Research by Security Company Symantec has revealed that high profile companies such as BA and Ticketmaster are among the many thousands of businesses whose websites are being targeted with "form-jacking" attacks every month. What Is Form-Jacking? Form-jacking involves inserting a small amount of malicious JavaScript code into the checkout web pages of e-commerce sites, thereby allowing attackers to monitor payment card information being entered and to then syphon that information off. When a user hits the submit button on a checkout page that contains the malicious code, the user’s payment and personal details are sent to an attacker’s servers where [...]

A report by cyber-crime researchers is warning professional people and those in higher level management positions that extortion scams are on the rise with higher earners as the obvious targets. Report The report, from researchers at risk protection firm Digital Shadows, tracked so-called ‘sextortion’ campaigns from July 2018 to February 2019, during which time they discovered that more than 89,000 unique recipients were the targets of 792,000 extortion attempts! Why? Extortion scams aimed at higher earners have become popular because: - These scams are cheap and easy to operate. For example, aspiring extortionists can purchase sensitive corporate documents and extortion manuals [...]

If you’d like to put a YouTube video on repeat play e.g. because you want to watch or show a work / instructional video, or even listen to your favourite music on a loop while working on your laptop, there are two easy ways to do it.  Here’s how: Go to YouTube.com and navigate to your chosen video. Method 1 Put the mouse over the video or the play button, right-mouse click, and select the ‘Loop’ option from the drop-down list Method 2 Go to URL of the video you’re watching e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECVz610Rkns Remove the https://www part. Type the word ‘repeat’ [...]

Security researchers at Symantec claim to have discovered eight apps in the Microsoft Store which, if downloaded, can use the victim’s computer to mine crypto-currency. Only There For A Short Time Last Year The suspect apps are reported to have only been on the Microsoft Store for a short time between April and December 2018, but it is thought that they still managed to achieve significant download numbers, as indicated by nearly 1,900 ratings posted for the apps. Which Apps? The suspect apps, in this case, are Fast-search Lite, Battery Optimizer (Tutorials), VPN Browsers+, Downloader for YouTube Videos, Clean Master+ [...]

Research by developer Patrick Hulce has shown that around 60% of the loading time in a browser is caused by JavaScript code that is used to place adverts or analyse what users do. Analysed Pages The researchers analysed data from desktop and mobile versions of a million sites, including many popular ones, and sampled programs written in JavaScript, which is the code that is popularly used not only by developers to make sites interactive, but also by Google to help place ads on pages and analyse user activity. Two-Thirds of a Second Loading Time Added The analysis revealed that if [...]

An investigation by researchers at Zimperium® found a security flaw in the Xiaomi M365 electric scooter (the same model that is used by ridesharing companies) which could allow hackers to take control of the scooter’s acceleration and braking. Xiaomi M365 The Xiaomi M365 is a folding, lightweight, stand-on ‘smart’ scooter with an electric motor that retails online for around £300 to £400. It is battery-powered, with a maximum speed of 15 mph, and features a “Smart App” that can track a user’s cycling habits, and riding speed, as well as the battery life, and more. What Security Flaw? The security [...]

The new UK Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 means that you could face up to 15 years in jail if you visit web pages where you can obtain information that’s deemed to be useful to ‘committing or preparing an act of terrorism'. Really? The government states that the Act is needed to “make provision in relation to terrorism; to make provision enabling persons at ports and borders to be questioned for national security and other related purposes; and for connected purposes”. As shown online in at legislation.gov.uk, Chaper1, Section 3 of the Act, which relates to the amended Section 58 [...]

Breakfast cereal manufacturer Kellogg's has been working with third-party VR companies to help it determine the best way to display its new products in stores. Who? Kellogg's is reported to have been working on a pilot scheme with Accenture and Qualcomm.  Accenture is a Dublin-based global management consulting and professional services firm with a strong digital skill-set, and Qualcomm Inc is a US-based world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies. What? The pilot’s aim was to determine the best in-store placement for Kellogg’s new Pop Tart Bites.  This involved the use of Accenture’s Extended Reality (XR) software and Qualcomm’s VR [...]

If you use Google Drive to store files in the cloud but worried that Google doesn’t provide a true password protection feature, you may want to encrypt your files before uploading them.  Here’s how: If you have Microsoft Office on your PC, it has a built-in encryption feature. - Go to: File > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password. - Upload the file to Google Docs. - Google can’t read the file, but it can be downloaded and opened on any PC with Microsoft Office Installed (using the password). - If you don’t have Microsoft Office, you could use Boxcryptor.  [...]

5G may be the next generation of mobile internet that could provide new and innovative opportunities and boost to new industries, but there have been some concerns that its high-frequency mmWave spectrum could pose new health risks. Long-Held Concerns Ever since there have been mobile phones, there have always been concerns that prolonged exposure to low-energy, non-ionising electromagnetic radiation radio waves, the type used by current mobile phones, could increase a person’s risk of health problems such as developing cancerous brain tumours. This radio frequency (RF) radiation does not have enough energy to ionise an atom or molecule, and therefore, is unlikely [...]