ComputerWorld – Page 80 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 08:17:00 -0700

Hackers have used a security bug inside WhatsApp to install spyware through an infected WhatsApp voice call, and Apple users are affected.

What you need to do

If you are one of the 1.5 billion people who use WhatsApp you should immediately update both your app and your iOS software to the latest version.

The app update includes fixes that should prevent hackers taking over your iPhone, while future Apple updates will also likely address these flaws.

What is the threat?

Israeli hackers from a company called the NSO Group developed the spyware specifically so they could get into people’s devices.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 14, 2019 admin

Business laptop? $1,000. Sending away the thief? Priceless.

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 03:00:00 -0700

The time is 2001, not long after 9/11, and the place is New York City. Heightened security awareness is the order of the day, and everyone in pilot fish’s office is required to carry an access card that activates the office doors. Look out for tailgaters, they’re all told. Those are people dressed like professionals who slide in behind someone with an access card and then steal wallets, coats and more.

One morning, fish arrives at the office and passes a man in business-casual attire carrying a laptop tucked under his arm and headed for the elevators. Fish doesn’t recognize the fellow, but he does know the co-worker who is running behind him, calling for someone to call building security and the police. The co-worker had returned to an empty desk just seconds after this tailgater had snatched his laptop, well before the tailgater could make a clean getaway.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 14, 2019 admin

Why Microsoft is building a Bitcoin-based ID verification system

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 03:00:00 -0700

After more than a year in development, Microsoft has chosen Bitcoin as the blockchain platform for a decentralized identification (DID) verification system that will allow users to have secure access to an online persona via an encrypted database hub.

The implications of the new ID network could include the elimination of passwords. A company would be able to verify the background of a new employee and onboard them with the click of a single virtual button, or a banking customer could verify their identity for a loan without exposing personally identifiable information – again with a click of a button.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 9, 2019 admin

No, Google, Apple's privacy is not a luxury item

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Thu, 09 May 2019 06:10:00 -0700

Why is privacy a luxury? Possibly because surveillance capitalist firms have subsidized product prices by collecting and trading in the personal data of the people that use their products, enabling them to sell hardware cheap.

The consequences of convenience

The crux of Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s argument against firms such as (obviously including but never named) Apple is that his company offers convenience in exchange for personal secrets, makes its services available for free, and has a “profound commitment” to protecting user privacy.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 8, 2019 admin

The SAP/Apple partnership changes everything

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 08 May 2019 06:11:00 -0700

SAP and Apple are working together to help businesses build applications that use Apple’s machine learning and augmented reality technologies.

Apple is the enterprise

Apple CEO Tim Cook joined SAP CEO Bill McDermott at the latter company’s SAPPHIRE conference to announce the news.

“A man who is the last to accept the status quo, and the first to change it,” said McDermott introducing Cook.

Since entering into a business app development partnership with Apple in 2016, SAP itself has become an increasingly Apple-based business with around 100,000 Apple devices in use across the company.

That’s a revealing statistic, given Cook’s admission:

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 6, 2019 admin

Mozilla issues fix after it lets cert expire and Firefox add-ons go belly-up

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Mon, 06 May 2019 12:21:00 -0700

Mozilla over the weekend scrambled to come up with a fix for a bug that crippled most Firefox add-ons.

Engineers issued an update for the desktop browser Sunday afternoon that addressed the issue. That update followed a Saturday hotfix released via a little-known component that lets Mozilla feed pre-release code to Firefox users and then collect data from the browser.

The problem was traced to the certificate used by Mozilla to digitally sign Firefox extensions. When the organization neglected to renew the certificate, Firefox assumed the add-ons could not be trusted – that they were, in other words, illegitimate at best, potentially malicious at worst – and then disabled any already installed. Add-ons could not be added to the browser for the same reason.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 3, 2019 admin

Now’s the time to install the April Windows and Office patches

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Fri, 03 May 2019 07:04:00 -0700

April was a tough month for Win 7, 8.1, Server 2008 R2, 2012 and 2012 R2 customers who ran specific antivirus products. Blue screens, freezes, slow-as-sludge drippings all bedeviled a large number of Sophos, Avira, Avast, AVG and even McAfee users.

Looks like we’re over that hump, with the AV manufacturers scurrying to fix their wares.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 1, 2019 admin

Wayback Wednesday: At least he asked

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Wed, 01 May 2019 03:00:00 -0700

Malware from the web is slowly becoming a problem where this support pilot fish works.

“We have about two tickets a week with users saying they have thousands of viruses and they need to download software,” says fish.

“Now, every machine has virus protection, and everyone runs locked-down in user-only mode to prevent the rogue installation of software. But we have decided we need to increase our user awareness after the following ticket was received at the help desk:

“‘I just received an ominous warning that my computer was infected with several viruses. I tried running the program to remove these viruses (as it indicated for me to do), but I’m not sure it worked.

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