access

Microsoft is adding a new feature to Windows 10 that could make it harder for ransomware to lock up files. It could be useful, but is certainly not a complete defense. The feature, called "Controlled Folder Access," is part of the Windows Defender ... security tool and is already being tested by users who've volunteered for advanced access to Windows 10 updates. The idea is that specific folders can be protected which means that only specified applications or programs can create, alter or delete files in those folders. This includes encrypting the files, which is the key tactic ... (view more)

An estimated one million people around the world received a recent phishing email, though it only posed a risk for around an hour before Google stepped in to stop the scam in its tracks. Victims of the scam may have inadvertently given attackers ... control of their email accounts. The attack involved a bogus email claiming that a contact tried to share a document with the recipient using Google Docs. While only a small proportion of people use Google Docs, the attackers appear to have been playing the numbers game. Attackers Accessed Emails and Contacts Unlike most phishing scams, the attackers ... (view more)

Motion sensors in smartphones could give away your lock code to hackers according to new research. But practical limitations mean related attacks might have to be specifically targeted. Researchers at Newcastle University explored the idea that ... tools such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses and GPS chips in phones could reveal more detail than users realize. The tools are used for a variety of functions such as location tracking, fitness tracking and gesture control such as a user turning a phone face down to instantly switch it to "do not disturb" mode. Their theory was that ... (view more)

Users of Microsoft's Docs.com have been warned to review security settings on their account. Researchers found it was all too easy to search and find personal data contained in documents mistakenly made public. Docs.com is designed to make it easy ... to share documents with other users over the Internet, including PDF files and those in Office formats, regardless of the device and operating system they are using. The site includes a search feature that lets a user look for text in any document on the service to which they have access - something that's designed to make it much easier ... (view more)

Leaked documents suggest the CIA has a program for spying on people through home devices such as Smart TVs. However, it appears such attacks are highly targeted and often require physical access to the TVs. The claims come through a batch of 8,761 ... documents released by WikiLeaks, which says they come from the CIA. That agency has yet to comment on their authenticity and have not yet been independently verified. The documents are said to detail some of the tactics the CIA have used to improve digital surveillance. The overall message is that the agency appears to be concentrating more on ... (view more)

A company accused of selling social media data to the police has been blocked from accessing some or all content from three major sites. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter made the move after complaints from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU.) ... According to the ACLU, Geofeedia markets its social media monitoring product to police forces as a way to monitor people who may be involved in protests. In one marketing message, a company representative specifically cited the use of the service during the high-profile unrest that followed the shooting of a man by police officers in Ferguson, ... (view more)

Lately we've been posting a lot of articles about websites and services that have been hacked . One of the primary recommendations we have also repeated is that users should use unique and hard-to-guess passwords for each site, as this will help to ... prevent any further breaches. The reasoning is that if user account data is stolen on one site ( Yahoo is a good example ), the same username and passwords may also be valid on other sites - but only if users are using the same account names, passwords or password hints. Unfortunately this is often the case, because using the same passwords on ... (view more)

" Dear Dennis, I work in an office on a desktop PC. If I am away from the PC, anyone in the office can hop onto my computer and access my emails because the 'offline access' to my emails feature is enabled. I have no idea how to turn it off! How can ... I prevent others from accessing my emails while I'm away? " My response: The quick and short answer is that disabling offline access to emails depends on the application or service you're using - most likely somewhere in your user account settings if you're using something like Gmail, or possibly in the "Tools -> Options" menu if you're using ... (view more)

Management at TeamViewer, a remote access computer tool, have confirmed that a "significant number" of users have fallen prey to hackers. However, the company insists that all evidence suggests that there is no flaw in the system, but is instead ... pointing fingers at its users. TeamViewer allows users to login to a remote computer (even their own) from anywhere with an Internet connection. Once connected, users can operate the computer just as if they had physical access to the machine. The security for the system works in two ways: first, users get a reference number that identifies ... (view more)

ASUS has agreed to government supervision for 20 years after exaggerating the security of its routers. Officials say the company put hundreds of thousands of computers at risk. The company has agreed to a settlement in response to Federal Trade ... Commission (FTC) charges. The alleged breach of rules wasn't in the security flaws themselves, but rather that ASUS continuing to market the routers as "safe" was misleading to customers. Among ASUS's bold claims was that its routers could "protect computers from any unauthorized access, hacking, and virus attacks." This ... (view more)