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January 13, 2022 by Vertical Axion
There are strange events swirling around LastPass. LastPass is a popular password safe and identity protection service. Recently Twitter exploded with reports from around the world of people who received a notification from LastPass regarding a string of suspicious login attempts. Most of them came from countries other than the ones the impacted users lived […]
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January 12, 2022 by Vertical Axion
If you’re one of the early adopters of Windows 11 then you may have already experienced the latest bug that crept into the mix as of build 21H2. Apps that utilize Win32 APIs to render colors on some HDR (High-Definition Range) displays may not work as expected. HDR displays are noted for their rich incredibly […]
January 10, 2022 by Vertical Axion
Are you a Skype user? If so be aware that Microsoft (the company that owns Skype) just added a handy new feature you may want to start taking advantage of right away. The next time you update your software you’ll be able to zoom in on a screen shared by the user you’re communicating with. […]
January 8, 2022 by Vertical Axion
If you’re like most cellphone users, you absolutely love the automatic call blocking feature that most companies offer as part of their standard service. A call comes in from a “suspicious” number and the phone just blocks it. That’s awesome and even better is you can add new numbers to it. So on those occasions […]
January 7, 2022 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new malware strain you should make sure your IT staff is aware of. Called the Dark Watchman, it is a well-designed and highly capable RAT (Remote Access Trojan) paired with a keylogger written in C#. First discovered by researchers at Prevailion this piece of malware likes to lurk in the Windows Registry and […]
January 6, 2022 by Vertical Axion
Surveys have long been a playground of hackers and scammers. That’s true at any time of the year but it’s especially true around the Holidays when such scams seem to attract even more unwitting victims. In fact, some estimates place scammer profits revolving around fake surveys as being nearly $80 million a month. So it’s […]
January 5, 2022 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new strain of ransomware to be concerned about in the form of AvosLocker. This is from security firm Sophos who warns that the new strain of human-operated ransomware is one to watch. AvosLocker burst onto the scene over the summer of this year (2021). Having enjoyed some success with their product the gang […]
January 4, 2022 by Vertical Axion
Do you own and operate a WordPress website? Do you also use the “All in One” SEO plugin? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then be aware that you’ll want to update that plugin as soon as possible. Recently security researcher Marc Montpas from Automattic Security discovered and reported a pair of […]
January 3, 2022 by Vertical Axion
Haven’t heard of Log4j before right now? If not, you’re certainly not alone but unfortunately it’s something you’re likely to hear more about in the weeks ahead. It may wind up being the cause of a few headaches for you. “Log4j” is a Java library. Its function is to log error messages in applications. Consider […]
January 1, 2022 by Vertical Axion
Do you own a Lenovo Yoga or ThinkPad laptop? If so be advised that a pair of critical security flaws have recently been found that could allow an attacker Admin level access to your machine. The flaws are centered in the IMControllerService and are being tracked as CVE-2021-3922 and CVE-2021-3969. They impact all Lenovo System […]
December 31, 2021 by Vertical Axion
We haven’t heard much about Anubis in recent months. Anubis is the nasty Android-based banking Trojan that has made headlines on more than one occasion. If history is any guide at all Anubis will soon be making headlines again. It’s back and based on the findings from researchers at Lookout the hackers controlling the malware […]
December 30, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Two months ago, Microsoft began rolling out support for end-to-end encryption for all Teams calls. Given the pandemic and the increased demand for Teams and services like it, that was a very big deal. The good news is that Microsoft recently announced that the rollout is complete and all Teams calls now support E2EE which […]
December 29, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If yours is one of the thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon Web Services (AWS for short) then you’re already aware that recently there were issues. Even if your business doesn’t rely on AWS directly if you do business with anyone who does rely on Amazon’s Flagship digital service you’re probably at least aware […]
December 27, 2021 by Vertical Axion
It’s the end of an era. Alexa.com is an iconic website run by Amazon that ranks and analyzes the popularity of other sites on the web. This site is soon to be retired. Alexa.com is actually a subsidiary company wholly owned by Amazon. They offer an impressive suite of SEO services to webmasters interested in […]
December 25, 2021 by Vertical Axion
For a few years now Microsoft has been experimenting with voice commands. Their early experiments were limited to contexts that resided wholly inside specific applications however. For example, once you opened Word you could use voice commands to activate a few of the software’s features. Recently the company decided to take voice controls to a […]
December 24, 2021 by Vertical Axion
QNAP has recently warned its customers of an ongoing campaign that is targeting QNAP NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices and infecting them with cryptomining malware. This particular campaign is deploying software designed to mine Bitcoin and using your computing power to generate profits for them. If you are infected, you’ll see a new process running […]
December 23, 2021 by Vertical Axion
App spending in 2021 grew by an impressive 25 percent in 2021 and has increased to an impressive $135 billion. Even better is the growth shows no signs of slowing down. That is surprising because the industry at large has come under increased scrutiny and both the Apple and Google App Stores have introduced new […]
December 22, 2021 by Vertical Axion
With the holiday shopping season in full swing shoppers are descending on virtual storefronts in droves seeking the best deals. Naturally this means that hackers are also circling like sharks watching for an opportunity to steal data and profit from it. Their most recent trick? To infect random WordPress plugins with malicious code that can […]
December 21, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Whatsapp has had a tough year from a security standpoint and has suffered losses in the size of its user base as a result. To their credit, the company has been working hard to make their product more secure. Recently they took another powerful step in that direction with the introduction of disappearing messages. These […]
December 20, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Cox Communications is a major provider of cable, internet, and phone service in the United States. The company is the latest in a seemingly unending parade of companies to fall victim to a hacking attack. In this case, the hacker gained access to company servers by impersonating a member of Cox Communication’s Customer Support team. […]
December 18, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Apple Wallet just got a powerful new feature that’s sure to make it more attractive to busy travelers. Thanks to an agreement with Hyatt your Apple Wallet is now capable of serving as a digital hotel key. This counts as a promise kept. At the 2021 WWDC Apple promised that it would be adding digital […]
December 17, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Emotet is one of the most feared malware strains circulating right now. The team behind it has managed to infect a staggering array of targets all around the globe. To say that it is a major threat would be an understatement. Recently the group behind Emotet just upped the ante even further. Researchers have recently […]
December 15, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Recently Twitter’s CEO stepped down. Since then, the company has been gearing up to make some changes that many of the industry’s insiders regard as long overdue. The first of these changes has now been rolled out with the company modifying its privacy policy and outlining new rules related to the sharing of pictures and […]
December 13, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft has had a long and interesting relationship with its venerable “Paint” app. Most people are familiar with Paint. It’s been around since the earliest versions of Windows and let’s be honest it was never a great application. It allows users to do the basics but it was quickly eclipsed by more robust and feature-rich […]
