x, or 9x)? Do you play games on your phone?
If you answered yes to those questions, you may have a problem. It is a bigger problem given that there are more than a billion devices currently in service running one of those operating systems.
Security Flaw Found In Open Source Office Program LibreOffice
Do you use LibreOffice? It's an open source clone that's functionally similar to Microsoft Office that has grown quite popular over the years. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux systems.
While open-source software solutions generally have the reputation of being safer and more secure, they're not immune to vulnerabilities.
Facebook Is Making Changes To Privacy Following Huge Fine
We're talking about the result of a massive five billion dollar fine over violations surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. While the staggering size of the fine made all the headlines, there's more to the company's agreement than just several billion dollars.
Capital One Data Breach Puts Millions At Risk
Another week, another massive data breach.
In this case, Capital One was the target when an unknown individual gained access to the company's servers.
The breach was detected by an independent security researcher, who contacted Capital One on July 19th.
Bluetooth Security Issue Could Affect Most Devices
Recently, researchers from Boston University published a paper called "Tracking Anonymized Bluetooth Devices". The paper detailed a flaw in the ubiquitous Bluetooth communication protocol that could expose device users to tracking and even leak their IDs. As explained in the paper, many Bluetooth devices announce their presence by using their MAC addresses as the basis to generate a random number in order to prevent long-term tracking.
Equifax Breach Victims Could Be Entitled To Settlement Claims
Equifax is one of the three credit reporting firms in the US that suffered a massive data breach in 2017 that exposed the personal and financial state of literally half the country (more than 150 million people). As a result, Equifax was ordered to pay a hefty $700 million fine to settle a series of Federal and State investigations.
Update iPhone to Avoid Possible iMessage Bug
People like and tend to gravitate to Apple products because the company has gone to great lengths to make their products are highly secure.
Sure, you pay more for them, but most people justify the added expense because a) they look better and are better designed than competing products and b) they've got a reputation for being more secure.
Some Android Apps To Receive Your Data Without Permission
When it works, Android's app permissions are awesome.
They're straightforward and easy to understand.
When you install a new app on your phone, you'll get a popup box that gives you a summary of what permissions the app says it needs. Then, you have the option to either accept or deny it that permission.