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July 28, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Do you own a pair of Amazon’s Echo Buds? If so, and in case you didn’t get an email from the company, be advised that Amazon recently discovered a potential safety risk. To address it, the company is asking all Echo Bud owners to perform a software update on their gear. In a nutshell, the […]
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July 27, 2020 by Vertical Axion
An as-yet unidentified hacker pulled off quite a heist on Twitter recently. He (or she) gained access to a Twitter Admin account, and used that access to rapidly take control of a number of high profile Twitter accounts. Once the hackers gained control of these accounts they began using them to lure unsuspecting victims to […]
July 25, 2020 by Vertical Axion
In 2015, a new image format was born of a collaboration between Cisco, Google, and Xiph.org. Dubbed AVIF, the format is based on the Av1 video codec. It is royalty-free and widely regarded as the most highly optimized image format to be developed to date, superior to old standbys BPEG, PNG, and even the newer […]
July 24, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you aren’t normally in the habit of installing updates when companies release them, you’ll probably want to make an exception for KB4484439. It is a non-security update for Windows Installer editions of Office 2013 and 2016 products. If you use Office 2016, and frequently edit Word documents that feature custom XML values, these will […]
July 23, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Do you use Microsoft Office 365? Do you also use Zoom? If so, be advised that there’s a new phishing campaign designed with you specifically in mind, the goal of which is to ultimately make off with your Office 365 login credentials. Since the start of the global pandemic, Zoom and other video conferencing solutions […]
July 22, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Although you may not be familiar with the name, a strain of ransomware called “Conti” is surging in popularity on the Dark Web and seeing a rapidly growing number of installations, so it’s definitely one to be on guard against. Advanced intel’s Vitali Kremez has been tracking this strain since it first appeared in late […]
July 21, 2020 by Vertical Axion
All things end eventually, and in the years since Microsoft’s Windows has existed, the OS has undergone a great many changes. Most for the better, but some that have met with unexpected backlash. Last year, millions of users nearly revolted at the notion that MS Paint would be retired. As image editing software goes, Paint […]
July 20, 2020 by Vertical Axion
On a regular basis, we see headlines talking about how this or that company got hacked and X number of employee or customer logins got exposed. However, since those headlines happen in isolation, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. A trip to the Dark Web will reveal just how big of a […]
July 18, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Apple users are in a state of absolute uproar. Recently, battery life has taken a hit, with batteries draining more quickly than ever, sending legions of iPhone users on a hunt to track down the culprit or culprits. Early indications are that more than one app is responsible for the drastic reduction in battery life, […]
July 17, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Malware Lab’s researcher Maciej Kotowicz has made an intriguing discovery that makes the Trickbot banking trojan even more of a threat. The most recent strain of the malware he looked at is sporting a new feature that allows the code to check the resolution of the screen on the machine it’s running on. If it […]
July 16, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Mark the date August 12th, 2020 on your calendar if you’re a GSuite user. Google has warned users that unless they update their GSuite iOS and Android apps, they may stop working by the date referenced above. The company’s announcement concerning the matter reads, in part, as follows: “In 2018, we began making changes to […]
July 15, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you have one or more illegal copies of Apple software on your Mac, be aware that there’s a new threat to be concerned about. An info-stealing, data wiping malware strain known as ThiefQuest has been found embedded in torrents of illicit software written for macOS. While ThiefQuest isn’t as commonly seen as some other […]
July 14, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Recently, Microsoft announced a small but important improvement to one of its signature products, Microsoft Word. The company is planning to roll out a plagiarism checking tool bundled with a virtual writing assistant powered by the company’s increasingly powerful AI/Machine Learning code. If you’re interested in trying it out, it’s currently available to customers using […]
July 11, 2020 by Vertical Axion
You probably aren’t familiar with the name Ata Hakcil. He’s a computer engineering student who recently conducted one of the largest password security surveys currently available. To conduct his research, he collected a number of username and password “data dumps” from the Dark Web and analyzed the passwords he found there. Hakcil was able to […]
July 10, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Hackers are constantly on the lookout for new ways of causing mayhem and stealing data. Recently, researchers have unearthed a new technique to be on guard against. A few hackers have begun embedding credit card stealing scripts inside favicon meta data. If you’re not familiar with the term, you definitely know what a favicon is. […]
July 9, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Does your company make use of VMware products? If so, be advised that a pair of researchers from Synacktiv recently reported a series of critical security flaws in VMware’s ESXi, Workstation and Fusion products. The recent discovery prompted the company to issue an emergency security patch to address those issues. The most serious of the […]
July 8, 2020 by Vertical Axion
If you have computers on your corporate network that rely on NVIDIA hardware and software, be advised that the company recently released security updates to address serious security vulnerabilities found in CUDA and GPU Display drivers and Virtual GPU Management software. These are security flaws that could lead to an escalation of privileges, denial of […]
July 7, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Researchers have discovered a devilishly clever new stain of malware currently in use by hackers around the world. The new strain is appropriately called “Lucifer,” and has been making life quite difficult for IT professionals managing Windows environments. The malware exploits critical vulnerabilities in Windows-based systems to launch DDoS attacks and install cryptojacking code. The […]
July 4, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Big changes are in the works for Apple’s venerable MacOS, as the company prepares for a future where the desktop OS shares increasing amounts in common with both iOS and iPadOS. A recent preview of the latest desktop OS reveals an interface that has been completely overhauled, along with redesigned app icons and a number […]
July 3, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Recently, Microsoft’s Defender ATP Research Team issued guidance relating to defending against attacks that target Exchange servers. They are coming under increasing attack based on the latest Microsoft statistics, which show a marked increase in the use of web shells on on-premises Exchange servers. The company is currently tracking multiple ongoing attacks, some of which […]
July 2, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Do you rely on Cisco’s Webex Meetings app for video conferencing? If so, be advised that the company found and addressed a pair of high severity security flaws that could allow hackers to remotely execute code on vulnerable machines. The two issues are being tracked as CVE-2020-3263 and CVE-2020-3342. They impact Cisco Webex Meetings Desktop […]
July 1, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Google recently published a blog post that didn’t get much attention, but that outlines a major change to the way the company’s video collaboration tool “Meet” works. The blog post reads in part, as follows: “In the coming weeks, you’ll soon notice a new Meet tab on your phone’s Gmail app where you can see […]
June 30, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Tens of millions of workers have been forced to work from home as the COVID-19 virus rampages around the globe. That has naturally increased reliance on internet connectivity and disrupted a number of longstanding, well-established working routines. Some of the changes have been for the better, including not having to fight traffic during the daily commute, […]
June 29, 2020 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft hasn’t had great luck with its Windows 10 updates in recent months. Often, in their quest to improve the OS in one area, they inadvertently break something else. The company’s June 9th update is a classic case in point. On installing the update, a small number of Windows 10 users began experiencing issues with […]
