AV-Comparatives have released their 2016 Mac Security Test & Review, which focuses primarily on the security of Mac systems. When describing the significance behind the report, AV-Comparatives says:
“. . . it is necessary to understand that a computer virus is only one of a number of different types of malware (malicious software). These days, viruses make up a small percentage of all known malware; Trojans (malicious programs disguised as e.g. games or music files) are much more common. Whilst the number of actual viruses affecting Mac OS X may be negligible or even zero, Mac systems clearly can be infected by Trojans, if users are fooled into installing them.“
Image via: USA Network @whoismrrobot
Like last week’s episode, this week’s episode of Mr. Robot began with a flashback, providing us with more background on how fsociety was formed. In the flashback scene, Darlene visits Elliot at his apartment on Halloween. She is wearing the fsociety mask, which we learn is from the fictional movie Careful Massacre of the Bourgeoisie. We also see how Elliot first told Darlene about his master plan of hacking and taking down E Corp.
Many of you have likely been keeping up with recent news about the resignation of Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz following a large email leak from WikiLeaks. An article from ZDNet summarizes the event in the following…
The Olympic torch is making its way to Rio as the 2016 summer Olympics are set to begin on August 5th. The excitement is building and many are anxious to see the 306 events, which will take place across 37 different venues. The athletes, however, aren’t the only ones who have been working hard for the Olympics. Cybercriminals have also been preparing for the games and their ultimate reward is your data and money!
When was the last time you visitied the bank teller?
Nowadays, most people don’t visit their bank very often. It’s so convenient to check your balance and pay bills online. But using the internet for online banking and shopping are risky activities. When you visit your bank’s website, you enter the keys to your financial kingdom in the form of a username and password. This information is valuable to hackers, so we created a safer way for you to do business on the web – SafeZone Browser with Bank Mode.
As the name of the episode suggests, there was a lot of panic in this week’s episode of Mr. Robot. The remaining members of fsociety are panicking after both Gideon and Romero were murdered. Elliot is, as usual, freaking out about Mr. Robot, which causes him to find a new addiction, adderall. Angela receives evidence that could be used to prosecute some of the men who could have prevented her mother’s and Elliot’s father’s deaths – something she wanted all last season, but now that she has it, she is unsure of what she should do. She tells Mr. Price she doesn’t trust him, who can blame her? Ray, Elliot’s new “friend”, seems to also be a bit panicked about the status of whatever business he is running. Even FBI agent, Dominique DiPierro, appears to be a bit panicked when she finds a list with her name on it at Romero’s murder scene.
While there wasn’t much hacking in this episode, there was quite a bit of computer talk throughout the episode.
Image via: USA Network @whoismrrobot
Three weeks ago, we published a blog post about the
Retefe banking Trojan
, which began targeting banking customers in the United Kingdom. The Trojan steals login credentials and other personal information. Retefe is usually spread via a phishing email. The email contains a document, which is embedded with malicious JavaScript and user interaction is needed to activate the Trojan.
Another UK bank has now been added to the list of affected banks. The main behavior of the Trojan has largely remained unchanged, with the exception of its malicious components. The infection vector, as well as the installation of the malicious certificate, are the same as we reported in our last blog post.
Once the JavaScript runs it attempts to kill open Web browser processes. It then installs a fake certificate and changes the proxy auto-config URL. All scripts are obfuscated with the Dean Edwards packer. This behavior is similar to the previous version of Retefe.
The JavaScript, however, now contains three powershell scripts, two of which are the same as in the previous version. ConfirmCert clicks “OK” in the window displayed during the installation of the rogue certificate and AddCertFF adds the rogue certificate to FireFox. InstallTP is the new powershell script. It downloads and installs three programs: Task Scheduler wrapper, Tor and Proxifier.
The Task Scheduler Managed Wrapper is downloaded from Codeplex. This adds the option to use the object “New-Object Microsoft.Win32.TaskScheduler.TaskService”, which is later used for establishing persistence.
The Tor client gives the Trojan the possibility to access .onion domains directly.
Proxifier, as stated on their website, “allows network applications that do not support working through proxy servers to operate through a SOCKS or HTTPS proxy and chains.”.
The AutoConfigURL contains a link to a .onion domain and it can be reached now because Tor was, installed.
The Pokémon Go augmented reality game has swept across the USA and is now continuing its journey around the world. Society has grown accustomed to people’s noses being stuck in their smartphones all the time, but Pokémon Go brings the addiction to new levels.
The two-part premiere of season two of Mr. Robot did not disappoint! The episodes focused more on the current state of the main characters than on hacking and a lot has changed since season one.
Elliot is trying to get his life back on track. He is living with his mom, has developed a routine, which includes attending a Church group, and keeps a journal. Mr. Robot does not like the new Elliot and is itching to get back to work, taunting Elliot. Darlene is leading fsociety in the meantime, but the group’s other main hackers seemed to have disappeared. Angela has joined the dark side and is working as a PR Manager for E Corp. Joanna, Tyrell’s wife, has found a new BDSM buddy to fill her missing husband’s void.
We were also introduced to some new characters and I am looking forward to learning more about them as the season goes on. There is the FBI agent investigating the E Corp hack and Elliot has also made a “new friend”, Ray. Ray wants to do business with Elliot, but Elliot is not interested – but Mr. Robot seems to be…
Image via: USA Network @whoismrrobot