Category Archives: Blog

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Hackers Offering Fake Free Kindle Ebooks To Hack Amazon Accounts

Do you own an Amazon Kindle? Amazon has a warning for you if you do. Beware. Hackers are now using poisoned ebooks to delete the contents of infected Kindle readers and take control of a victim’s Amazon account.

The hackers take advantage of the fact that on any given day there are literally hundreds of ebooks offered for free on Amazon’s platform.

By disguising their poisoned ebook as just another free title it is easy for the poisoned ebook to get lost in the shuffle. Users are already accustomed to having a wide range of free titles to choose from. Most readers don’t think twice about downloading anything that looks interesting if it’s offered for free.

The hack exploits a token weakness in the Kindle reader’s firmware but there is good news. Amazon moved very quickly and has already issued a patch which fixes the issue. The best way to protect yourself if you own a Kindle device (regardless of version) is to download the latest version of the firmware.

Delaying the update could have tragic consequences. This is because once your Amazon account is compromised the hackers have access to any payment information you have stored on the account. Then, they can order products to their hearts’ content and have them shipped almost anywhere in the world.

Even if you’re not a Kindle owner now is a great time to check your security. Review your Amazon password and be sure you’ve got two-factor authentication enabled for an added layer of protection.

Millions of people all over the world rely on Amazon shipments. If you’re one of those, losing control over your Amazon account could have far reaching consequences indeed. Don’t allow that to happen. If you’re a Kindle owner grab the latest firmware update today. Review your Amazon security settings as soon as possible.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Stalkerware Tracks The Location Of Its Victims

A startling revelation was made at the recent Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The ongoing pandemic has given rise to a new threat named Stalkerware. It is defined as apps (both malicious and mundane) that are being used increasingly to coerce and control individuals.

Stalkerware is used mostly by one intimate partner against another which makes it markedly different than conventional hacker-dominated malware strains. The trend has become so pronounced over the last year and a half that it earned a prominent mention at the Black Hat convention.

The recently formed Coalition Against Stalkerware defines this subset of software as any app or program that allows one individual to remotely monitor the whereabouts of another without that person’s explicit, persistent consent. This definition includes a number of completely legitimate monitoring applications available for both PCs and mobile devices used in a manner that the publishers did not originally intend.

Consider an application that allows an employer to monitor an employee during the workday. Or consider an app that allows a parent to monitor the location of their child. These could easily be misused by an abusive spouse or romantic partner and the stealthy nature of such applications makes it difficult for the person being stalked to realize they are being monitored.

Many of the applications in question are completely legitimate and this isn’t an issue that can be solved or resolved by security patches or bug fixes. The functionality that allows one individual to stealthily track another is baked into the design and is part of those apps’ core functionality. That makes most certain applications and monitoring devices (home security cameras being another example) ripe for abuse.

No one is denying the need and usefulness of tracking applications. There’s a definite place for them in the market. Unfortunately relatively little thought has been given to what happens when such technology is misused and that needs to change.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Older Industrial Technology May Have Security Risks

The vulnerability of Industrial Control Systems has been getting a lot of press in recent months. That’s a good thing because most people don’t spend much time thinking or worrying about such systems. Unfortunately they are among the most vulnerable systems of all.

Industrial Control Systems haven’t really changed all that much in the past decade or two. The protocols they use are fairly rudimentary by today’s standards. It’s no surprise that they are a fair bit more vulnerable than more modern and robust systems.

Researchers at Forescout Labs and JFrog Security recently underscored this fact by highlighting fourteen different security flaws found in the protocols commonly used by Industrial Control Systems.

They’ve dubbed the set of flaws “Infra:Halt”. As that name suggests these exploits can bring broad swaths of the nation’s infrastructure to a screeching halt. That is if hackers make use of the exploits and most security experts agree is just a matter of time.

Forescout wrote extensively about each of the fourteen exploits on a recent blog post.

Daniel dos Santos (research manager at Forescout) had this to say about the risks:

“When you’re dealing with operational technology, crashing devices and crashing systems is something that can have various serious consequences. There are also remote code execution possibilities in these vulnerabilities, which would allow the attacker to take control of a device, and not just crash it but make it behave in a way that it’s not intended to or use it to pivot within the network.”

This is a serious threat indeed. Fortunately patches that address many of the vulnerabilities are currently available.

If your business is in any way connected to the sale or maintenance of Industrial Control Systems the researchers urge immediate upgrades. Upgrades will patch the currently known vulnerabilities in order to minimize risk.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Windows Turned On Default Blocking For Potentially Unwanted Apps

Microsoft made a small but significant change to Windows 10 recently as it relates to PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Apps). It wasn’t something that got a lot of press but it’s a change well worth knowing about.

Beginning with the May 2020 update for Windows 10, 2004, the Redmond Giant added a PUA blocking feature to Microsoft Defender. This new feature employs Machine Learning to determine if an app is Potentially Unwanted by a user and block that app if such a determination is made.

When the feature was first introduced it was turned off by default. That changed with the August update. The feature is now enabled by default. The system isn’t perfect and some users may not want Windows doing their thinking for them.

If you fall into that category you can disable PUA blocking thusly:

  • Open your Windows Security setting screen
  • Select Reputation-Based Protection Settings

Once you’re on that page you will see the option to turn off the PUA Blocking feature. Note that on this screen there are two check boxes: Block Apps and Block Downloads.

If the App Blocking box is unchecked it will disable Microsoft Defender’s ability to block PUAs. However it will leave the functionality enabled so that Microsoft Edge can use it to block unwanted downloads automatically. Turning it off entirely will disable both functionalities.

If you decide to leave the feature enabled you may note that it occasionally blocks legitimate apps. If that happens you can create exclusions in Microsoft Defender to keep it from identifying an app you actually want to use as unwanted.

This is a good change overall but some people will find it bothersome. The good news is that Microsoft has made it easy to switch the feature back off if it’s not something you find value in.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Google May Phase Out Secure Lock Icon For Websites

Google has had a long history of taking steps to make the web more secure for everyone. One of their early moves involved warning users via popup box when they surfed their way to a site that did not use the secure socket (HTTPS) protocol.

This warning was good for users but didn’t do anything to prompt website owners to begin adopting HTTPS as the web’s standard. Google tweaked their ranking algorithm to hit HTTP sites with a slight ranking penalty compared to HTTPS sites.

That strategy seems to have borne fruit. Today more than 90 percent of all web connections are made using the secure socket protocol. That is a huge victory for both Google and everyone who spends any amount of time online.

With that success the company has recently decided to stop displaying an indicator when you are visiting a secure website and only show a graphical warning display when you’re not.

You may have noticed a small padlock icon next to the address bar on your Chrome browser. That’s the icon that’s going away. Only the “unlocked padlock” will display in instances where a site is not using the secure socket protocol.

If you’re interested in testing out the new feature, that’s as easy as downloading the Chrome 93 Beta or Chrome 94 Canary build. Once you have either of those, you simply type in “Chrome://flags” in the address bar and hit “Enter.” Once you do that, search for “Security Indicators” and you’ll see “Omnibox Updated Connection Security Indicators.” You’ll find two options beneath this: Enabled or Disabled. Simply select “Enable” and relaunch the web browser when prompted to do so.

When you surf your way to a site using the Secure Socket Protocol you will no longer see the lock icon. It’s not a big change but it is well worth checking out.

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