Sunday, February 28, 2016

How Hackers Are Making The World A Safer Place?

How Hackers are making the world a safer place ?

Is hacking good or bad? Can hackers make us safer? We talk to two good hackers who find the flaws in our products before the bad guys do — Via

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How to See If your Email is Being Tracked

Many of us probably think that what is the benefit of tracking a mail, so why should I care, right? Wrong! Everyone is stealing or trying to steal as much data as possible. Today, information is worth everything. Companies send you emails they’ve already got vetted. The one who do such activities can see when you open a mail, what you click after that and what is your location.
They track emails by adding small images or pixels that inform them about your data. These tracking tools work once you click the mail, so the only method to stop being tracked by anyone is not by opening that mail. The question here is how one can know if the mail is the safe one or the tracked one before opening it.

Today I came across a tool called “Ugly Email” which will do this job for you. Ugly email checks all your emails and exposes the ones being tracked. Each tracked mail is shown with an “evil eye” to easily recognize such emails.

Currently, this works by detecting pixels from Yesware, Streak, MailChimp, Mandrill, Bananatag and Postmark. They are actively working on adding more.

Here are the simple steps to make it work:

Step 1:

Open your Google Chrome browser on your PC.

Step 2:

Click this link to install Ugly Email to save yourself from tracked emails.

Step 3:

Click “Add to Chrome” in the new tab and you are good to go.

Step 4:

The next time you receive an e-mail, a tiny eye symbol will be there. It is an indication if it is vetted by any tracking tool.

Note:

This tool only works with Gmail and is currently available as a Chrome extension. They are working to add Firefox support very soon.

Some of you might not see eye symbol on any of your e-mail, that’s because you got no vetted mails. Congrats

This Viral Video Of Bill Gates Attempting To DJ Is The Best Thing You’ll See Today

KofestoTech: It looks like Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, is busy exploring his hidden talents and DJ skills. Recently, he appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and shared an epic viral video that you just can’t miss. Read more about it and watch the video below.
Earlier this week, Bill and Melinda Gates stopped by The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and showed their hidden talents. They discussed their annual note from the charity foundation and Gates said that he’ll do ‘anything’ to promote the GatesLetter.com.

This took us to an alternate universe where Microsoft founder became a DJ. The philanthropic power couple also showed off their skills on the dance floor with backflipping and doing the splits, leaving everybody stunned.

In another video from earlier this week, he talked about getting namedropped byBeyoncé in “Formation”. “I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making,” she said in the video. “I guess it’s nice that people consider me successful,” he said.

Check out the full video below and share your views in the comments below:

Google’s Sundar Pichai becomes the highest paid CEO in the United States

Sundar Pichai Becomes The Highest Paid CEO In US, Gets Stocks Worth $199 Million In Google

Sundar Pichai was named the new CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Google in August 2015 in a significant restructuring at the search giant HQ. According to a regulatory filing by Google parent company, Alphabet Inc., Pichai has received a grant for 273,328 Class C Google stock units, worth about $199 million, which is set to make him the highest paid CEO in the United States.

However, the 273,328 shares will vest in quarterly phases through 2019 if he remains on the job, which means that he won’t be able to cash these shares all in at once.

Google may see the award as fair value for the work Pichai has done for the company over the years, as he took charge of its Android, Chrome and search business arms over the years, bringing Google nothing but success. According to Credit Suisse, the new shares put the value of Pichai’s Alphabet holdings at approximately $650 million.

Bloomberg reports that according to its data, the award is the biggest ever given to a Google executive officer. It is also Pichai’s first award since he took over as CEO in August 2015. The financial publication also notes the Alphabet filing revealed the company awarded $42.8 million in restricted stock to Diane Greene, former CEO of VMware, who is in charge of cloud business since November.

Earlier this month, Alphabet became the most valuable firm in the United States surpassing Apple, with its latest reports showing that the company broke quarterly profit forecasts on Monday, hitting consolidated revenue of $21.33 billion (£15bn) for the financial quarter ending December 31, an 18 percent increase from the $18.10 billion (£12.5bn) reported a year earlier.

Alphabet’s CFO Ruth Porat was handed shares worth $38 million which is on top of the $30 million signing bonus she received when she was poached away from Morgan Stanley last year.

26-year-old Hacker Sent To Jail For 334 Years, Highest Ever For A Cybercriminal

KofestoTech: A young Turkish hacker namedOnur Kopçak was sentenced to 334 years in prison. The cyber criminal was convicted for credit card fraud, impersonating bank websites, and other similar crimes. Due to his long list of crimes, Onur Kopçak now sits atop of the list of convicted hackers with the biggest ever prison sentence.

A26-year-old hacker, Onur Kopçak, from Turkey, was sentenced to 135 years in prison on Sunday for stealing 11 people’s credit card information. This new prison sentence is served on top of his previous 199-year sentence from 2013. As a result, Kopçak will now serve a record 334 years in prison.

This new sentence hs been approved by Mersin third Criminal Court of General Jurisdiction where he was accused of selling the stolen credit card records to other cyber criminals. He is already convicted for running a phishing scam that used fake bank websites to steal online banking credentials of 43 bank customers.

The hacker was accused of charges like identity fraud, website forgery, wire fraud, and access device fraud. As the investigation of his previous case proceeded, 11 cases were filed against him by the banks that earned him an extra 135 years in prison.

The Turkish media website Daily Sabah writes that Onur Kopçak currently resides in the Osmaniye prison in southern Adana province.

334 years – Biggest ever sentence given to a hacker accused of cybercrime

“In 2013, Kopçak was sentenced to 199 years 7 months and 10 days in prison by the Criminal Court of Appeals for the 8th circuit after 43 bank customers had filed complaints about their credit card details being copied,” the Turkish media website adds.

In the recent years, trend has changed and cyber criminals are now charged more often, but the Turkish hacker outdid the others. Thanks to his long list of crimes, Onur Kopçak now sits atop of the list of hackers with the biggest ever prison sentence.

Having something more to add to this story? Tell your views in the comments below.

Why Apple Fans Have Now Begun To Hate Apple

KofestoTech: Apple — the company which was famous for sticking to the quality — is gaining more popularity in terms of complaints. Some of these include issues related to reliability, unused apps, degrading quality of the software and hardware, and complaints not being taken care properly on the Apple’s forum.

In the recent times, a lot of complaints are coming from the Apple device users about the degrading quality of the Apple’s devices iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. These complaints include:

Discontent of the users with the core apps (Not only OS X but also iOS)
programs and services such as iTunes, Music, iCloud and Photos not working properly and not linking reliably with the Apple devices.
Programs crashing automatically
Battery issue
OS upgrade with a lot of loopholes
Apple watch burning the skin

It has also been noticed that many Apple watchers are also joining this chorus against the Apple products. Some of the other complaints by these Apple watchers are that the company has been pushing new apps that consumers don’t want to use while its traditional programs have yielded to better offerings by non-Apple developers.

For example, the apps like iCloud Mail, iCloud Drive or the default iOS Notes or Reminders apps are not so user-friendly and are being less used by the Apple users than the third party app like Gmail, Dropbox, Wunderlist, Evernote and so on.

People whose work depends on PDFs, have the biggest personal complaint which involves Preview, a program that comes with every iMac and MacBook for reading and annotating PDFs and other page and image files. So, Preview’s excellent features for highlighting and annotating them make it a must-use. But Preview crashes all the time. It commonly freezes or shuts down, sometimes taking the entire computer with it, when asked to render pages that Adobe Acrobat reader, the leading third-party PDF program, handles with ease.

Apple’s forum is filled with complaints about Preview faults but Apple does not even acknowledge the complaints, over three or four successive releases of new operating systems.

Moreover, every new release by this company is being termed as ‘Faulty release’ these days. This grudge against Apple is increasing day after day. Hope Apple would also like to listen to its users one day.

Another Facebook Hacking Tool Is Here To Hack Your Accounts, But Here’s A Catch

KofestoTech: Your desire to master the art of Facebook hacking can harm you in a big way. Recently, a variant of Remtasu malware has been spotted in the wild that can hack your Facebook, instead of your friend’s account. Surprisingly, this malware always finds a way to remain on the system even after the victim reboots the system or tries to locate the threat in the list of active processes.

Anew Facebook hacking tool has been spotted in the wild that can actually hack Facebook accounts. However, if you try to use this tool to hack someone’s Facebook account, you might end up becoming the victim of this tool.

This hacking tool is a disguised version of a Windows-based trojan whose reach has witnessed an accelerated growth over the last year. Ostensibly, the malware is now busy using social engineering tactics to target the people who are looking for ways to hack other’s Facebook accounts. This finding was recently unveiled by the security firm ESET in a blog post.

How is Remtasu Facebook hacking tool spreading?

This Win32/Remtasu.Y malware reaches your machine when you search queries like “how to hack Facebook account?” etc. As a result, you may end up downloading this Facebook hacking tool that can hack your own account.

Talking about different ways by which this trojan spreads, ESET writes, “we are no longer seeing propagation through e-mail. They are instead coming from direct download sites. Once a user downloads and executes the file, their data is compromised.”

This Facebook hacking variant of Remtasu is most common in Latin America, Thailand, Turkey and other countries.

How Remtasu hacks your Facebook account?

Once a user visits a direct download website, the malware enters in your system and disguises itself among other files. It was observed that the malware makes use of UPX compression. After the file is uncompressed, various functions are executed that include opening and capturing clipboard information, recording keystrokes and sending it to an FTP server.

Surprisingly, this malware always finds a way to remain on the system even after the victim reboots the PC or tries to locate the threat in the list of active processes. “In this case, the malware replicates itself, saving the copy in a folder that it also creates within thesystem32 folder. The new InstallDir folder remains hidden inside the system files, making it difficult for users to access,” ESET explains the process.

The security firm has recorded 24 different versions of the malware. Out of those, Win32/Remtasu.Y represents more than a quarter, followed by the variantWin32/Remtasu.O at 23%.

KofestoTech advises the readers to stay away from Facebook hacking tools as they can harm your digital life. Also, it’s unethical.

Here’s the Best Antivirus Software for Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 PCs, According to Tests

KofestoTech: Reputed antivirus testing house AV-Test has released the latest results of the best antivirus software for Windows. Take a look at the complete list below.

You must have read our list of top 10 antivirus solutions for the PCs that suggests you the best free antivirus solutions. If you are keen to keep your computer safe from virus attacks and you care about the online security, here is a great piece of news for you.

AV-Test is one of the leading antivirus testing firms and it has released its antivirus ratings for the Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 PCs. The test has assessed about 27 anti-malware software suits on the basis of protection, usability, and performance.

The results of the tests aren’t surprising as Microsoft is once again at the bottom. So, if you’re using Microsoft’s built-in security solution, you need to reconsider your choices.

Best antivirus for Windows 7:

Bitdefender’s antivirus is the number one security solution available and it secured the maximum of 6 points on all fronts. McAfee is the runner-up, followed by Kaspersky at the third place.

Microsoft, QuickHeal, and Comodo are the worst reviewed antivirus solutions and Avira is the best rated free antivirus product.

Take a look at the complete list below:

Best antivirus for Windows 8.1:

Here, Bitdefender has topped the charts once again, followed by Kaspersky, Qihoo 360, and Avira.

Take a look at the complete list below:

Update: Best antivirus for Windows 10

Avira tops the chart of the best antivirus for Windows 10, whereas Bitdefender holds the second position this time. Quickheal and Threattrack are ranked the worst in this list.

Which antivirus protection you are using? Tell us in the comments below.

Top 10 Best Free Antivirus Software Of 2016

KofestoTech: fossBytes brings you a list of 10 best free antivirus software of 2016 for different kinds of platforms such as antivirus for Windows 10, Mac or Android. Also, know which top free antivirus suits you if you are not a complete computer geek.

It doesn’t take a genius to tell that the threat of viruses and malware has been growing exponentially with time! Their shadow looms over the entire internet. Threatening to engulf your personal information and use it for maligned intentions or simple disclosure to the public. Newer and newer viruses keep popping up every day thereby making it essential to guard our system from the constant threat posed by them!

Most people would prefer to turn to the paid Antivirus software such as Norton or McAfee to disarm and protect their system from harm. But the exorbitant price charged by these companies in exchange doesn’t make much sense! Many best Free Antivirus software have been under development and some of them can easily give the paid ones a tough run for their money. So we at fossBytes, bring to you some of the Best Free Antivirus of 2016 along with all the details that you might want to know about them. So here is a list of-

Best Free Antivirus Software Of 2016:

10. FortiClient

Platform: Windows XP or higher; Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) or higher; iOS 5.1 or higher; Android 4.0(ICS) or higher

FortiClient is an effective and efficient top Free Antivirus which boasts of web filtering, a firewall, network optimization and parental controls. It also provides very good phishing detection and even includes a VPN Client. With no per-seat license fees, FortiClient with its on-access /resident protection enables users & guests to work efficiently anywhere, without compromising on their security.

Although it’s designed to work with a network appliance, FortiClient 5.0 also functions as a standalone antivirus, with parental control and VPN client thrown in. Although the network optimization seems only to be effective for FortiGate Devices and it is also less effective at blocking certain malicious URL’s. Moreover, the functions of the VPN Client and Parental Control system are also limited.

Also read: Best Free Android Antivirus For Your Smartphone, According To AVTest

9. AdAware Free Antivirus

Platform: Windows XP or higher

Lavasoft’s AdAware has been a pretty reliable spyware tool. It offers smooth installation, non-intrusive notifications along with detailed custom scanning. The UI of the latest version has been vastly improved as compared to the previous version. Several features have been incorporated such as Sandbox emulation, scheduler, and a command line scanner. That being said there is a lot of scope for development of the rootkit detection and phishing protection provided by the Antivirus.

Trying to meet the expectation of the users, Lavasoft gave Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 11 a total user-interface makeover and a new antivirus engine partner. The new UI looks pleasant with a nice change. But looks like the product lost a little ground in malware blocking. Adaware free antivirus made it to the 9th position in the list of best free antivirus for 2016.

8. Qihoo 360 Total Security

Platform: Windows XP or higher (Windows 10); Mac OS X 10.7 or later including OS X Yosemite; Android 2.2 and Up

Based in China, Qihoo 360 offers a wide range of comprehensive, effective and user-friendly Internet and mobile security products aiming to protect the user’s computer and mobile devices against malware and malicious websites. Supported by cloud-based security technology, the 360 sets itself apart from all other best Free Antivirus software through the usage of three different AV engines comprising of Qihoo’s very own ‘checksum-based’ engine; a machine learning QVM engine and a BitDefender local engine. These comprise Qihoo’s own ‘checksum-based’ engine in the cloud; a machine learning QVM engine. It provides a sandbox too through which one can check out for the threats posed by unknown programs.The program lacks out in providing a parental control system, Firewall or Backup facility.

Though Qihoo 360 Total Security Essential scores very well on hands-on tests and in tests by independent labs, but only if you change its default configuration to enable all antivirus engines since some of its features need to be enabled manually.

7. Comodo Antivirus

Platform: Windows XP or higher (Windows 10); Mac OS X 10.4 or above; Android 2.2 and Up

If you are one of the antivirus users who are intimidated of using technical computer inputs or afraid of the complexities of an antivirus which works more manually than automatically then, this Comodo antivirus is not for you. If we had to rate this antivirus upon the usage by the advanced computer users then surely this antivirus has galloped better positions. But, on the range of the overall scenarios, Comodo still need to automate more of its security features.

The Comodo Antivirus includes a full range of detection engines for viruses, rootkits, spyware and other malware. It uses Comodo’s proprietary Defense+ technology thereby guarding your system of all unknown files by treating them as a threat. It also provides On-Access/Resident protection, cloud-based protection, and an automatic sandboxing function. Since the program occasionally asks for User input it may not be suitable for amateur users. The Host Intrusion Prevention System and phishing protection still have a long way to go.

Also read: Top 10 Websites/Services To Protect Your Online Privacy

6. Avira Free Antivirus

Platform: Windows XP or above; Mac OSX 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher; Android 2.2 or up;

Ranked as one of the best amongst the best Free Antivirus software, Avira boasts of exceptional detection and blocking rates. Its small footprint makes it ideal even for older PC’s. Offering seamlessly fast scans it also boasts of anti-malware protection, anti-spyware protection, browser protection and cloud-based scanning as well. Although one could find the interface too cluttered and the installation and execution process to be quite slow as compared to other Free Antivirus software.

According to AV-TEST testing company, one of the best antivirus testing websites from Germany, Avira offers the strongest protection against both widespread and zero-day malware. But you might see a performance impact on your PC with this antivirus if your RAM is too less. But, Avira Free Antivirus’ effectiveness against malware and a good range of features — including a mobile portal and child-safety settings — make it the best choice for family PC.

5. MalwareBytes

Platform: Windows XP or higher

Malwarebytes is one of the most widely acclaims and highly appreciated malware detection solution. It is pretty small, lightweight and doesn’t require signatures as well. It also shields Java and perhaps is one of the most effective software against zero-day attacks that have never been seen before. One of the best features of MalwareBytes is the behaviour-based detection of the virus on a PC.

The biggest drawback with it is the requirement for proactive antivirus software that can work alongside it. It just acts as a complement to your regular antivirus program. There is also a major lack of features in the free version as compared to the Premium version. But that being said, Malwarebytes still is one of the premier and most reliable products when it comes to catching the newest, most cutting-edge threats that other antivirus companies may not have caught yet.

Also read: Here’s the Best Antivirus Software for Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 PCs, According to Tests

4. AVG Antivirus

Platform: Windows XP or higher; Mac OSX Mountain Lion or Later

Definitely, AVG antivirus is one of the most popular best Free Antivirus software, AVG needs no reckoning. Furthermore, the 2016 version has been revamped to provide a better user interface, a cloud-based scanning system and the ability to block infected links besides the usual detection and eradication of viruses. It is also one of the smallest Antiviruses and also provides script malware protection. Besides, protection against the malware, it also provides website ratings which make makes it easier for a user to decide if the website is safer to access or not.

The excess of advertisements may prove to be irksome. Phishing protection could be improved as well.

3.Avast Free Antivirus

Platform: Windows XP or above; Almost all Mac OSX versions

Avast Free Antivirus is known for its friendly interface, good performance and unique, if relatively sophisticated, set of features. However, only a friendly design not sufficient for ranking higher in terms of antivirus protection or extra features. However, you may want to consider Avast Free Antivirus if you already use other Avast products, such as Avast Free Mobile Security for Android.

2. BitDefender Antivirus Free Edition

Platform: Windows XP or up; Android 2.3 or up

The BitDefender Free Antivirus is one of the most unobtrusive antivirus available on the Internet today. It provides for a Real-time Shield, Active Virus Control, Intrusion Detection, Rootkit scanning and HTTP scanning as well. The newly introduced feature of Profiles, which adapt the software for particular tasks like watching movies, playing games or general office work has improved its user-friendliness by a huge margin as compared to the previous versions. Moreover, it even includes online banking protection, a 2 way firewall and a parental control system. Although, poor technical support combined with the difficulties faced in installing on systems that are already infected by malware may cause problems to the average user. Its tiny main window and unobtrusive style are great if you want a strong, silent, and free antivirus solution. It hardly lets its presence felt over the computer.

1. Panda Cloud Antivirus Free

Platform: Windows XP or above; Android 2.3 or up

The Panda Cloud Antivirus takes Free Antivirus to a whole new level with its cloud-based scanner. The software is also lightweight and runs on a local cache when the network is unavailable. It offers effective phishing protection and impressive detection rates combined with top-notch rootkit blocking. With features like On-Demand malware scan, On-Access Malware scan, Phishing protection and malicious URL blocking, it does not only provide protection against different kinds of malware on a PC but also provides the best protection against the online transaction. Only not-so-positive side of this antivirus is that it will auto-quarantine files which it believes to be dangerous.

Editor’s Recommendation: I would prefer Avast over other free antivirus hands down. The plethora of features that it boasts of sets it apart from all others. Effortless installation, an all encompassing heuristic search engine and on access protection pack quite a punch. Its features such as real-time protection of files, email, P2P transfers, web surfing, instant messages and even suspicious behavior are a notch above your average Free Antivirus software. It has been praised for its performance and light use of system resources and has also proved itself efficient in catching malware as well. Further developments made in the 2015 version to enhance the user interface merit Avast its place on the top of our list.

Feel some other Free Antivirus should have made it to the list of top 10 best free antivirus software of 2016? Give us your suggestions below.

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