How To Protect Your iPhone From Malicious Activities

   The iPhone uses the iOS, an operating system that is being used for all Apple mobile devices to run it’s hardware. It is primarily based on direct control. It uses multi - touch gestures. It has an interface that consists of sliders, switches and buttons.  The Apple iOS was originally known as the iPhone OS. It was renamed iOS in 2010 to include the other mobile devices created and developed by APPLE.

   Many iPhone users out there have this understanding that iPhones cannot be penetrated by malware. I beg to disagree, there are many instances wherein iPhones have been hacked.  If you open messages from people that you do not know, your iPhone can be hacked. If you are using a public Wi-FI network , hackers can exploit this and steal important data from iPhone users. Restaurants, hotels libraries and coffee shops are commonly known as places that have free Wi FI. If you get into unknown websites and download software, you can acquire malware. Hackers can also use this to get valuable information from your iPhone.

  

    Here are some safety measures that you can follow:

1. ) It is best for you to have alphanumeric passcodes - More complex passcodes are better because hackers will have a very difficult time cracking your passcodes. It’s really easy for them to crack into your passcodes if you are four digits. In order to accomplish this just go to your settings app then “ Touch ID & Passcode.  You can turn simple passcode off.  This will permit you to do a more complexed type of passcode. You can use upper and lowercase letters, numbers and even symbols.

2. ) Disable tour SIRI Lock screen -There are technical gaps that can be used by hackers to look into your private information.  Some hackers can bypass your lock screen and that’s how they get information from your iPhone. In order to disable Siri on your lock screen, you must perform the following procedure. Open your settings app and the select Siri. Now you can switch off access when locked.

3. ) Be Wise - Do not just open emails if you do not know the sender. This may contain malware that can infect your iPhone. This is one way that hackers can steal information. Avoid browsing unfamiliar websites because your iPhone can get infected with malware. Look at variations on the URL because the website might not be legitimate. This is one way hackers can get into your iPhone. The worst thing that can happen is that you can be locked out of your account.

4. ) Turn On Find My iPhone -  When Find My iPhone is on you can see your device by using iCloiud. This can be done using your laptop or desktop computer. You can find your iPhone if you lose it. If you have permanently lost your  iPhonebecause someone stole I,. you can remotely wipe out all data from your iPhone. You can open your settings app. Tap iCloud or your name on the top. Select iCloud, scroll downwards and tap Find My iPhone. Switch on Find My iPhone.

5. ) Notifications Must Be Turned Off - I would rather turn off notifications because it can cause trouble.    Your notifications will show all the all the contents of messages you received, your appointments for  and other pertinent information for that day. Someone can take a peek into your iPhone anytime while you aren’t looking.

What Is An Android Phone and How Can You Protect It

    An Android mobile phone runs on an operating system developed by Google. It is being used by most smartphones. Even tablets use this type of Operating System.  The Android Operating System is an open source based on the Linux Kernel. The Kernel is a very important part of the computer operating system. It gives out basic services for all the parts of the computer operating system.  The Android Operating System can alter and be customized for the user’s purpose. Android types of phones often have different Graphical User Interfaces even if they have the same OS. Android phones have built – in applications and they render support for third party programs.

    Your Android Phone is important because you have valuable information in it.  ( 1 )  it is best for you to use a password. it can be bothersome to keep on tapping on your phone but I would rather have it locked then find out later that someone had looked into my phone.  ( 2  ) You might lose you phone and that can be bothersome because someone else can gather information about you. Using your android device manger, you can locate your lost phone. You must go to your menu and open settings. Go to google and then to security. After doing this, you must enable Android Device Manager and remotely locate this device. As long as you have a wireless connection and your battery on your phone has some life into it, you can remove all the important data on your android phone. ( 3 )  Google cannot protect you if you are getting apps from a third party ( not google play store ). There are third party app stores that are not legitimate and this is where you can get all sorts of malware. It is best for the user to disable the unknown sources. Unknown sources can be found by first going to settings and then security. ( 4 ) Scan your apps at least once a week.  ( 5 ) Keep your phone system updated. Always check for new updates. ( 6 )  Keep your safe browsing mode always on. It will tell you if the website you are browsing is safe or suspicious. It is always  better to be safe than sorry.

What You Should Do If You Get Hacked

   Hacked - means that someone has gained access to your computer’s data system. There are several things that can be done after t. Your private data might have been compromised and your banking information may have been stolen. There re many things that you should do once you find out that your computer system has been hacked. Just remember that these hackers want to get hold of pertinent data from you and in the process they extract money from your bank accounts. There are many symptoms that will show that your system has been hacked. (  1  ) Your system cannot be updated.  ( 2  ) None of your passwords will function. (  3 ) Your computer is running quite slow.  

 ( 4 ) Hard Drive has a piercing noise.  ( 5. )The anti – virus has been incapacitated.(  6. ) Websites cannot be  accessed. (  7  ) Pop ups and unwanted ads will appear. (  8 ) You might have purchases that you did not actually do. ( 9 )you did not download will appear on your computer.

    1 Passwords must be changed  -  Use passwords that are easy to remember like birthdays , anniversaries. Use between 15 – 20 characters. Use lower and upper case letters numbers plus other symbols. You should have several passwords for different accounts. Make sure that you record on your notebook, so that you will not forget your passwords. It’s better to have a hard copy.

   2, Try to get all your accounts back. Most social media has a process wherein you can get back your accounts. These social media can send you an email on how to reset your accounts, Make sure that this is legit.

   3. You must inform all your friends, family and relatives that you have been hacked. Tell them to remove all doubtful and suspicious email that comes from you. What hackers do is that they send messages from accounts that they get hold off and they fool others to open links and then they retrieve  important information  like log in details.

   4. Inform your bank that your banking details have been hacked.  This will stop unwarranted purchases made under your name.  Your bank must be able to get in touch with you when they feel that there is unfamiliar activity brewing in your account. Be on the alert and identify transactions that are not made by you. Remember that banks never ask information through emails. Hackers are the ones who do this and they can pretend to be your bank. You may find out that money might have been taken from your account. Tell your bank so that they can put a stop to this,

   5. Always scan your computer on a frequent basis so that you can take out all types of viruses. You can download free anti – malware.

   6. Keep your WIFI protected. Do not use public WIFI when checking your bank accounts. You are opening yourself to hackers if you do this.

What is Rogue Security Software A.K.A. Malware and How It Works

   Rogue Security Software is a type of malicious software and it is so deceitful because it leads the computer user to believe that there is a virus on their computer It influences the computer user to pay money for a fake malware removal software which introduces another malware to the computer. This malware is risky because it impersonates itself to look real and it offers the user protection against malware attacks. You will realize that the program does not give you protection. It just might be too late because other malware might have gained access to your computer. This malware will make you fearful. It will use schemes that are deceitful and tell you that your computer has been infected with dangerous malware threats. In order to remove these threats you must register or activate the product by acquiring a license key. If you buy this product with your cards, these cybercriminals may use the information from your credit card to extract cash from you. The Rogue security will cause a malfunction of your legal anti malware software or it can disable it.

   Rogue Security Software uses advertising campaigns. Doing this will allow these cybercriminals to earn a lot of cash. They will use legal advertising networks to show advertisement on malicious and genuine websites. These includes blogs, social networking sites and even different kinds of forums..  They can also use spam emails to spread this malicious malware. These cybercriminals are so knowledgeable. They can use their Search Engine Optimization Skills so that their malicious websites will appear on top of search engine results. Since it is at the top of anti - malware search results, you may think it is real. When you get in the website, it will deceive you to download Rogue Security Malware. Google and other top Search Engine Companies have been updating entries and removing those unscrupulous websites that can create havoc.

What Is Shylock Malware and How Does It Function

   Shylock is a family of malwares that depends on browser man - in  - the -  middle attacks . Man – the – middle attacks by which the attacker clandestinely relays and possibly changes the communications between two parties who think that they are communicating with each other. It uses digital certificates that have been faked so that it can head off  and place in codes into banking websites. It was created to fool customers so that they can give banking details to hackers instead to the customer service of the bank. There are some types of this malware that have capabilities of opening fake customer chat windows on computers that have been compromised. This allows cyber attackers to get pertinent information from their accounts. Newer strains of this malware have the capability to find out whether the malware is running on a virtual machine that is being examined by malware researchers. This way  the Shylock malware becomes more difficult to analyze and it does avoid being detected by security researchers.

   It is not as popular as other malwares but it does not make it less dangerous. It has a set of malicious methods that it uses because it is able to inject in it’s body multiple running processes, it has the necessary equipment to stop it from being detected by anti -malware software. It uses a number of plugins which adds additional malicious functions aimed at bypassing anti - malware software. It gathers passwords for FTP ( File Transfer Protocol ) servers. It spreads by using messengers and servers. It supplies remote access to the compromised machines. It can do video grabbing and web injection, Injection is an entire class of attacks that depends on injecting data into a web application in order to further expedite the execution of malicious data in an unforeseen manner. The last objective is to steal online banking credentials by placing in fake data entry fields into the web page loaded in the victim’s browser.

What Is Zeus Malware and How Does It Work

   Zeus Malware also known as Zbot Trojan Horse malware aims at infecting Windows OS. It can be used as a carrier of a lot of malicious criminal activities. Mainly this malware is used to steal banking and confidential information from the infected computer. The Zeus malware was created to steal private information from computers that have been jeopardized. The toolkit for this is available on the web and it can found on sites where cyber criminals go to. Usually you get this type of malware from emails that try to deceive you to open a file. The file may seem legal because it looks like you are being sent messages from Microsoft, Facebook or the IRS. The email will usually issue you a notification on your online account or tell you that you have an underlining concern regarding financial or banking information.

   Private information can be collected in several ways. When it has been enforced the Zeus Malware will naturally collect Internet Explorer, FTP ( File Transfer Protocol ) or POP3 (  Post Office Protocol3 ) passwords. The most potent harmful effect it can create is by tracking down the websites in the configuration files. It can take hold of all legitimate web pages and place in extra fields. ( for example  it can add additional information into a banking Web page which initially only asked for your username and password ), This can cause havoc and real concerns on your part.

   

    Zeus Malware works by modifying your configuration files that have been well organized into the Trojan installer by the cyber criminal. It can also be updated by the attacker to hit your other information at any time. This kind of malware gets in contact with a command and control server and it can make it do other different kinds of tasks. Doing this, will permit the cyber criminal to direct the malware to download and enforce other actions. It can shutdown your computer and reboot it. Your system files can be deleted. You cannot use your computer without reinstalling the Windows Operating System.

What is Industroyer and How Does It Attack Power Grids

   The Win32/ Industroyer malware is an innovative type of malware that was created to interrupt and distort working procedures of  Individual Control Systems. More specifically it was designed to disrupt Industrial Control Systems that are used in electrical substations. Those that are behind the   Win32/ Industroyer have a clear understanding and a lot of expertise in Industrial Control Systems. They have a deep understanding of industrial protocols used in electric power systems. Industroyer is an advanced malware that has many components like a backdoor, a data wiper, at least 4 payloads and many other tools. These cyber attackers are experienced  analysts  and they know all the payloads involved ( IEC 60870 - 5 -101 ( aka IEC 101 ), IEC 60870 - 5 - 104 ( aka IEC 104 ), IEC 61850 OLE for Process Control Data Access ( OPC DA ). These are the central elements used in the attacks and it allows them to control electrical circuit breakers.

   The Industroyer backdoors gives these cyber attackers the right to engineer several commands on targeted systems. The C&C S is concealed in the Tor network. It can be set up to be active at a specific time. This makes it hard to detect. The backdoor sets up the launcher element which starts the wiper and payloads. It also puts down a second backdoor that camouflages itself like a trojanized form of the Windows Notepad application. The wiper element is used in the last stage of attack to conceal tracks and make it hard to restore the targeted system.

   Cyber crimes are meant to earn money and this can be done by ransomware , banking trojans, spam, unwanted ads and identity theft. This kind of malware is not meant for earning money. Their main objective here is to damage targeted facilities.

What Is Bitcoin Mining And How Is It Done

   Bitcoin Mining is a procedure by which transactions are confirmed and then they are added to a block chain and this is a way wherein new bitcoins are released. Any individual who has a computer and access to the internet  plus the right hardware can do bitcoin mining. You need to compile recently done transactions into blocks and then try to solve difficult computational puzzles. The first one to do so gets the opportunity to place the next block on the block chain and then you can get your rewards, usually in bitcoins. The rewards are the transaction fees that are connected with the transactions that have been assembled in the block and also the newly released bitcoins.

    Blocks are chained together and it is continuous, this is called a  block chain.  This way there is no conflicting transactions. This way there would be no bad transactions. This is an assurance that people will not be able to sign the same bitcoins to two different people. Bitcoin makes sure that blocks are hard to produce and they do this by making only one block chain. This way, miners will have to compute a cryptographic hash that has a certain criteria. This is what they call hashing. Hash is a function that takes an input ( message ) and returns a fixed – sized alphanumeric string. The string is known as the hash value or message digest. The only way to find a cryptographic hash that is suffice so that the miners can count and  try computing a cluster of them until you find one that works. This is the way wherein miners are rewarded some bitcoins and it has a preset schedule. It becomes hard because the hash are adjusted often and this is based on how frequently blocks do appear. When there is more competition , there is more work that has to be done in order to find a block. You need an up to date GPU ( Graphics Processing Unit ). You need this in order to competitive. There are millions of hashes per second and a newer GPU can be very helpful in finding hashes. Without having a specialized hardware the job would be difficult and the miner would have to spend a lot. All miners must be able to validate all of their or else they won’t receive their rewards. The job of finding blocks is so intensive  and it is only through hashing that the network is secured.

What Is Blockchain and How Does It Work

   Blockchain is a public ledger of all bitcoin negotiations that have been accomplished. The growth becomes continuous when additional blocks are added on.  After that a brand new set of recordings are made. The blocks are added onto the blockchain in a linear and sequential manner. Each node ( a computer that  is linked up with the Bitcoin network wherein the client does the job of validating and disseminating transactions ) receives a copy of the blockchain. It automatically will be downloaded when the person joins the bitcoin network. The blockchain has all the information needed by the client. This includes balances and addresses from the time that the client started with the bitcoin network ( starting block ) until his most latest finished block. Blocks are like the bank statements issued by the banks.

    Blockchain allows two entities ( persons  ) who do not know each other come to an agreement without using a third party. Because blockchain is decentralized, open and cryptographic, this process allows two entities to trust each other. Blockchain is a kind of distributed ledger that has a decentralized database which keeps all records of digital transactions. Blockchain gets a number of inputs and puts them into blocks. Each block now is chained ( connected  ) together. This is done using a cryptographic signature. It now becomes a ledger that is accessible to any person who has permission to do so. Blockchains are good because it does give clients some sort of protection and benefits. It would be very difficult for cybercriminals to hack into because they will need to hack all the blocks that have been formed. The hacker would have to hack all the blocks from beginning to your last transaction. They would have to do it from the beginning ledger till the last ledger. There can be thousands of ledgers that have to be hacked. This makes it virtually impossible to do so.

  

What Is Ethical Hacking All About

   In order to perform ethical hacking, you need to be known as an ethical hacker.  The ethical hacker will hack into a computer network and will make a probe exploration and assess it’s security with the knowledge of it’s owners. The ethical hacker will find out the weaknesses of the security system that any hacker can take advantage of.

   Ethical hackers do use the same methods as criminal cyber hackers do.  Their main intent is to determine any faults on the security system and find out if the system can be penetrated by illegal access and malicious activities. Computers that are open to attacks have sub-standard configuration systems, well acknowledged hardware and unfamiliar hardware. Their systems may have software flaws. Ethical hackers may also find out if your system network may have operational deficiencies. Any organization or company whose computers have access to the internet or are engaged in online services should undergo penetration testing . Penetration testing means testing computers that are on a system, network or application so that faults could be found  and avert attacks from cyberhackers. Penetration testing is also known as Ethical Hacking.

   

Ethical Hackers Must Follow Rules:

1.  Ethical hackers must have written permission to investigate and try to identify possible security risks.

2.  Ethical hackers must have high respect for any individual or company’s  privacy.

3. Ethical hackers must make sure that when they are finished doing their jobs, there is no loopholes for any criminal cyberhacker can exploit.

4.   Ethical hackers must make known to the software or hardware developer of the faults that you have found.

5. Ethical hackers must record their findings.