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Start the New Year Right With This 3-Step Digital Detox

By McAfee

Pledging to follow healthier habits is consistently the most popular new year’s resolution. That January 1st promise looks different to everyone: snacking less often, going to the gym more often, drinking more water, drinking less soda, etc. This year, instead of a juice cleanse subscription, opt for a healthier habit that’s not an unappetizing shade of green: follow this digital detox, instead! In three easy steps, you can make great strides in improving your digital wellness. 

1. Update

There are various aspects of your digital habits that you should consider updating for a more private and safer online life. For starters, update your passwords. Do you reuse the same password for multiple online accounts? Doing so puts your personally identifiable information (PII) at great risk. For example, if a business with which you have an online shopping account is breached by a cybercriminal, your login and password combination could make it on the dark web, through no fault of your own. Then, through a brute force attack, a criminal could use that same password and username combo to walk into your banking or tax filing accounts.   

Remembering unique, complicated passwords and passphrases for your dozens of online accounts would be impossible. Luckily, there’s software that remembers them for you! It’s called a password manager, which acts as a vault for all your login information. Just remember one master password, and you can be confident in the security of your accounts and never have to deal with the hassle of forgetting passwords. 

Another aspect of updating you should adopt in 2023 is making an effort to always upgrade to the latest software updates on all your devices. The easiest way to do this is to turn on automatic updates. From there, you don’t need to take any further action! Apps and operating systems (like Apple, Android, and Windows) often release updates to patch security vulnerabilities. When you run outdated software, there’s a chance a cybercriminal could take advantage of that security gap. 

Finally, make sure that you keep updated on the latest security headlines. Consider setting up news alerts to notify you when a breach occurs at a company that you frequent or have an account with. Speed is often key in making sure that your information remains safe, so it’s best practice to have your finger on the pulse on the security news of the day. 

2. Connect

A new year digital detox can be a whole family affair. Connect with your family, anyone connected to your home network, and your elderly relatives to get everyone on the same page with security best practices. Here are some common online security snags people of all ages encounter: 

Social media oversharing.

Everyone has an oversharer on their newsfeed. Alert your family members of the dangers of posting too much about their personal life. When someone takes those “get to know you” quizzes and posts their answers, cybercriminals can use that post to take educated guesses at your passwords. Additionally, social engineers can tailor social media scams to specific people in order to increase the chances of tricking someone into sending money or sharing valuable personal or banking details. 

Falling for phishing.

While spam filters catch a lot of phishing emails, phishers are getting smarter by the day and are making their attempts more and more believable. Connect with your loved ones and make sure they know how to recognize phishing emails, texts, and social media direct messages. Telltale signs of a phishing message include:  

  • Typos and grammar mistakes 
  • Over-the-top language that makes you feel very angry, sad, or excited 
  • Harsh consequences for not replying within a short timeframe 
  • Requests for passwords or Social Security Numbers 
  • Blurry logos 

If you’re ever unsure if a message is a phishing attempt, the best course of action is to just delete it. If the “sender” is a well-known institution, follow up with a phone call using the official customer service number listed on their website. The phisher may also claim to be someone you know personally. In that case, give the loved one in question a phone call. It’s a good excuse to reconnect and have a nice conversation! 

Visiting unsafe sites.

In the quest for free streams of the latest new show or movie, people often encounter unsafe sites that hide malware, spyware or other types malicious links and programs. Some types of malware can jump from one device to others connected to the same home Wi-Fi network. That’s why it’s important to make sure everyone under your roof practices excellent digital security habits. One wrong click could sink an entire household. Consider signing up your family for a safe browsing extension that can notify you when you stray onto a risky site. So, instead of putting your device at risk during movie night, connect with your friends or loved ones over one copy of a safely and officially purchased version. 

3. Balance

As with any new health regimen, immediately zooming from zero to a hundred will likely be overwhelming and result in failure. The same goes for adopting new digital safety habits. If you try to do too much at once, all the security measures you put in place will likely get in the way of your daily online activities. The more inconvenient it is, the more likely you may be to cut corners; thus, negating all the progress you’ve made. 

Being cybersafe doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy your connected devices to the fullest. It just means that you may need to act with more intention and slow down before volunteering personal details online or clicking on links.  

Supplement Your Digital Detox With McAfee+ 

To supplement your digital detox, consider signing up for McAfee+ Ultimate to make 2023 the year for a safer online you. McAfee+ Ultimate includes all the tools you need to live your best online life safely and privately, including a password manager, web protection, unlimited VPN and antivirus, and $1 million in identity theft coverage and restoration for peace of mind. 

Cheers to a digitally smart 2023! 

The post Start the New Year Right With This 3-Step Digital Detox appeared first on McAfee Blog.

Test Post

By Jasdev Dhaliwal

McAfee Labs have been observing a spike in phishing campaigns that utilize Microsoft office macro capabilities. These malicious documents reach victims via mass spam E-mail campaigns and generally invoke urgency, fear, or similar emotions, leading unsuspecting users to promptly open them. The purpose of these spam operations is to deliver malicious payloads to as many people as possible. 

A recent spam campaign was using malicious word document to download and execute the Ursnif trojan. Ursnif is a high-risk trojan designed to record various sensitive information. It typically archives this sensitive data and sends it back to a command-and-control server. 

 

This blog describes how attackers use document properties and a few other techniques to download and execute the Ursnif trojan. 

Threat Summary 

  • The initial attack vector is a phishing email with a Microsoft Word document attachment. 
  • Upon opening the document, VBA executes a malicious shellcode 
  • Shellcode downloads the remote payload, Ursnif, and invokes rundll32.exe to execute it. 

Infection Chain 

The malware arrives through a phishing email containing a Microsoft Word document as an attachment. When the document is opened and macros are enabled, Word downloads a DLL (Ursnif payload). The Ursnif payload is then executed using rundll32.exe 

 

Figure-1: flowchart of infection chain 

Word Analysis 

Macros are disabled by default and the malware authors are aware of this and hence present an image to entice the victims into enabling them.  

Figure-2: Image of what the user sees upon opening the document 

 

VBA Macro Analysis of Word Document 

Analyzing the sample statically with ‘oleId’ and ‘olevba’ indicates the suspicious vectors.. 

 

Figure-3: Oleid output 

 

 

Figure-4: Olevba output 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The VBA Macro is compatible with x32 and x64 architectures and is highly obfuscated as seen in Figure-5 

 

Figure-5: Obfuscated VBA macro 

 

To get a better understanding of the functionality, we have de-obfuscated the contents in the 2 figures shown below. 

 

Figure-6: De-obfuscated VBA macro (stage 1) 

Figure-7: De-obfuscated VBA macro (stage 2) 

 

 

An interesting characteristic of this sample is that some of the strings like CLSID, URL for downloading Ursnif, and environment variables names are stored in custom document properties in reverse. As shown in Figure-7, VBA function “ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties()” is used to retrieve the properties and uses “StrReverse” to reverse the contents. 

We can see the document properties in Figure-8  

    

Figure-8: Document properties 

 

Payload Download and Execution: 

The malicious macro retrieves hidden shellcode from a custom property named “Company” using the “cdec” function that converts the shellcode from string to decimal/hex value and executes it. The shellcode is shown below. 

 

Figure-9: Raw Company property 

 

The shellcode is  written to memory and the access protection is changed to PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE. 

 

Figure-10: Code of VirtualProtect 

 

 

Figure-11: Shellcode’s memory and protection after calling VirtualProtect() 

 

After adding the shellcode in memory, the environment variable containing the malicious URL of Ursnif payload is created. This Environment variable will be later used by the shellcode. 

 

Figure-12: Environment variable set in Winword.exe space 

 

 

The shellcode is executed with the use of the SetTimer API. SetTimer creates a timer with the specified time-out value mentioned and notifies a function when the time is elapsed. The 4th parameter used to call SetTimer is the pointer to the shellcode in memory which will be invoked when the mentioned time is elapsed. 

 

Figure-13: SetTimer function (Execution of shellCode) 

 

The shellcode downloads the file from the URL stored in the environmental variable and stores it as ” y9C4A.tmp.dll ” and executes it with rundll32.exe. 

 

URL  hxxp://docmasterpassb.top/kdv/x7t1QUUADWPEIQyxM6DT3vtrornV4uJcP4GvD9vM/ 
CMD  rundll32 “C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\y9C4A.tmp.dll”,DllRegisterServer 

 

 

Figure-14: Exports of Downloaded DLL 

 

After successful execution of the shellcode, the environment variable is removed. 

 

Figure-15: Removal of Environment Variable 

IOC 

TYPE  VALUE  PRODUCT  DETECTION NAME 
Main Word Document  6cf97570d317b42ef8bfd4ee4df21d217d5f27b73ff236049d70c37c5337909f  McAfee LiveSafe and Total Protection  X97M/Downloader.CJG 
Downloaded dll  41ae907a2bb73794bb2cff40b429e62305847a3e1a95f188b596f1cf925c4547  McAfee LiveSafe and Total Protection  Ursnif-FULJ 
URL to download dll  hxxp://docmasterpassb.top/kdv/x7t1QUUADWPEIQyxM6DT3vtrornV4uJcP4GvD9vM/  WebAdvisor  Blocked 

 

MITRE Attack Framework 

Technique ID  Tactic  Technique Details  Description 
T1566.001  Initial Access  Spear phishing Attachment  Manual execution by user 
T1059.005  Execution  Visual Basic  Malicious VBA macros 
T1218.011  Defense Evasion  Signed binary abuse  Rundll32.exe is used 
T1027  Defense Evasion  Obfuscation techniques  VBA and powershell base64 executions 
T1086  Execution  Powershell execution  PowerShell command abuse 

 

Conclusion 

Macros are disabled by default in Microsoft Office applications, we suggest keeping it that way unless the document is received from a trusted source. The infection chain discussed in the blog is not limited to Word or Excel. Further threats may use other live-off-the-land tools to download its payloads.  

McAfee customers are protected against the malicious files and sites detailed in this blog with McAfee LiveSafe/Total Protection and McAfee Web Advisor. 

The post Test Post appeared first on McAfee Blog.

Why You Need to Get a Family Technology Agreement Happening

By Alex Merton-McCann

There were multiple times during my digital parenting journey when I would have loved to put my head in the sand. Pretend that life was easy and that my kids weren’t going to grow up and want devices and to join social media. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. With four kids who had technology running through their veins, I had no choice but to embrace it. 

It’s All About Phones 

While many kids will first experience the internet from a family laptop or via their parent’s phone at a coffee shop (we’ve all done it), it’s when they get these devices into their hot little hands unsupervised a few years down the track that the real show starts. And that’s usually when they get access to a phone. Research from our eSafety Office shows that just under half of Aussie kids between 6 and 13 use a smartphone with about 1/3 owning their own device 

And while we can all wax lyrical about the good old days when we used payphones and how great it would be if our kids didn’t have smartphones, we need to keep it real. Technology is not going anywhere so the best thing we can to accept it’s here, educates our kids about how to use it safely and introduce boundaries and rules to ensure they are as safe as possible.  

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the concept of a family technology contract – a great way to manage your kids and their tech use. 

What Is a Family Technology Contract?  

I like to think of a tech agreement as a clear outline of your expectations of your kids’ digital behavior – any behavior that occurs while using a device should be included in the agreement and yes, include TV here too! Now, before we progress, I have to share one key tip – don’t even think of putting together an agreement like this when tensions are high, or a heated argument is still in place – it will never work. Only talk about this or start working on it when you are in a calm and serene headspace.  

The most important thing is to have an agreement that is suitable for your kids’ ages and maturity and one that works for your family’s schedule. There’s no point making your 5-year-old sign an agreement that limits their time on Instagram when they’re probably quite happy visiting only the online sites that you have ‘bookmarked’ for them. And if your kids have a super busy schedule then you might want to include a rule that means there is no ‘leisure screen time’ (eg TV/movie viewing) till all homework is complete.  

How Old Do My Kids Need To Be? 

While it’s entirely based on your kids’ interests and tech usage, I think 3 is a good age to start with a basic agreement. That’s when they start understanding rules. And how old is too old for a tech contract, I hear you ask? Well, I acknowledge that introducing new rules and boundaries when your kids are well into their teens may be difficult however if things feel out of control and you are concerned about their mental health and less than ideal digital habits then it may also be exactly what you all need! 

What Should An Agreement Include? 

Keeping an agreement age-appropriate and relevant is essential. You may also want to keep it simple and focus on a few key things, such as: 

  • Be kind online always 
  • Never share passwords with your friends 
  • Always tell an adult if you see anything that upsets or scares you 

But it can include so much more. Here are some items you may choose to include in your own personalized version. Think of this list as a shopping list. Simply, pick & choose what works for the ages of your kids and your family’s structure. 

Time Limits/Device Usage 

  • I will ask permission before I use my device (younger children). 
  • I can use the internet/my devices/TV for __ hours a day after school. 
  • I can’t use my devices past __ pm in the evening. 
  • When I am not using my device, I will place it ___________.  
  • I will place my device in the family charging zone overnight. (This could be on the kitchen bench in a study, whatever works for your family) 

Responsibility 

  • I understand that any internet-enabled device (eg smartphone and laptop) can give me access to many things that may not be suitable for my age. I will use my devices safely and avoid clicking on any appropriate sites. (You could choose to list sites your kids can’t visit however this maybe, in fact, give them ideas! You choose what works best). 
  • I understand that it is my responsibility to protect my personal information and not share it freely online. This includes my name, family details, school, telephone numbers, and address. 
  • I will keep my password private and not share it with anyone outside my family. 
  • I understand that not everything is as it seems online and that being safe (and savvy) online means thinking critically and questioning whether it is true. 
  • I will not use a credit card online without permission from my parents. 
  • I will close down pop-up or banner ads and not click on them. 

Safety 

  • I will not share my location while using my devices.  
  • I will allow my parents to adjust the privacy settings on this device and monitor my activity. I understand that this is for my own safety. If older: I will ensure privacy settings are always on and set to the highest level for every social media platform I use. 
  • If anyone pressures me or makes me feel uncomfortable, I will stop talking to them and tell a family member or trusted adult.  
  • I understand that people are not always who they say they are online. 
  • I will not talk to anyone online who I don’t know in real life. 
  • I will not meet up with anyone I first met online without permission from my parents. 

Online Behaviour 

  • Being kind and respectful online is essential.  
  • I will only talk to people I know in real life when I am online (ideally, we’d want all our kids to agree to this but in reality, older teens won’t cop this. So, this is more suitable for younger kids) 
  • I will not be hurtful or mean to others on social media. This includes messaging, commenting, posting, liking, and sharing mean or hateful content.  
  • If I feel like I am being harassed or bullied online, I will tell a trusted adult.  
  • I will ask permission before I share pictures or videos of my friends. 
  • I will not share any content that is too revealing. This includes posting or sending inappropriate photos or messages. 

Smartphone Usage 

  • I will ensure my mobile phone stays in its protective case at all times. If it or the screen protector cracks or breaks, I will tell my parents.  
  • I will not use my phone when at school unless ___________________________. 
  • These places are no-phone zones:  
  1. Our family does not use our phones during dinner. 
  2. I will shut off my phone at __ pm and it will not be turned back on until ___ am. (You could also add here – after breakfast and/or until I am ready for school. 
  3. I will get permission from my parents before I download any apps on my smartphone – this includes games. 

Gaming 

  • I can play games that are rated: _____. (Ratings on games range from G, PG, M, MA15+ to R here in Australia). Please do your research here and work out what’s suitable for your kids. Check out the Australian Classification Board’s latest ratings for games to help make your decision. 
  • Video games that I am not allowed to play at my home, or anyone else’s home include: (list what games are off-limits) 
  • I will ensure my privacy settings are set to the highest level. 
  • I will not talk to people I don’t know in real life while gaming. 

Consequences 

I understand that access to my devices is a privilege and breaking this agreement will lead to the following consequences: (list what you feel is appropriate) 

Formalizing The Agreement 

I would have all parties sign and date the agreement: both parents and kids. You may choose to keep a copy on the fridge? Again, whatever works for your situation. 

So, if you are feeling like this digital parenting thing is getting the better of you, please consider introducing an agreement. For decades, parenting experts have written about the virtues of establishing clear boundaries for our kids and in my opinion, a tailored family tech agreement absolutely does that! 

Good luck!! 

Alex x  

The post Why You Need to Get a Family Technology Agreement Happening appeared first on McAfee Blog.

How to Live a Digital Life Free of Spyware

By McAfee

Spyware is tricky. Some types notify users that they’re monitoring activity. Others function in stealth mode and use the information they collect for nefarious purposes. Spyware is a type of software that collects data about online users and reports it to a company or an individual. What just about everyone can agree on is that anonymous browsing is looking more and more appealing and is likely the way of the future.  

Here’s more about the types of spyware, which types are legal, and how you can scrub your device and live more confidently online. 

Types of Spyware 

Here are a few types of spyware and facts about each: 

 Keyloggers 

Is it legal? Definitely not! 

What is its purpose? Criminal 

Keyloggers are the most intrusive of the spyware variations. It does exactly as its name suggests: It takes note of keyboard strokes, logs them, and reports to the owner of the nefarious software. Once the cybercriminal has digitally looked over your shoulder at your online activity, they make note of your passwords, walk into your online accounts, and pilfer your private personal information. They could use this information to gain entry to your online bank accounts or steal your identity. 

Keyloggers are downloaded onto devices (cellphones, tablets, laptops, or desktop computers) without the user’s knowledge. Cybercriminals can hide them within email attachments or in malicious web pages. So, the best way to steer clear of keyloggers is to never download attachments you’re unsure about and don’t visit sites that seem unprofessional. One rule of thumb is to mostly stick to URLs that begin with https and include a lock icon. These sites are almost always secure. 

To determine if your device is infected with a keylogger, check your system’s performance. Is your device running slowly? See if there are any spikes in activity or unknown programs running in the background. This could indicate that your device is hosting a malicious program. 

Adware 

Is it legal? Sometimes 

What is its purpose? Advertising and criminal 

Adware is categorized as a type of spyware. It tracks users’ online activity and spits out targeted pop-up advertisements. If you have the pop-up blocker enabled on your browser, you’ll likely be spared from the annoyance. Additionally, pop-ups can slow your device, so that’s another reason to turn on the pop-up blocking feature. Legitimate adware often asks users to opt into targeted ads. 

Adware turns malicious (and illegal) when it contains malware. Sometimes cyber criminals hide malware within pop-ups. It’s easy to accidentally hit a link within a pop-up when you’re aiming quickly for the X to close it. 

It’s easy to spot a device with an adware infestation. First, the number of pop-ups will be out of control. Also, the device will crash often, run very slowly, and have a short battery life. An antivirus program will likely be able to identify and remove the culprit. You can also check out your system monitor and end tasks that are draining your device’s power. 

Cookies 

Is it legal? Yes 

What is its purpose? Advertising 

Cookies are delicious, especially to advertisers who use them to better target ads and make profits selling collected user data to third-party companies. Cookies are sometimes categorized as spyware, because they log the websites you visit and report them. You may notice the banners on websites that ask you to accept cookies. 

Many users today are uneasy with sharing their online activity with strangers and advertisers. Sometimes the ads that pop up on your social media feed or in sidebars seem a little too targeted and it feels like someone is listening in to your conversations and attempting to make a profit from them. 

How to Browse Free of Spyware 

To scrub cybercriminals from your devices and confuse advertisers, consider the following steps you can easily add to your daily routine: 

  1. Clear your cache periodically. This is a quick way to delete all the cookies from your device. It also helps if your device is running slowly. Clearing your cache deletes your browsing history, meaning that you won’t be able to type in your usual shortcuts to your most-visited sites and the browser won’t automatically auto-fill the rest of the URL or remember your passwords. Consider making bookmarks of your favorite sites for quick access and entrust your passwords to a password manager that will remember them for you. 
  2. Know how to spot phishing attempts. Cybercriminals often hide their spyware within phishing texts and emails, so it’s key to know how to spot them. Phishers trick users into acting quickly, either through scare tactics or fake exciting news, to download attachments or give up personal information. Luckily, phishing attempts usually aren’t too difficult to identify and delete immediately. Did you enter a contest lately? No? Then why would someone get in touch saying you’re a winner? Also, phishing messages are often full of typos and poor grammar. Before you click any links in an email, hover your cursor over it to see where the URL will take you. If it has typos, is filled with a long string of letters or numbers, or doesn’t match the site the message says it’ll redirect you to, delete it. 
  3. Browse in incognito mode. Browser sallow users to toggle incognito mode to use the internet anonymously. Once users exit incognito mode, all of their browsing history and the cookies collected during the session are deleted. Incognito mode, though effective against cookies, does not combat keyloggers or aggressive adware.  
  4. Use a VPN. A virtual private network (VPN) is even more secure than incognito mode. It completely scrambles your online data, making it impossible for a spy to hack into your device if you’re connected to a public wi-fi network. A VPN doesn’t stop cookies, but the geographic information they report may be incorrect. 
  5. Sign up for antivirus software. A comprehensive online protection software suite that includes antivirus software, such as McAfee Total Protection, can boost your confidence in your online safety. It can scan your phone, tablet, or computer for viruses or malware and automatically logs you into a VPN for secure browsing. 

The post How to Live a Digital Life Free of Spyware appeared first on McAfee Blog.

How to Spot Fake Login Pages 

By McAfee

Have you ever come across a website that just didn’t look quite right? Perhaps the company logo looked slightly misshapen, or the font seemed off-brand. Odds are, you landed on a phony version of a legitimate corporation’s website—a tried and true tactic relied on by many cybercriminals.  

Fake Login Pages Explained  

A fake login page is essentially a knock-off of a real login page used to trick people into entering their login credentials, which hackers can later use to break into online accounts. These websites mirror legitimate pages by using company logos, fonts, formatting, and overall templates. Depending on the attention to detail put in by the hackers behind the imposter website, it can be nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Consequentially, fake login pages can be highly effective in their end goal: credential theft.  

How do these pages get in front of a consumer in the first place? Typically, scammers will target unsuspecting recipients with phishing emails spoofing a trusted brand. These emails may state that the user needs to reset their password or entice them with a deal that sounds too good to be true. If the consumer clicks on the link in the email, they will be directed to the fake login page and asked to enter their username and password. Once they submit their information, cybercriminals can use the consumer’s data to conduct credential stuffing attacks and hack their online profiles. This could lead to credit card fraud, data extraction, wire transfers, identity theft, and more. 

How Fake Login Pages Are Affecting Canadians 

Scammers have recently targeted Canadians with attacks leveraging fake login pages to harvest personal data. For example, criminals preyed on employees who were expecting COVID-19 relief grants in the form of the CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit). These funds were sent via an electronic transfer from Interac, a legitimate Canadian interbank network. However, a phishing campaign spoofing Interac’s e-transfer service circulated emails claiming that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made a CERB deposit of $1,957.50 CAD.  

These emails directed recipients to a fake CRA login page, which then redirected to a phony Interac e-transfer site where users were asked to select their personal bank. From there, the recipient was asked to enter their username, card number, password, security questions and answers for their online banking profile, and other personally identifiable information—providing all the information a criminal would need to hack into the user’s bank account.  

Why Fake Login Pages are Effective  

If you Google “fake login pages,” you will quickly find countless guides on how to create fake websites in seconds. Ethical concerns aside, this demonstrates just how common vector spoofed websites are for cyberattacks. While it has been easier to distinguish between real and fake login pages in the past, criminals are constantly updating their techniques to be more sophisticated, therefore making it more difficult for consumers to recognize their fraudulent schemes.  

One reason why fake login pages are so effective is due to inattentional blindness, or failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention. One of the most famous studies on inattentional blindness is the “invisible gorilla test.” In this study, participants watched a video of people dressed in black and white shirts passing basketballs. Participants were asked to count the number of times the team in white passed the ball: 

Because participants were intently focused on counting the number of times the players in white passed the ball, more than 50% failed to notice the person in the gorilla costume walking through the game. If this is the first time you’ve seen this video, it’s likely that you didn’t notice the gorilla, the curtain changing color from red to gold, or the player in black leaving the game. Similarly, if you come across a well-forged login page and aren’t actively looking for signs of fraud, you could inherently miss a cybercriminal’s “invisible gorilla.” That’s why it’s crucial for even those with phishing training to practice caution when they come across a website asking them to take action or enter personal details.  

How to Steer Clear of Fake Login Pages  

The most important defense against steering clear of fake login pages is knowing how to recognize them. Follow these tips to help you decipher between a legitimate and a fake website:  

1. Don’t fall for phishing  

Most fake login pages are circulated vis phishing messages. If you receive a suspicious message that asks for personal details, there are a few ways to determine if it was sent by a phisher aiming to steal your identity. Phishers often send messages with a tone of urgency, and they try to inspire extreme emotions such as excitement or fear. If an unsolicited email urges you to “act fast!” slow down and evaluate the situation. 

2. Look for misspellings or grammatical errors  

Oftentimes, hackers will use a URL for their spoofed website that is just one character off from the legitimate site, such as using “www.rbcr0yalbank.com” versus “www.rbcroyalbank.com.” Before clicking on any website from an email asking you to act, hover over the link with your cursor. This will allow you to preview the URL and identify any suspicious misspellings or grammatical errors before navigating to a potentially dangerous website. 

3. Ensure the website is secured with HTTPS 

HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, is a protocol that encrypts your interaction with a website. Typically, websites that begin with HTTPS and feature a padlock in the top left corner are considered safer. However, cybercriminals have more recently developed malware toolkits that leverage HTTPS to hide malware from detection by various security defenses. If the website is secured with HTTPS, ensure that this isn’t the only way you’re analyzing the page for online safety.  

4. Enable multi-factor authentication 

Multi-factor authentication requires that users confirm a collection of things to verify their identity—usually something they have, and a factor unique to their physical being—such as a retina or fingerprint scan. This can prevent a cybercriminal from using credential-stuffing tactics (where they will use email and password combinations to hack into online profiles) to access your network or account if your login details were ever exposed during a data breach.  

5. Sign up for an identity theft alert service 

An identity theft alert service warns you about suspicious activity surrounding your personal information, allowing you to jump to action before irreparable damage is done. McAfee Total Protection not only keeps your devices safe from viruses but gives you the added peace of mind that your identity is secure, as well.  

The post How to Spot Fake Login Pages  appeared first on McAfee Blog.

The Mothers of Invention: Women Who Blazed the Trail in Technology

By Judith Bitterli

It’s easy to imagine where we would be without women in technology.

We’d be poorer for it.

With Mother’s Day upon us, I couldn’t help but think once more about the stark employment figures I shared in my International Women’s Day blog just a few weeks ago. Millions of women have involuntarily left the workforce at a much higher rate than men during the pandemic—with roughly one third of women in the U.S. aged 25-44 citing that childcare was the reason for that unemployment.

Reflecting on this further, I thought about the women in technology who’ve left their positions during this past year. It’s a loss of talent and capability that’s set back decades of advances by trailblazing women who not only shine in their field yet also do so in male-dominated realms of study, research, and employment.

So as we look ahead to recovery, we should also look back. By celebrating just a few of the women in technology who shaped our world today, women who truly are “mothers of invention,” perhaps we can remember just how vital women are in our field—and how we should double down on our efforts to welcome them back.

Margaret Hamilton—The software that ran the moon landing

Imagine a time when the term “software engineering” wasn’t recognized, even though it was crucial to us landing on the moon.

Such were the days when Margaret Hamilton began her work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a job to support her family while her husband went to law school at Harvard. This was in 1959 and would introduce her to Edward Lorenz, the father of chaos theory, and put her on the path to help humanity set its first footsteps on the moon.

It was her work and her code that developed a software-driven system that warned astronauts of in-flight emergencies, an advance she credits her young daughter for inspiring, as recounted in this interview:

Often in the evening or at weekends I would bring my young daughter, Lauren, into work with me. One day, she was with me when I was doing a simulation of a mission to the moon. She liked to imitate me – playing astronaut. She started hitting keys and all of a sudden, the simulation started. Then she pressed other keys and the simulation crashed … I thought: my God – this could inadvertently happen in a real mission.

I suggested a program change to prevent a prelaunch program being selected during flight. But the higher-ups at MIT and NASA said the astronauts were too well trained to make such a mistake. Midcourse on the very next mission, Apollo 8, one of the astronauts on board accidentally did exactly what Lauren had done. The Lauren bug! It created much havoc and required the mission to be reconfigured. After that, they let me put the program change in, all right.

Karen Spärck Jones—The intelligence behind search

When you search online, you have this woman to thank.

A true pioneer, Karen Spärck Jones worked at Cambridge, during which time she developed the algorithm for deriving a statistic known as “term frequency–inverse document frequency” (TFIDF). In lay terms, TFIDF determines how important a word is relative to the document or collection of terms in which it is found. Sound familiar? It should, as her work forms the basis of practically every search engine today.

Spärck Jones remained outspoken with regards to what she referred to as “professionalism” in technology. This had two layers: the first being the technical efficacy of a solution, the second being the rationale for even doing it in the first place. In her words,

“[T]o be a proper professional you need to think about the context and motivation and justifications of what you’re doing … You don’t need a fundamental philosophical discussion every time you put finger to keyboard, but as computing is spreading so far into people’s lives you need to think about these things.”

Rear Admiral Grace M. Hopper

Her vision for computing and her hands-on work led to development of COBOL, a programming language still in use today. Driving that vision was the belief that human language could be used as the basis for a programming language, making it more accessible, particularly for business use. The result was the FLOW-MATIC programming language, which was later developed into COBOL, a language that is estimated to be used in 95% of ATM card swipes.

During her time as a naval officer, she helped transform centralized Defense Department systems into smaller, distributed networks akin to the internet we now know and use. At her retirement near the age of 80, she went to work in the private sector where she held the role of full-time senior consultant until her passing at age 85. This 1983 profile of her, aired when she was 76, is certainly worth a watch.

Radia Perlman—Internet Hall-of-Famer

Quite plainly, Perlman’s work paved the way for the routing protocols that underpin the modern internet.

Prior to Perlman’s work, as networks grew and accordingly became more complex, data would often flow into loops that prevented them from reaching their intended destination. Enter her creation of the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), which can handle large clouds of computers and network devices. While its since evolved, the concept of an adaptive network remains squarely in place.

Another advance of hers was introducing computer programming to young children aged 3 to 5 back in the 1970s. While working at MIT’s LOGO Lab, she created TORTIS (Toddler’s Own Recursive Turtle Interpreter System), which used buttons from programming and allowed for experimentation with a robotic turtle that would follow a toddler’s commands. In the abstract for her paper that documented the work, she emphasized what she felt was a vital point, “Most important of all, it should teach that learning is fun.”

Getting Involved

These women have led and inspired, and likewise it’s on all of us in technology to build on the advances they made possible through both our work and the workplace cultures we foster—particularly as we begin our recovery from this pandemic.

One of the many reasons I’m proud to be a part of McAfee is our Women in Security (WISE) community. It’s truly a forward-thinking program, which we introduced to enrich and support women in the tech sector through mentorship programs and professional development conferences. It’s one of the several, tangible ways we actively strive for a vibrant and diverse culture at McAfee.

Another powerful voice for women in tech is AnitaB.org, which supports women in technical fields, as well as the organizations that employ them and the academic institutions training the next generation. A full roster of programs help women grow, learn, and develop their highest potential.

And for looking forward yet further, there’s Girls Who Code, which is building the next generation of female engineers and technologists. Their data shows why this is so vital. They found that 66 percent of girls aged six to 12 show interest in computing, but that drops to 32 percent for girls aged 13 to 17, and then plummets to only 4 percent for college freshmen. Accordingly, they support several programs for school-aged girls from third grade up through senior year of high school, help educators and communities launch clubs, and advocate for women in their field through their work in public policy and research.

And that’s just for starters. For an overview of yet more organizations where you can get involved, check out this list of 16 organizations for women in tech—all of which help us realize a better world with women in technology.

The post The Mothers of Invention: Women Who Blazed the Trail in Technology appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

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