Independent – Page 41 – Computer Security Articles

With Google’s I/O announcement expo now firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s time for us to enter the inevitable next phase of any tech-tinted revelation — and that’s the careful contemplation of everything we’ve just experienced.

It’s my favorite phase of all, personally, as it lets us really dive in and analyze everything with a fine-toothed comb to uncover all the subtle significance that isn’t always apparent on the surface.

And this year, my goodness, is there some splendid stuff to pore over.

Specific to the realm of Android, the sharp-eyed gumshoes over at 9to5Google noticed that this year’s under-development new Android version, Android 14, was mentioned by name only one time during the entire 2,000-hour Google I/O keynote.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 11, 2023 admin

May's Patch Tuesday update includes 3 zero-day flaws; fix them ASAP

In it’s May update, Microsoft addressed 51 vulnerabilities in Windows, Microsoft Office, and Visual Studio. And with three zero-day flaws to urgently address in Windows (CVE-2023-24932, CVE-2023-29325 and CVE-2023-29336), the focus this month needs to be on rapidly updating both Windows and Microsoft Office. Both platforms get our “Patch Now” recommendation.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 11, 2023 admin

Steve Wozniak: ChatGPT-type tech may threaten us all

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been touring the media to discuss the perils of generative artificial intelligence (AI), warning people to be wary of its negative impacts. Speaking to both the BBC and Fox News, he stressed that AI can misuse personal data, and raised concerns it could help scammers generate even more effective scams, from identity fraud to phishing to cracking passwords and beyond.

AI puts a spammer in the works

“We’re getting hit with so much spam, things trying to take over our accounts and our passwords, trying to trick us into them,” he said.

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Independent Krebs

May 11, 2023 admin

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2023 Edition

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 10 May 2023 01:19:58 +0000

Microsoft today released software updates to fix at least four dozen security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software, including patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities that are already being exploited in active attacks.

Independent Krebs

May 9, 2023 admin

Feds Take Down 13 More DDoS-for-Hire Services

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 09 May 2023 14:05:44 +0000

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week seized 13 domain names connected to “booter” services that let paying customers launch crippling distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Ten of the domains are reincarnations of DDoS-for-hire services the FBI seized in December 2022, when it charged six U.S. men with computer crimes for allegedly operating booters.

Independent Krebs

May 9, 2023 admin

$10M Is Yours If You Can Get This Guy to Leave Russia

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 05 May 2023 01:50:08 +0000

The U.S. government this week put a $10 million bounty on the head of a Russian man who for the past 18 years operated Try2Check, one of the cybercrime underground’s most trusted services for checking the validity of stolen credit card data. U.S. authorities say 43-year-old Denis Kulkov’s card-checking service made him at least $18 million, which he used to buy a Ferrari, Land Rover, and other luxury items.

ComputerWorld Independent

May 9, 2023 admin

After the remote-work rush, vacant offices and empty downtowns

Core business centers in large and small cities throughout the US are suffering the effects of hybrid- and remote-work policies, which has led to a 20% to 40% reduction in office space use, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

The switch to primarily remote work at the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020 left downtowns largely empty. Since then, commercial areas have seen a slow, but steady, return to the office, with average office occupancy hitting 50% of pre-pandemic levels this past March, according to commercial real estate services firm CBRE Group.

But that’s enough to offset sizeable drops in the value of office space, and the need to re-think what an “office” now is. In San Francisco, for example, an office building worth $300 million before the pandemic could now be worth just $60 million, an 80% loss in value. Nearly 30% of downtown office space is vacant, according to CBRE.

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ComputerWorld Independent

May 4, 2023 admin

How to use Google passkeys for stronger security on Android

Still signing into your Google account by tapping out an actual password? That’s, like, so 2022.

Now, don’t get me wrong: The tried-and-true password is perfectly fine, especially if you’re using it in conjunction with two-factor authentication. But particularly for something as important as your Google account, you want to have the most effective security imaginable to keep all your personal and/or company info safe.

And starting this week, you’ve got a much better way to go about that.

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