Tag Archives: Threats

Avira

Is there such a thing as too much privacy ?

In a rather bold move, Apple has published a Privacy page that talks more about the security measures in iOS 8 that prevent Apple from bypassing your security and accessing your data. Of course, if Apple can’t access your data, then there’s no way for them to provide it in response to a government warrant. Not one to be left out, Google has also talked about their security and encryption methods in Android that will keep data safe.

During certain criminal investigations, government agencies will try to access data from smartphones to help them learn more about the case, and if they’re not going to be able to do that effectively thanks to these safety measures, then the argument is that it’s going to make it harder to solve crimes and criminals will be even more bold with their use of technology.

Only last week the news spread about the largest SIM card maker in the world being impacted by a major security breach. Nothing unusual, except Gemalto’s system seems to have been compromised by both NSA and GCHQ in the aim of storing the encryption keys that protect SIM cards. “Once successful, the program would have allowed intelligence agencies to decrypt cell phone signals in mid-air or implant malware remotely into any phone with a Gemalto SIM card” according to The Verge.

For many people, this topic presents an interesting conundrum. As much as the public may want privacy, a lot of the people that you ask would likely say that the government should be able to access certain data from a smartphone when necessary in order to solve a case. In other words, they don’t want the government to have access to everything so that they can pick and choose what they want to see, but they do think that technology can hold the key to solving certain crimes and should be used when appropriate.

What do you think? 

Should everyone have equal #smartphone privacy or should concessions be made when it comes to criminals?

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AVG

Lenovo and the Superfish

This sounds like the title of a children’s book, but unfortunately the issue highlighted in the press this week is more concerning than a story. The pre-loading of the SuperFish software on the Lenovo machines introduced a vulnerability to users even before they unboxed their new laptop.

There are several issues with the pre-installed application, one is that it is an ad-injector which inserts adverts into your browser based on what you are searching for, and without being an expert at identifying these you might be directed to sites to purchase things without understanding why.

To do this more effectively, Superfish also installs a root certificate which allows them to see traffic on encrypted websites, like your banking website, that you might have considered private and secure.

This is a bit like me giving out the keys to your house and could be abused by other malicious people and used to capture passwords and other personal information.

AVG detects and removes the Superfish add-on. If you have attempted to download something it was bundled with then AVG would have detected and blocked it advising the user it was an ‘unwanted application’ and potentially harmful.

This means no part of it was ever installed – good for existing AVG users, but what about if you have purchased a Lenovo and then installed an anti-virus product, the risk here is that full removal of some parts are difficult to remove as they are embedded into the system.

This week Lenovo has been re-active to this and developed a removal tool which you can download here. There are also manual instructions available should you want to do this yourself.

There is a much wider issue for consumers though, it’s becoming very difficult to know which products and manufacturers to trust and who is doing what with our data.

There are discussions in the tech industry on improving transparency so that consumers can once again have confidence in brands.

I believe that over the next few months we will see progress in a more coordinated effort by the security industry to protect users from these types of applications.

If you are at all concerned then be sure to run a full system scan from you Anti-Virus product and ensure that the updates have been run. If you’re running an expired product then either renew it or download the AVG AntiVirus Free solution here.

Follow me on twitter – @tonyatavg

Avira

Are you making it easy for hackers to hack you?

Simply put, it all comes down to social media. Many of us feel free to communicate openly on social media platforms, and while you may be sharing content with the intention of reaching your friends, you might also be reaching people who don’t have good intentions. For example, what kinds of personal details do you openly tell others about on Twitter? Information about your life, location, preferences, and even the people you communicate with might seem innocent on its own, but for a motivated hacker, combining these elements together can bring about a pretty complete profile of who you are, which could then be used to try to steal your identity and break in to your accounts.

Text isn’t the only content that hackers can parse, either. In many ways and with certain demographics, photo sharing networks like Instagram are even more popular than standard social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Is your life an open book on Instagram? Can your followers describe everything about who you are and what you like just based on the images that you post?

This might be fine for family and friends, but it’s important to spend some time thinking about how others may view this content and what they might be able to do with what you reveal. In an extreme example, it was recently reported that hackers can even copy your fingerprints from pictures of your fingers.

While having someone steal your fingerprints from a picture isn’t something that’s realistic to be concerned about right now, on a smaller scale, it does highlight why it’s good to be more mindful about what you’re putting out there in the world. Hackers might be known for exploiting weaknesses in computer systems, but they can also exploit weaknesses in your social media habits, especially if you’re an attractive target.

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