How to Identify Fake and Scam Websites

fake websites, Hacking, malicious code, malicious websites, malware, Ophtek, scam websites, , , , ,
05
Nov 2019

We use the internet on a daily basis and visit countless websites along the way. But they’re not always the real deal. And sometimes they can be malicious.

The internet is a wonderful place and the websites that make it up can make a real difference to your business. Sadly, this opportunity is often subverted by criminals and hackers to be much more dangerous.  And, with each new step the internet takes, there are even more chances for these criminals to take advantage of. For example, online payment sites such as PayPal have allowed businesses to work closely with their customers to deliver hassle free payment methods. But, with a financial element at play, these sites have been heavily targeted.

Hackers have developed sophisticated techniques for setting up fake and scam websites, so it’s difficult to identify these fraudulent sites. However, by learning a little more about these techniques you can learn how to identify fake and scam websites.

What Do You Need to Look Out For?

There are a number of tell-tale signs adopted by fake and scam websites, so make sure you take note of the following when browsing online:

  • Always Check the URL: The address bar of your browser is one of the most important tools at your disposal when trying to identifying a fake website. The URL listed in the address bar may look genuine, but it’s crucial that you always look a little closer. A URL may read, for example, bankofamerica.com.authorization-process.com and look genuine due to the first part of the URL. But, on this occasion, bankofamerica.com is only acting as the sub-domain. The domain that you have actually visited is authorization-process.com. 
  • Secure Connections: You should only ever visit websites that have secure connections. This security is indicated by either a HTTPS prefix on a URL or the presence of a padlock image next to the URL. Without these indicators then the connection will be unsecured and your data can easily be viewed. Naturally, a genuine website will always deliver these security indicators, so if these are not present then leave the website immediately. 
  • Search Out Trust Seals: Websites that are secure pride themselves on this achievement. And this hard work is rewarded in the form of trust seals which can take the form of Google Trusted Store, Norton Secured and GeoTrust logos. A website with these, and similar, logos is trustworthy. But it’s very easy for a hacker to copy one of these logos on to any website they want. Thankfully, most trust seals can be clicked on to display verified certificate information. If this does not appear then assume that the trust seals are faked. 
  • Check the Grammar: A genuine website will have been written and proofread by professionals. But a fake website will often be designed in a rush and by people whose first language is not English. And the result is a website full of spelling mistakes. So, if you believe you’re on PayPal, but see it mistakenly spelled as PayPal then you can rest assured you’re not on the genuine site. 
  • Too Many Ads: Online ads are part and parcel of life now. But sometimes it may seem as though there are too many on a website. And this is the calling card of a fake or scam website. The excess adverts popping up are often malicious in themselves, so if you experience more than two when loading up a new page you should tread carefully and begin analyzing the web page further.

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

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Healthcare Data Leak: The Cloud is still Not Secure

Cloud, Cloud Backup, Cloud Storage, Ophtek, Password Security, Security, Security Threats, , , , ,
29
Oct 2019

Is the Cloud Secure?

Cloud computing is seen as the future of IT, but concerns regarding its security remain. A case in point is the Freedom Healthcare Staffing leak.

Compromised data is always associated with various dangers and problems, but these are always magnified when the data at risk is personal. And the employees of Freedom Healthcare Staffing (FHS) now know what this feels like. Around 957,000 private records were found to be readily available to anyone with an internet connection. These records included drug test records, recruitment details and in-house communications among more technical networking details. Not only were these records available, but the opportunity to edit and delete this data was also an option.

As more and more organizations are moving towards cloud computing, it’s important to understand where FHS went wrong. Let’s see what we can find out.

What Happened with FHS?

The unsecured data at FHS was compromised for one reason and one reason only: negligence. The folder, which contained close to a million records, was on a publicly available drive and had no password protection. Therefore any web browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, could access the data without providing any administration credentials. To make matters worse, the technical data that was visible in this folder provided an opportunity for hackers to delve even deeper into the FHS network. After a security researcher from Security Discovery analyzed this compromised database they informed FHS and all records were quickly secured.

 

Why is Cloud Security So Lax?

Cloud storage is a relatively recent development in IT, so it should come as no surprise that there are teething problems with the technology. But this doesn’t mean data should be left unsecured. Unfortunately, many consumers feel as though the responsibility of their data security should lie purely with the cloud provider. This approach, as FHS discovered, can be highly dangerous. You only have to take a look at the attacks taking place on cloud based data to understand why.

Organizations need to adopt a shared responsibility mindset in order to protect their cloud. And this should incorporate the following:

Enhanced knowledge will, with time, allow us to understand the limitations of cloud security, but as FHS discovered it’s important to take a proactive approach immediately.

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

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Reductor Malware Brings a New Threat to Data Security

Data Security, Internet, malware, Ophtek, Security, , , ,
22
Oct 2019

Each time that malware evolves it becomes more dangerous. And our data becomes less secure. A case in point is the Reductor malware.

We’re used to malware being used to download malicious files and open up remote access to infected PCs, but Reductor is different. It’s new and it does things differently. And it’s this unfamiliarity which makes it all the more dangerous. Focusing its target on web traffic, Reductor brings a new threat to data security. Combating it is crucial, but to do this you need to understand how Reductor works.

It’s not easy to understand how a new piece of malware operates, so let’s drill down into its core and see what we can discover.

The Basics behind Reductor

Reductor, which has only recently been uncovered by Kaspersky, is a sophisticated piece of malware. Its main objective is to compromise encrypted web traffic. But what does this mean? And how does Reductor achieve this? Well, when a website is secure it will use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to securely transmit data. And this allows sensitive data such as login and credit card details to be encrypted into nonsensical code. Anyone attempting to view this encrypted data will be unable to make use of it.

But Reductor allows hackers to view all of this sensitive data before it’s encrypted. It does this by compromising the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and manipulating the associated security certificates. Reductor also patches the pseudo random number generator (PRNG) to establish how the corresponding data will be encrypted. It’s then possible to decrypt any resulting data with ease. And, despite all this activity taking place, the web traffic does not exhibit any signs of having been altered. Therefore, Reductor is unlikely to arouse the suspicious of any infected users.

Staying Safe from Reductor

Web traffic contains such an immense amount of data that concealing it from prying eyes is crucial. Reductor aims to remove these barriers and exploit as much data as it can. But you can protect yourself by taking note of the following:

  • Run any downloaded files through anti-malware software to limit the risk of executing carefully concealed malware.

Thankfully, following the discovery of Reductor, the majority of anti-malware manufacturers now offer protection against Reductor and the ability to block it.

Final Thoughts

Privacy concerns have become a major issue over the last decade with malware being at the forefront of this rise. And Reductor is only going to fan these flames further. It’s likely that malware will evolve into something even more sophisticated over the next couple of years, so it’s important to take note of any developments in malware. As ever, proceed with caution online and, most importantly, if something looks suspicious do not click it.

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

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How Do Cookies Affect Your Cyber Security?

cookies, Ophtek, Security, Tracking, , ,
15
Oct 2019

We’ve all seen a pop up on a website which asks you to accept cookies. And we tend to click yes. But do we know what we’re agreeing to?

Cookies have been part of the internet since the dawn of the world wide web, but most internet users are unclear on what they are. Yet, concerns have been building about them for several years now. 2011 saw the European Union (EU) passing the Cookie Law which states that websites need to seek consent before exposing you to cookies. Most popular websites attract users from the EU, so even US based websites, in theory, need to seek this consent.

The Cookie Law has heightened concerns around cookies, so it’s time to brush up on exactly what a cookie is and how it can affect your security.

What is a Cookie?

The simplest explanation of a cookie is that it’s a piece of code used to track your online activity. Naturally, this sounds sinister and contributes towards the concern over cookies. But most cookies have harmless motives. Their main objective is to remember useful information about specific users e.g. login details to keep you logged into websites and credit card details to autocomplete online forms. These ‘authentication’ cookies are useful allies for online life. But ‘tracking’ cookies receive considerable cynicism.

A tracking cookie records and broadcasts your web history, a rough location of where you are and the device you’re using. These are all pieces of data which help to identify personal information. And no internet user wants to reveal this to anonymous strangers. But these details can be shared by third-party software such as Google Analytics. This is why we live in age where personalized online ads crop up with an alarming regularity.

Keeping Safe with Cookies

Cookies carry a security risk, but as with most online activities it’s possible to negate and reduce these risks. To protect yourself for the more dangerous aspects of cookies make sure you do the following:

  • Always be careful when sharing personal information. Cookies can transmit this information, so tread carefully. And if you’re using a public computer then do not send any personal information.
  • Disable the storage of cookies in your internet browser. This reduces the amount of information being shared and can be adjusted in your browser’s privacy settings.
  • Always make sure you have anti-malware software installed on your PC as malware can often disguise itself as harmless cookies or infiltrate advertising networks.

Final Thoughts

There have been calls for cookies to be banned, but this is unlikely to happen any time soon. There will always be some form of online tracking in our internet experience, especially while it is being pushed by Google, but you can still remain safe by being vigilant and clever.

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

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Panda Malware Continues to Thrive and Make Money

malware, Ophtek, Panda Malware, Security, , , ,
08
Oct 2019

One of the biggest threats to data security over the last few years has been crypto-malware. And, as the Panda malware proves, it can be a persistent danger.

We may think of pandas as gentle, beautiful creatures but that notion only applies when we’re talking about mammals. When it comes to malware, Panda is far from gentle. The malware in question has been active in the digital landscape since 2018 and, since then, has managed to secure close to $100,000 in cryptocurrency ransoms. And it has achieved this by constantly reinventing itself and modifying its structure. Staying one step ahead of the security experts is crucial for malware and Panda has done this with aplomb.

Understanding the motives and mechanics of Panda is important in strengthening your organization’s security, so let’s take a closer look at how it works.

What is Panda?

First identified in 2018, Panda is a form of malware which combines crypto-malware with remote administration tools (RATs) to render any infected PC under complete control of the hacker. Not only is the victim at the risk of having their data encrypted, but there’s the added danger of unauthorized access to their PC at any time. Panda achieves all of this by exploiting web applications, spreading via infected Word documents and unauthorized downloads by compromised websites. Web applications that have been found to be infected include a wide variety of industries such as social media, financial, web services and digital analytics.

How has Panda Managed to Persist?

Most malware has a relatively short lifespan due to design flaws and the talents of security experts, but Panda has persisted for over a year now. It owes this longevity to its coders and the speed at which they evolve Panda. The malware has always been an expert in stealth and this has allowed it to escape the attentions of antivirus software. Most concerning, however, is the number of additions that have been added to Panda’s arsenal since it first appeared. Reports have indicated that Panda now includes highly sophisticated exploit tools originally designed by the NSA. It’s that most dangerous form of malware: one that continues to grow in strength.

Protecting Your Business from Panda

Panda is a dangerous piece of malware, but it’s not one that you need to live in fear of. Instead, make sure you remain vigilant by implementing the following:

  • Regular training for your staff is essential in keeping your defenses as strong as possible. The knowledge that these training sessions provide is invaluable for keeping your staff up to date on current threats.
  • Crypto-malware’s main objective is to encrypt your data and then demand a ransom. Therefore it’s important that you establish a backup routine that ensures your files are kept securely in more than one location.
  • Monitor any unusual network activity. Panda may be highly skilled when it comes to stealth, but its operation is likely to lead to unusual traffic in and out of your network. Identifying this early on may allow you to limit the damage caused.

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

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