Nearly 50,000 Minecraft accounts have been infected with malware designed to reformat hard-drives and delete backup data and system programs, according to Avast data from the last 30 days. The malicious Powershell script identified by researchers from Avast’s Threat Labs uses Minecraft “skins” created in PNG file format as the distribution vehicle. Skins are a popular feature that modify the look of a Minecraft player’s Avatar. They can be uploaded to the Minecraft site from various online resources.
Many of us parents have a love/hate relationship with teen gaming. While it seems to cast a spell over many kids and lure them into a trance, gaming does provide some quite welcome ‘time-out’ for all family members! But I can honestly say that in my household, disputes over allocated ‘Xbox’ time would be by […]
Endpoints are an easy target for hackers, so it’s essential that small businesses protect themselves. Connected employees, vulnerable software and weak antivirus all contribute to this being a favorite target of hackers. And, as the list below details, there are many types of cyberattacks that target endpoints, from phishing to malvertising.
Cybersecurity is a major concern in today’s world, both at the corporate and personal levels. Our computers, our handheld devices, and our smart home and IoT products are vulnerable to a variety of attacks. In 2017 alone, Avast blocked 35 billion security attacks against PCs and 208 million against Android mobile devices. What was one of the biggest security threats? Ransomware.
As we enter 2018, I encourage everyone to include a simple resolution on their list: make sure you are well-informed about the technology you use, and avoid getting swept up in false narratives and exaggerated claims about its dangers. Let me be clear: there are genuine threats, but they don’t come from the technology itself. As I always say, technology is agnostic. The dangers come from the bad actors that are willing to use any tool at their disposal, including those in cyberspace, to do harm. Our real target should be combating these forces, not demonizing this or that latest technological development. Education about the realities of our digital world is the best antidote against misplaced fears. And, conveniently, it is also the best way to inoculate ourselves against the security issues that technology does indeed pose.
Cyberattacks are continuing to increase in number and severity every year, and 2018 will be no exception. We believe that many of the threats we observed in 2017 will, unfortunately, appear in evolved forms this year to continue threatening our busines…
In 2017, Avast blocked more than 122 million WannaCry attacks, the infamous ransomware that caused tears to be shed around the globe. That attack, along with the Petna and Bad Rabbit ransomware attacks, cost consumers and businesses around the world more than 5 billion dollars. Without a doubt, ransomware was the year’s biggest threat. And this terrible trend will unfortunately continue rising in 2018.
Multiple downloaders, malicious apps that download further malicious apps to infected devices, have made it onto the Google Play Store. The downloaders are capable of downloading further apps that pose as system apps, some of which are capable of steal…
Andromeda is one of the longest running and most prevalent malware families to have existed. Andromeda was first discovered in late 2011 and it probably evolved from ngrBot/DorkBot. Throughout its existence, the groups behind Andromeda have use…
Locky is a considerable security threat that is now widely spread.
It seems that Locky’s authors are now predominately using one campaign to spread the ransomware. Last week, we published a blog post about Locky Ransomware, the ransomware that is most likely being spread by the infamous Dridex botnet. In our last blog post, we described three campaigns the Locky authors are using to spread their malware. Now Locky’s authors are mainly using the campaign with javascript packed into a zip file sent to people through phishing emails.