Five Signs That You’ve Been Hacked

Hacking, malware, Ophtek, Security, Security Threats, , , ,
29
Dec 2020

Having your organization’s network breached is a major cyber disaster, so identifying a breach quickly is crucial. But how do you know you’ve been hacked?

Protecting your organizations networks and data is essential, but with the huge number of hacks taking place it’s not easy. And if a breach occurs this can cause multiple problems for your business such as data theft, ransomware demands and damaged networks. When it comes to these attacks then there’s one factor which is essential: speed. The sooner you realize you have been hacked, the sooner you can set about cleansing your system. Hackers may be evolving their methods to become even stealthier, but there are still certain tell-tale signs that you’ve been hacked.

You may not be aware of these indicators, so we’re going to share five signs that you’ve been hacked.

What Are the Signs of Being Hacked?

The most obvious indicators of your PC being hacked are the following:

  1. Password Not Working: One of the simplest signs of falling victim to a hack is when your password isn’t working. Sure, there’s a chance that you’ve mistyped it or simply forgotten it, but alarm bells should start ringing if you’re convinced you’ve got it right. And, if you have activated two-factor authentication and this is also not working, it’s likely your login credentials have been breached. 
  1. Your Browser Keeps Redirecting: If you discover that your internet browser is behaving strangely then this is a sign you have been hacked. Your browser should, for example, open up with either your company home page or Google, but a hacked browser is likely to take you straight to a malicious website. Such a website will prompt you to download files in an attempt to infect your PC with malware. If this happens then you need to close the browser as soon as possible and advise an IT professional. 
  1. Your Anti-malware is Disabled: It’s unlikely that you will ever need to disable your anti-malware software, so any indication of this being disabled could signal a hack. After all, hackers want to make their life as easy as possible. Therefore, if they take control of your PC, the simplest way to download malware undetected is to disable your defenses. Make a point of regularly checking the status of your anti-malware software to stay safe. 
  1. A Mouse Cursor With a Mind of Its Own: Your mouse cursor should, if you’re not moving the mouse, stay still. You may occasionally get a small amount of movement from hardware issues, but any significant movement indicates a hack. If your PCs defenses have been breached then hackers can easily take control of your PC. And this can be evident from unauthorized activity taking place on the screen. So, if you find that applications are being launched without your permission, power off your PC and immediately get it investigated. 
  1. Your PC is Slowing Down: A PC can slow down when it’s processing multiple tasks at once, but one which is slowing down for no particular reason is one to be suspicious of. It could be, for example, that your PC has fallen victim to a botnet and your PCs processing power is being harnessed for attacks elsewhere. If, after restarting your PC, it continues to lag then it’s critical that you take the necessary measures to isolate that PC before looking deeper.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Simple Tips to Improve Your PC Experience

Ophtek, PC, pc checkup, PC Maintenance, PC Server, PC Tips, PC Tools, , ,
22
Dec 2020

If you’re using a PC on a daily basis then you want the experience to be as simple and comfortable as possible. But not everyone knows how to achieve this. 

Consisting of numerous forms of software and hardware, the build of a PC can be a complex and confusing one. Thankfully, operating one is relatively simple once you understand the basics. But there’s still room for plenty of improvement. And, most excitingly, if you can improve the way in which you use your PC you will quickly become more productive. It’s a win/win situation and one that is more than worthy of your organization’s attention. 

All you need to get started is a handy list of simple tips to improve your PC experience. And that’s exactly what we’re here to deliver. 

Enhance Your PC Experience 

You can quickly start enhancing your PC experience with the following tips: 

  • Speed Up with a Solid State Drive (SSD): Long boot times are a frustrating drain to anyone’s productivity, but this problem can easily be consigned to the past. A traditional hard drive disk (HDD) is comprised of a number of moving parts; the motion involved in operating a HDD’s movable parts, naturally, takes time to complete. But an SSD uses semi-conductor memory chips instead of moving parts. And this significantly speeds up boot times and other disk operations, so upgrading to an SSD is a no-brainer.
  • Remap Your Mouse Buttons:  A computer mouse is set up with right-handed people in mind. But what happens when a left- handed person, or someone who has injured their right hand, wants to use a mouse? The answer is simple: they get frustrated and struggle to use their PC correctly. However, it’s possible to remap your mouse buttons through the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center app. From here you can reassign different commands to different mouse buttons e.g. reprogramming the left hand mouse button execute right hand mouse functions.
  • Make Things Bigger with Magnifier: It’s not always easy, at the best of times, to see things on a PC screen. The information you need can often be written too small and take several examinations to read clearly. Microsoft, though, are aware of this and has designed the Magnifier app to stop you squinting at the screen. Located in the Ease of Access section of Windows Settings, Magnifier provides you with a magnifying glass icon which you can use to magnify any area of the screen you want. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

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PowerPepper Malware is the Master of Evasion

attachments, malware, Ophtek, PowerPepper, shell terminals, , , ,
15
Dec 2020

There’s only one thing worse than malware and that’s malware which is difficult to detect. And PowerPepper is incredibly difficult to detect. 

Discretion is one of the most crucial aspects of any form of hacking. A well-executed hack should remain invisible to the victim for as long as possible. Such a scenario allows a hacker to cause maximum damage and also gives them time to cover their tracks. Thankfully, good security practices should either eliminate this risk from happening or, where anti-malware apps are in place, provide an early warning. But hackers are well aware of these defenses and are constantly trying to outwit them. 

The emergence of the PowerPepper malware demonstrates that hackers have (temporarily) succeeded in hiding their activities better than ever before. 

What is PowerPepper? 

PowerPepper, discovered and named by Kaspersky, is a new strain of malware which is believed to have been designed by hacking group DeathStalker. Active since 2012, DeathStalker has made a name for themselves by developing numerous strains of innovative malware. Complex delivery chains are their trademark, but what really stands out is their dedication to evading detection. And PowerPepper is the latest development in DeathStalker’s abilities. 

First discovered in May 2020, PowerPepper allows hackers to carry out shell commands from a remote location. But what is a shell command? It’s not something that the average PC user will ever carry out, but a shell command allows you to control your computer by using commands entered with a keyboard through special apps such as Terminal. Naturally, this is a highly valuable app to exploit and DeathStalker have made sure that PowerPepper is not detected. It does this by filtering the clients MAC address, tailoring its processes to deceive anti-malware tools and evaluating mouse movements. 

For PowerPepper to take hold, of course, it needs to get on to a victim’s PC. And it does this through a variety of spear phishing campaigns. These attacks utilize both malicious links and email attachments in a number of ways aimed at reducing detection e.g. hiding malicious code in embedded shapes in Word documents and using compiled HTML files to obscure malicious files. 

How Do You Protect Your PCs? 

PowerPepper has already gone through a number of changes since it was first discovered, so keeping on top of it is difficult for even the most knowledgeable PC user. However, there are plenty of preventative measures you can take: 

  • Install all Updates: One of the surest methods to protect your PC systems is by ensuring all their software and hardware is up to date. This is easily achievable by installing all the relevant updates your system needs. The last thing that you want to present malware with is a back door entry point, so eliminate this by installing all updates.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

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Google’s Password Checkup Aims to Secure Your Passwords

Ophtek, Password Security, Passwork Checkup, Security, , , , , ,
01
Dec 2020

Passwords are crucial in IT security and will remain relevant for the near future. But Google’s Password Checkup shows there’s always room for improvement. 

We all have a long list of passwords that we use to access various IT apps and services. They’re perhaps the simplest, but most effective step you can take in thwarting hackers. Without a password it’s almost impossible to gain unauthorized access to an IT system. That’s why social engineering and phishing emails have become so popular with hackers. And one of the major problems with passwords is that computer users have a tendency to recycle the same passwords for different IT systems.  

Passwords, therefore, have a number of flaws. Thankfully, Google have designed the Password Checkup app to verify the security of your passwords. 

What is Password Checkup?  

It’s difficult to keep up to date with the sheer number of passwords we use on a daily basis. The simplest way to combat this is to write all your passwords down, but this is one of the biggest password mistakes you can make. Now, instead of writing these passwords down, you can store them in your Chrome browser. As long as you’re running a Google account which is synced to your Chrome browser, you will be able to securely store your passwords. Naturally, this is useful for auto-complete password functions – although even this is risky – but the functionality doesn’t stop here. 

The most exciting and useful feature of Password Checkup is that it will automatically tell you if your login details have been breached. A sophisticated and clever password manager, Password Checkup is linked to a database containing in excess of four billion login credentials. These username/password combinations have all, at some point, been leaked online in large scale hacks. This could potentially mean that, for example, your existing Gmail credentials are visible online for anyone to see. With Password Checkup on your side, however, you will receive an alert in your Chrome browser that your login details have been breached. 

And, going back to the fact that many of us recycle our passwords, these Password Checkup alerts serve as a nudge to use unique passwords. After all, if a hacker knows that you have used the password “abc123” on your Gmail account, there’s every chance you may have used the same password on your Facebook account. Anything that reduces the time taken to breach an account is a win for hackers and you need to minimize this wherever possible. 

How to Use Password Checkup 

Password Checkup originally started as a standalone Chrome add-on and this continued to work until September 2020. The reason for retiring this add-on was down to Google deciding to build Password Checkup into the Chrome browser as an integral component. Therefore, the only way to access the Password Checkup service now is by using an up to date version of Chrome. You must, of course, sign into your Chrome browser with a Google account in order for your details to sync. Ultimately, using Password Checkup will make your online experience safer and securer. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

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How to Stop Your PC Crashing at Startup

Ophtek, pc crash, pc startup, startup problems, , ,
24
Nov 2020

It’s highly frustrating when a PC crashes during the startup process. However, there is always a reason behind every crash and this means it can be fixed. 

All we want at the beginning of each day is an easy start, so a PC which boots up quickly with no problems is a big help in this respect. But a PC which struggles to startup correctly can seriously set you back. Not only does it leave your frustration levels skyrocketing, but it puts the brakes on your productivity. A PC, of course, is a complex device and occasional problems should be expected. Thankfully, PCs operate on logic, so rectifying a startup problem is simply a case of identifying where this logic has failed. 

The Most Common Startup Problems 

To help you overcome your startup woes, we’re going to examine the most common reasons why your PC is crashing at startup: 

  • No Bootable Medium: If you are confronted by a black screen containing a message along the lines of “No Bootable Medium Found” then you are going to have a problem. What it means is that your PC is unable to boot from the hard drive it is programmed to. It could be that the order in which your PC is designed to boot from has become corrupted e.g. your PC heads straight to your D: drive rather than the C: drive. This can easily be checked and amended in your PC’s BIOS setup – this can be accessed by pressing a designated F key as your PC powers up. 
  • Missing Files: If Windows is missing just one file then it can cause major problems for your PC. So, if a file has been mistakenly been deleted or moved from its correct location, it’s likely that problems will be around the corner. And this can include issues with your startup process. The simplest way to deal with these incidents is by repairing your Windows installation. In Windows 10 this can be initiated by running the ‘Reset This PC’ tool. However, it’s likely you will need to boot Windows in Safe Mode to access this if you are already having startup issues.
  • Malware: There are many types of malware which can cause your PC to crash during startup, so it’s important to consider this. Naturally, the only way to remove this problem is by removing the malware. But how can you do this when you can’t get into Windows? Well, again, this is where Safe Mode comes in. Although Safe Mode only gives you limited access to normal Windows operations, it does give you access to antivirus software. Therefore, you have the chance to eliminate any malware and restore your startup.
  • Hard Drive Data Cable: Your PC needs to be able to access your hard drive in order to boot up Windows, but problems can quickly occur if this access is restricted. And a failed hard drive data cable is one of the surest ways for this to happen. If your PC is regularly freezing at startup or entering reboot loops then it makes sense to try replacing this cable. If this solves the problem then you are good to go and, if it doesn’t, then you can investigate further solutions. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

 

 

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