SMS | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 17 Feb 2016 19:46:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png SMS | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 New Android SMS malware surfaces https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/new-android-sms-malware-surfaces/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/new-android-sms-malware-surfaces/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2016 19:46:29 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=284661 A new virus has begun doing the rounds on Android smartphones here in Europe. It is called the Mazar virus and it spreads to devices via text messages but once installed, it can forward all of your web traffic through a proxy and allow attackers to get a hold of your personal details. Mazar was …

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A new virus has begun doing the rounds on Android smartphones here in Europe. It is called the Mazar virus and it spreads to devices via text messages but once installed, it can forward all of your web traffic through a proxy and allow attackers to get a hold of your personal details. Mazar was first discovered by Heimdal Security and it is apparently already infecting 100,000 devices.

Speaking with The BBC, Heimdal Security said that the 100,000 infected devices are located in Denmark and interestingly enough, it is coded to avoid any phone that has the language set to Russian.

android-marshmallow11

The malware can only work if you aren't too security conscious to begin with as it arrives in the form of a download link in a mysterious text message so if you don't click the link then nothing will happen. Even after clicking the link, nothing can be installed unless your Android settings allow for app installations outside of the Google Play Store.

So far, only KitKat model phones have been tested but the virus appears to be spreading pretty fast, despite its reliance on bad security practices.

KitGuru Says: This should serve as a reminder to be a bit more security conscious, clicking on unrecognized links is generally a really bad idea and the same thing goes for allowing unchecked software to install on your device.  

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See which companies take your online security seriously https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/see-which-companies-take-your-online-security-seriously/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/see-which-companies-take-your-online-security-seriously/#respond Tue, 18 Mar 2014 09:58:47 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=182678 In today's technological climate, most of us know not to use simplistic passwords for our computer, mobile or sites we visit, but no matter how many backslashes, capitals and numbers you put into it, there's always a chance that someone will figure out a way around it, which is often where two step authentication comes …

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In today's technological climate, most of us know not to use simplistic passwords for our computer, mobile or sites we visit, but no matter how many backslashes, capitals and numbers you put into it, there's always a chance that someone will figure out a way around it, which is often where two step authentication comes in. Unfortunately though, there's still a lot of companies out there that don't use it, which is why one man is trying to coerce more of them into doing it, by listing them right alongside those that do.

The site in question is TwoFactorAuth.org (2FA) and it hopes to persuade more companies to implement it, whether it's through Authy, Google Auth, SMS or a custom application – preferably all of them. Unsurprisingly Google is one of the better ones, only not offering a custom app option. Microsoft is right up there with it too with its Outlook service, offering SMS and Authy support, so is DropBox, GitHub, Coinbase and a few others.

However, perhaps worryingly, some of those offering no form of two factor authentication are financial institutions, including American Express, Citibank, Mint, Wells Fargo. and CapitalOne 360. League of Legends too, with its 50 million + player base doesn't offer any form of 2FA.

2fa
Social providers are some of the best implementers of 2FA

It's these sorts of companies that the creator of the site, Josh Davis, is hoping to help change their ways. As well as naming and shaming them though, he's made it very easy for people like you and me to ask these companies to turn over a new leaf. Next to the name of each company that doesn't support 2FA is a button that reads: “Tell them to support 2FA.” If you click it, it sends you through to Twitter, with this pre-written message:

“Security is important, @mint. We'd like if you supported two factor auth. http://twofactorauth.org #SupportTwoFactorAuth”

Though obviously it replaces @mint with whichever company you're looking to contact.

“Here's to hoping that more sites will put the security of their customers first and invest in two factor auth,” Davis said of the site, suggesting that the best news he could get would be for TwoFactorAuth to become redundant.

KitGuru Says: This seems like quite a decent campaign, though I feel like the second step would be to convince everyone to actually make use of Two Factor Authentication. I know I can be a bit lazy when it comes to sorting that on every site.

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