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Whether you believe that Lenovo was misled by Superfish (which is to say, Lenovo would be a sort of victim in all of this) or you think the company nefariously put spyware onto its products on purpose, or something in between those extremes, the company is saying all the right things at this point. The company posted (yet another) statement on its website today, offering Lenovo users an olive  branch in the form of a free 6-month subscription to McAfee LiveSafe service (existing subscribers get a 6-month extension) as well as a pledge to stop loading bloatware on its PCs in the future. "The events of last week reinforce the principle that customer experience, security and privacy must be our top priorities. With this in mind, we will significantly reduce preloaded applications," read the post. Lenovo also stated that it will begin this practice right away. The company also promised to be transparent about any software that it henceforth does include on its sys...

Microsoft recently revealed USB 3.1 Type-C compatibility for Windows 10 in the form of a panel description for the upcoming winHec hardware development conference in China this coming March. "Windows 10 introduces support for USB Dual Role and Type-C, which will enable new wired connectivity scenarios such [as] a phone interacting with USB peripherals, or laptops connecting to an external display using th e USB Type-C connector," said the description. "This session will go into detail on how Windows supports these technologies and what you need to do to enable them." The biggest thing you would need, but would be hard pressed to find, is the Type-C connector itself. Last year, we took a first look at the USB 3.1 Type-C connector, where we weren't too subtle in our warning that the newer, smaller plug would have some growing pains coming to market and appearing in mainstream devices and hardware. Even with Asus's recent refresh of its motherboard...

Over five billion downloaded Android apps are vulnerable to being hacked, cybersecurity researchers have found, as attackers exploit flaws in Google's operating system. Some 96 percent of malware -- or malicious software -- employed by hackers target Google Android, according to U.S. firm FireEye, which analysed more than 7 million mobile apps on Android and Apple iOS between January and October 2014. Apps designed to steal financial data were especially popular, the researchers found. The open-source nature of Android allows hackers to find the code behind a popular app, they said, and recreate the app almost identically but with a malicious code to infect users. "You can get all the code and then you can insert additional instructions and make it look and feel like the original app and no way for a consumer to tell the difference when they download it," Jason Steer, director of technology strategy at FireEye told CNBC by phone. Google did not respond to a r...

Asus joins ASRock and MSI in bringing USB 3.1 to desktop motherboards. Utilizing an ASMedia USB 3.1 controller, Asus is refreshing its X99 and Z97 motherboard lineups to support the USB 3.1 standard. In addition to the updated motherboards, Asus is also releasing a USB 3.1 controller card that can be bought separately to bring USB 3.1 performance and compatibility to older systems. Asus CVP Joe Hsieh, had this to say: "As the world's number-one motherboard brand, we lead by providing the very latest technology for Asus customers to enjoy. We worked closely with ASMedia Technology Inc to maximize USB 3.1 performance on both Asus motherboards and our USB 3.1 Card products, ensuring that Asus customers enjoy the very fastest data transfers from the new standard." A total of 12 new motherboards will come with USB 3.1 Type-A connector ports integrated on board, while two of the boards for the X99 market will also include the PCIe card featuring two USB 3.1 T...

Toshiba announced a significant breakthrough in HDD density, as it eclipsed the one terabit per square inch (1Tbit/in2) threshold. Surpassing this threshold in a shipping drive is a first in the HDD industry, and surprisingly, Toshiba accomplished the feat with standard PMR (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) technology. The HDDs that power our lives overwhelmingly leverage the tried-and-true PMR recording techniqu e. PMR made its debut in shipping products in 2005, which is quite a while ago when measured in tech years. PMR aligns data bits vertically on the surface of the HDD platter, which provides a big density increase over the previous technology. Unfortunately, PMR has limitations. HDD manufacturers have continued to refine PMR to extract amazing storage density, but until now the end of PMR appeared nigh. A new recording technique is already on the market, and other technologies are waiting in the wings to move beyond PMR. SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) HDDs are al...

Google is known for constantly updating their Google Chrome browser but this time they have come up with a really useful security update that users will appreciate. Make sure you download the latest version of the browser to utilize this functionality. With the growth of the internet, the number of sites that distribute malware and spyware has significantly grown. The y are more in number than the ones that actually help users with good information, software and entertainment. The browsers are the firewall that acts as a communication platform between the user and these websites. Only when they warn that there is a virus lurking around the corner, you will be able to avoid it and stick to verified sources. Chrome promises to do this exactly and this will make things safer for you. An Early Warning Instead of waiting for you enter the website which will instantly drop in a malware or spyware, Google Chrome alerts you even before the domain loads completely. Many infected websit...

Definition: Ransomware is a form of malware developed to encrypt (prohibit access to) files on a computer with the sole intent of extorting money from its victims (paying a ransom to recover encrypted files). Thirtyseven4 Endpoint Security, a leading provider of Windows, Mac and Android Solutions The payment is usually requested in the form of direct credit card payments or via Bitcoins (online payment currency). Generally speaking there are two main classifications for ransomware, Encryptor (encrypts all important files and demands a ransom to decrypt files) and Screen Locker (locks an infected system, preventing proper access until a ransom is paid). Most of the latest strains intercepted by the Thirtyseven4 lab fall under the Encryptor classification. The top ransomware threats include, Cryptorbit, Cryptolocker, CryptoWall, PornoBlocker, ZedoPoo. Ransomware is spread using social engineering tricks via social networking sites and email attachments. It is very similar to t...

The malware is installed when the user downloads infected Android apps  When the power button is pressed it makes the phone appear to shut down Malware shows a ‘Power Off’ message and even a shutdown animation It can then take control of the phone to make calls and send messages App works in the background, so will not be immediately noticeable   Running an antivirus app will spot and remove the malware Experts have not revealed which apps the malware is on but said it affects phones and tablets running older versions of Android - before KitKat Many people turn their phone off overnight or when charging, but a new malware could be taking advantage of this power-saving technique.  Security researchers have spotted a virus that kicks in when the power button on Android phones and tablets is pressed. It makes the phone appear to be switched off but instead the malware is running in the background making calls, sending messages and accessing other f...

Lenovo, the Chinese tech giant, was shipping PCs with spyware that tracks its customers’ every move online, and renders the computers vulnerable to hackers. Lenovo, the world’s largest PC manufacturer, was installing Superfish, a particularly pernicious form of adware that siphons data from a user’s machine via web browser. Banking and e-commerce sites, or any web page that purports to be secure with the image of  a tiny padlock, are made vulnerable. The adware discovery was made early last month by Peter Horne, a 25-year veteran of the financial services technology industry, after he bought a brand-new Lenovo Yoga 2 Notepad at a computer retailer in Sydney, Australia. Even though the PC came with McAfee antivirus software, Mr. Horne said, he installed antivirus software made by Trend Micro. Neither virus scanner picked up any adware on the machine. But Mr. Horne noted that traffic from the PC was being redirected to a website called  best-deals-products.com.  Wh...

Hackers are continuing to target mobile devices which has led to an increase in infections and also threatens personal information. According to a report by security firm Alcatel-Lucent, malware infections affecting mobile devices increased by 25 percent in 2014, compared to a 20 percent increase in 2013. Almost 16 million mobile devices worldwide have been infected by malicious software wh ich is being used by cyber-criminals to gather users personal data. Cyber-security breaches last year were all the result of malware infections on cash registers and not online stores. This is mainly because stolen cards from online retailers are not as valuable to criminals as they can only be used for online purchases. It was also pointed out that the infection rate between Android and Windows devices was split 50-50, with less than 1 percent coming from iOS and Blackberry devices. The top three infectors are Adware.Uapush, Trojan.Ackposts and SMSTracker, which is a mobile spyware applica...

An active scareware campaign pushing a fake version of the popular freeware spyware removal tool AdwCleaner is targeting Windows users and is trying to get them to fork over nearly $60 of their hard earned cash. "The ironic thing is that this is getting on people’s PCs that are already infected with adware or spyware of some type, which then keep popping up windows to a page that looks like this one… which tells y ou that adware is detected," How-To Geek explained. If the user downloads and runs the fake software, a legitimate-looking fake version of AdwCleaner supposedly runs a scan of the computer and shows that it's full of spyware and other malware. The user is then pushed to "upgrade to the full version" in order to remove the threats, but in order to do it he or she will have to make a payment of $59.99 to a specific PayPal account. Users who fall for this scheme and pay the price are ultimately pushed to download the legitimate version of the cle...

Android users are in danger of getting malicious apps silently installed on their devices by attackers, warns Rapid7's Tod Beardsley, technical lead for the Metasploit Framework. "Due to a lack of complete coverage for X-Frame-Options (XFO) support on Google's Play Store web application domain, a malicious user can leverage either a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in a particular area of the Google Play Store web application, or a Universal XSS (UXSS) targeting affected browsers, to remotely install and launch the main intent of an arbitrary Play Store provided Android package (APK)," he noted. The danger is especially great for users who are constantly signed into Google services. Rapid7 has created a Metasploit module that can be used to test Android devices for the two vulnerabilities. "First, the module exploits a Universal Cross-Site Scripting (UXSS) vulnerability present in versions of Android's open source stock browser (the AOSP Browser) as ...

Do you use a wireless network like Wi-Fi at your home or office? And afraid of it getting hacked by other people (hackers)? Now a day hacking has become a key stress or tension for the peoples and are you one among them getting stressed? Then now you don’t need to get worried about it, and let me handle that stress and problem, you just have to do is go through this article and try the stated tips by your own and learn How to Protect  Wi-Fi network. 1.Use WPA: Many of the WI-Fi connections provides WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) for protecting your wireless network, but now a day it can be easily broken/hacked by the hackers by using a simple hacking suite within no time. So to protect your wireless network to the fullest you can use WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), and in this you have to make sure that WPS (Wireless Protect Setup) is disabled in the router’s settings. This is the Most Basic and Important Tip to Protect your Wi-Fi Network 2.Use a strong & Secure WPA Passwo...

Trend Micro is a well-respected PC antivirus program that doesn't only offer solid protection to your Windows machine, but looks great doing it. We tried Antivirus+ 2015 on a Windows 8.1 laptop, which is the first of four premium products offered by Trend Micro, and had solid results all around. Trend Micro tops the charts in the real-world protection test at AV-Comparatives, even with a few false positives. AV-Test largely agrees, giving Tr end Micro 6/6 for Protection, and 5/6 for Performance and Usability. Despite these great scores, Trend Micro dropped out of the popular Virus Bulletin list in 2008 after failing a test. They claimed the tests to be irrelevant, but make of that what you will. What matters is Trend Micro's latest scores are great. The feature set for Trend Micro Antivirus+ covers the basics, such as real-time threat protection and phishing protection. That will run you $39.95/year. Additional features are available in the three tiers above Antivirus+. ...

Nobody likes an interstitial advertisement. The landing pages and pop-ups that temporarily block our access to whichever link we've clicked on are interruptions at best and counterproductive at worst — there are few better ways to drive visitors away from your site than by asking them to sit through a 20-second entreaty from brands. But while interstitial ads are just about everywhere th ese days — though not on The Verge! — there's one interstitial ad more offensive than any other. It's on  Forbes.com , and it's called the Thought of the Day. And Forbes must be having many thoughts on this day about the Thought of the Day, because it turns out Chinese hackers took over their widget for three days and used it to distribute malware. Click any link to Forbes and you'll find yourself not where you hoped to arrive but rather on the disingenuously named "welcome screen," sitting at the top of which is the Thought of the Day. It squats in a crudely rendered...

Ever wondered whether someone is tapping off your wireless ticking? Well, it seems Cherry knows you're worried and built a keyboard for you. When you hear the name Cherry, your mind probably immediately jumps to the German manufacturer's mechanical MX switches, but that's not the only thing that it makes – you'll also find various membrane-based keyboards in the company's arsenal, which rang e from el-cheapo keyboards to more advanced keyboards for industrial use. Today, the company is announcing the JD-0400EU set, which includes a keyboard and a mouse. What's interesting about this set (if we ignore the obvious fact that it has an EU layout) is that it features 128-bit AES encryption, which it uses over its wireless protocol. We're not sure about how many other wireless keyboards and mice use encryption, but considering that Cherry is making a point of it here, something tells us that it isn't all that many. We also think Cherry is targeting the ...

Deepcool's got a new fan up its sleeve, which has a sleeved cable. Silently, Deepcool announced the GF140 fan. This is a 140 mm fan aimed to bring low-noise performance to the table at an affordable price. To keep it silent, Deepcool has opted to use a handful of technologies. The most obvious one is PWM support, and that the fan will spin at speeds between 700 and 1200 RPM. The PWM signal is interpreted by a "silent IC," which drives a motor with a Japanese fluid dynamic bearing. On top of this, Deepcool has opted to cover the frame of the fan with a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) cover, which acts like a vibration-dampening rubber around the entire fan. Last but not least, it also has blades with bumps that are intended to guide the air, which should theoretically increase the airflow and static pressure of the fan. All of the above turns into a fan that will push up to 71.8 CFM while making up to 26.7 dBA of noise. The fan will make 17.6 dBA of noise at its low...

You think you practice safe computing. Yet one day you turn on your PC and a message on your home screen reads, “This operating system has been locked for security reasons.” SEE ALSO:  Is Your Identity at Risk? Your computer has been infected with  ransomware,  malware that allows criminals to block your apps from working and to encrypt your files so you can’t access them. You may also be told that you’ve committed an illegal act and are being fined by a government agency. Or you might just see a demand for a ransom—running anywhere from about $100 to thousands of dollars—to unlock your device. Macs are not immune from ransomware, and mobile devices, such as Android phones and tablets, are vulnerable as well. Avoiding the Internet’s shady side won’t keep you from harm. “Most people think you’ll get malware if you go to a porn site,” says Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist for McAfee, an antivirus-software developer. “But the porn industry has been be...

1. Install a good antivirus. Free or Paid is good, but don't used cracked or pirated versions. 2. Install real-time anti-spyware protection 3. Update your Anti-virus programs daily. 4. Perform scans on your computer daily. 5. Disable image previews if using Outlook 6. Disable auto-run to prevent infection from pen-drives. 7. Use good anti-virus which has browser plugins and scans all URL's for malicious content. 8. Don't click on any mail links or attachments from unknown sources or malicious users. 9. Never download software from third-party sites. Download from original website. Don't use cracks or keygen which may be a virus/trojan itself.

Spyware from a pro-Russian group is targeting iPhones, whether they're jailbroken or not, says Trend Micro. A team of hackers that target governments, the military and journalists has turned its attention to the iPhone, according to Trend Micro. The computer security company says it has discovered new spyware that infects iPhones, gathers large amounts of personal information and sends it to a remote server. The spyware, called XAgent, is delivered via a phishing attack using a technique called island hopping. In that, the phones of friends and associates of the true target are first infected and then used to pass on the spyware link. It's based on the assumption that the target is more likely to click on links from people they know than from strangers. Once installed, XAgent will collect text messages, contact lists, pictures, geo-location data, a list of installed apps, a list of any software processes that are running and the WiFi status of the device. That info...

A porn-based malware on Facebook is believed to have affected over 1,10,000 accounts in the past two days that dupes users into clicking on an adult link that infects their computers with a Trojan to hijack vital parts. According to Daily Star, the link once clicked, asks users to download the latest Flash Player update to view it. The link also infects the computers with Trojan after it is clicked wherein it c an hijack vital information from the computers. The malware porn link is posted on infected users' Facebook page and it tags at least 20 friends of the user each time it is posted due to which the threat appears more dangerous than the previous ones. Facebook authorities said that they were aware of the issue and are blocking these scams to ensure people a completely safe experience on the social networking site.