M.A.S. Electronics' Blog

No More Ransom project now offers free tools for decrypting 165 families of ransomware as the fight against extortion groups continues. The battle against ransomware is challenging because not only are ransomware attacks extremely disruptive, but in many cases, victims opt to pay the ransom demand for a decryption key – fueling additional ransomware attacks because criminals know they can make easy money.  However, one scheme continues to take the fight to ransomware gangs and has now helped over 1.5…

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The Windows 10 Check Disk Utility (chkdsk) that is crippling some PCs. The bug was unfortunately introduced with KB4592438 for Windows 10 20H2 during Patch Tuesday earlier this month. The update led to disk corruption – primarily with SSDs – when running chkdsk /f using the command prompt as an administrator. After running the chkdsk, users would be presented with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) pointing to a NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error. Microsoft has now acknowledged the problem in an update to the “Known Issues”…

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Email phishing scams are getting more sophisticated every day, using familiar sender names and other information to lower their targets’ defenses and make them more likely to become victims. It may seem like we’ve seen it all, and then — bam! — we’re hit with a sneaky new tactic or a complicated computer virus. How can we keep our computers, networks, and personal identities safe online? By remaining vigilant — think before you click! Following are 4 ways internet scammers…

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There are more Hacks, leaks, and breaches that are a constant threats. As security firms patch holes new ones emerge, meaning it’s only a matter of time before your information is leaked on the web through no fault of your own. Staying safe on the internet means defending yourself against any and all scripts, plugins, applets, and pop ups that may appear. Here are five apps that can do just that. Ghostery Everything you do online is tracked—that’s just the…

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Ransomware made a huge splash in 2016. There’s no denying the motivation here: Money—as in virtually untraceable, digital cryptocurrency—has made this segment of the security realm nearly unstoppable. And if it continues to grow as projected, its reach will extend to more and more users, bringing in tens of millions of dollars for threat actors wishing to cash in on the epidemic. So what does this mean for your data if it’s something that can’t be stopped? Well, many of…

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Cross site request forgery (CSRF or XSRF) exploits take advantage of websites’ trust in your browser. When you are logged into a website, an attacker can send a request to that site while pretending to be you—even if you’re not actively using the site. For example, while you’re logged into a message board or social media account, the attacker could send a request to post a virus download link as if it came from you. While you’re logged into your…

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Security Researchers have Detected a Phishing Campaign that Targets Gmail Users Internet security researchers have detected a new phishing campaign that has recently been targeting Google account users. The highly successful campaign has managed to affect even the most experienced computer users. The phishing attacks are carried out through an email sent to unsuspecting Gmail user. The email is sent from a compromised account belonging to a person familiar to the user complete with actual subject lines. It contains a…

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Although malware was once predicted to become extinct, it remains a constant threat. Thankfully, countless tools are available to help protect your PC against such security threats—including the popular (and free) anti-malware products on this list. 1: AVG AntiVirus Free AVG AntiVirus Free (Figure A) provides protection for your computer, your browser, and your mail client. Like many other free products, AVG AntiVirus Free tries to sell you a paid license, which includes an enhanced firewall, anti-spam protection, and a…

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