PSafe – PSafe Blog

As Schools Go Online, Cyberattacks Are On The Rise

PSafe Newsroom — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 22:17:32 +0000

The continued fallout from coronavirus in online environments has begun to trend upward in an environment that poses serious risks to both hosts and users: online schooling. Schools, parents, and students need to take care, and take steps to protect themselves.

Source: Checkpoint Research

The figure above, from Checkpoint Research, shows a significant ramp-up (and spike) in Cyberattacks as pupils returned to remote classes, held via online meeting platforms and tools. Worth noting in this figure is the fact that this sector has always been more vulnerable to attack, but is even more so now.

“The urgency of the situation and the speed with which schools needed to make online learning avaccommodations is a kind of perfect storm for hackers and cyber criminals,” explains Emilio Simoni, director at the dfndr lab. “The numbers and the activity convincingly demonstrate that security can’t be taken for granted, or arranged last minute,” Simoni adds.

The range of methods used to attack educational institutions is similar to the kinds of attacks seen in the general population: phishing, ransomware, and malicious apps are all in play — along with the “Zoombombs” receiving more exposure and attention.

If you haven’t heard: Zoombombs are unwanted take-overs of hosted meeting sessions by hackers. Note that the Zoom app is not especially vulnerable — but its widespread popularity as a meeting-host service has simply caused the name to be associated with the phenomenon. Distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS) are also common. These are purposeful efforts to overwhelm the capacity of a given connection or platform, and frequently they’re the “blunt weapon” of choice for ransom-motivated attacks.

“Of course institutions need to take steps to protect themselves with enterprise grade security solutions,” Simoni notes, “but teachers and student families have to be wary as well.” Adds Simoni: “If you’re attending classes through a digital connection at home or on-the-go, you will want to have a personal solution you can rely on.”

For these purposes, dfndr security PRO offers a full suite of capabilities, including:

Anti Hacking Protection: Anti-hacking protects users from malicious URLs and phishing sites. It also blocks scams directly on the SMS app, web browsers and messaging apps (WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger).

Safe App Installer: Lets you know if an app is safe — before you install it.

Wi Fi Theft Protection: Protect you WiFi connection and immediately be notified if anyone is trying to intrude upon or hijack you wifi connection.

App Privacy Scan: Know which installed apps on your device are malicious, or have already been victim of leaks. Also easily see the permissions granted for each app, and where they send data they collect from you.

You can use this link to learn more about dfndr security, and also consider upgrading to our PRO offering. You’ll be glad to know that Anti-Hacking comes with the free version of our solution.

With governmental funding for improved education-institutional security defenses still up in the air, the necessity for students and families to protect themselves is keener than ever.

We’ll keep you posted on any specific / large-scale attacks, but for now, a good security solution should be considered a requirement for any online student family.

LEARN MORE BY TRYING OUT OUR APP: You’ll get Anti-Hacking protection and be able to see anyone who is priating your WiFi signal with our free dfndr security program. You can download it for free here, and try it out yourself!

How to Play YouTube Videos When Your Phone Screen is Off

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:28:54 +0000

Like most devices, your Android will pause any YouTube video you are playing whenever you lock your phone. This can be an annoying feature if you’d prefer to listen to the audio from a video, rather than watch a video, while you do other tasks. Perhaps you want to listen to a YouTube video with the screen off to preserve your phone’s battery life. Or, you want to listen to a news podcast, a live musical performance, or a cooking show without the distraction of the video footage. Whatever your reason, there are a few different ways that you can continue to play a YouTube video on a locked — or black — Android screen.

YouTube Red

This subscription service, available for $9.99/month, offers background play and offline access for uninterrupted listening. Simply adjust the background and offline settings in the YouTube app to ensure that your device continues to play the audio from videos when your screen is locked. Other features of the service include ad-free videos and original YouTube shows.

Download the Firefox App

This browser app will allow you to play YouTube videos in the background with your phone screen off, but with minimal control of the videos. After downloading the app, go to the settings to request the desktop version of Firefox. Then go to the YouTube website and click on the video you want to play in the background. This process will allow the audio to continue to play, even when your phone screen is off.

Simulate a Locked Screen

If you don’t care if your phone is actually locked, download Blackr by Neximo Labs. It is a free app available in the Play store. The app offers a way to simulate a black, locked screen so that you can continue to run various apps on your phone, such as YouTube, without the distraction of video footage or draining your phone battery. Other free black screen apps are available in the Play store as well.

Secure Your Device with PSafe

There are many different ways that malware can infect your device — even YouTube can be affected by malware now and then. However, many malicious apps are designed to mimic popular apps in the Play store. These malicious apps can be downloaded thousands of times before Google can remove them. Avoid suspicious-looking apps, such as apps with off-looking designs or apps that request unnecessary permissions or information from your phone. Cyber awareness is the first step in protecting your device against malware. The next step you can take is to download antivirus software. Download PSafe Total for your Android to protect your device against malicious threats 24/7.

The Top 6 Android Apps to Download Just Because

PSafe Newsroom — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 20:41:19 +0000

In today’s society, phones have become lifelines. Our phones do more than just make important calls, they keep us connected 24/7. We store important documents and passwords on them. We use them to maintain our finances. Our smartphones are important to us. That being said, sometimes you just want to download a few apps for the fun of it! Thankfully, there are an abundance of those available for Android phones. Here is a list of six of the best apps to download just because!

Nova Launcher

Nova Launcher is an Android-exclusive app that puts complete design of your phone in your hands. Compatible with 4.1 and up, Nova Launcher allows users to customize the look and feel of a phone’s operating system, changing everything from font size to the number of apps that can appear on the lock screen. The options are up to you and your phone can be made to fit your individual style and preferences.

VLC

Sure, all smartphones have camera and video recording capabilities, but sometimes you’d like a little more than just the ability to press record or drop a filter onto a video. That’s where VLC comes in. This video app supports a huge number of video formats and has plenty of adjustable settings as well as hardware acceleration that allows users to take full advantage of your phone’s processor. Plus, it is also a full audio player.

Solid Explorer

Everyone needs a good file browsing app; Solid Explorer does not disappoint. It supports most popular cloud services and even FTP, WebDav and more. It gives users the ability to create hidden folders, ZIP and RAR file extractions and various customization options. It works especially well thanks to its Material Design UI. You can download this app with a 14-day free trial and if you enjoy it, it only costs $2.99 a month. Not a bad price for the sheer amount of capabilities this app offers.

Pocket

The popular browser extension is now available for Android phones. Come across a long article you’re interested in reading but just don’t have the time to at the moment you find it? Pocket is here to help. It lets you take any webpage and stash it away for later. It’s simple to use and extremely handy, especially as a free app.

Wunderlist

Want a to-do list that actually makes getting your tasks done a little more interesting? Look no further than Wunderlist. Unobtrusive and easy to use, Wunderlist helps users keep track of tasks along with due dates, reminders, notes, subtasks, and the ability to share and assign tasks to others. The free version supports most basic functions, while the pro-version is optimal for business-minded people.

PSafe Total

Of course we would be remiss to have a list of apps that didn’t include our very own PSafe Total. Though this might not be “just because,” but rather for the complete protection of your Android phone.

PSafe Total has fantastic features such as a memory booster that optimizes your data and speeds up your device, a CPU cooler that eliminates lag time, advanced protection that keeps your device safe from third-party uninstalls in case of loss or theft as well as maximizes privacy and much, much more.

After downloading a bunch of new apps on your Android device, it’s a great idea to install one that will make sure it’s protected and running to its fullest capabilities.

Twitter Unveils Its Brand New Design For Android

PSafe Newsroom — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:33:56 +0000

Twitter has made significant improvements to its design for the users of Android devices. It boasts that Twitter is now offering a beautiful and improved Android experience. The new design that Twitter has unveiled makes it much easier for users of the app to navigate through the different sections.

What the New Twitter Design for Android Features
Twitter for Android has been updated with Google’s Material Design which is a visual language combination of good design and the substantial potential for innovation. Now switching between the timeline, Twitter Moments, messages, and notifications has gotten much easier. In fact, the update makes moving between these sections as simple as a swipe with the tab bar at the top of the screen. In addition, the new design features a floating action button so that users can send a quick tweet. This action button can send text, GIF, or video tweets from any screen.

To make Twitter more user friendly for Android device owners, the section buttons are larger than they were in the previous version. Furthermore, a navigation bar slides out from the side of the screen so that users can gain quick access to their profile, highlights, lists, their connect button, and settings. These new features are bound to add to the Twitter user’s experience.

PSafe and Twitter for Android
PSafe products can be used in conjunction with the new Twitter app design for Android in order to enhance the user’s experience. PSafe offers security and performance solutions to mobile device users to enhance the user experience while keeping the user’s device safe from malicious threats.

PSafe can enhance a user’s experience while using Twitter by speeding up the internet connection with its Internet Booster feature. In addition, the Memory Booster feature allows the user to optimize the storage space that is available on the device. The CPU Cooler feature keeps the device from overheating regardless of how long the user is tweeting.

The Malware That’s Stealing Your Bitcoins (and How to Stop It)

PSafe Newsroom — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 19:32:37 +0000

A previously unidentified type of Bitcoin miner malware that’s been operational since 2013 just revealed itself to the global public. The program has infected computers in Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Peru, the latter of which was most severely affected. In total, the attack has generated more than 138 Bitcoins in profit for the culprits. For those who don’t know, that’s about $284,322 BRL, or $88,663.62 USD. How did the malware pull it off? With a botnet, a massive network of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of infected computers.

Although the specific malware used in this attack is relatively new, Bitcoin theft is not. Since the cryptocurrency was created, malicious hackers have invented malware programs designed to rob Bitcoins from unsuspecting (and often unprotected) individuals. In 2014 alone, the U.S. tech security firm Dell Secureworks discovered approximately 80 different types of malware made specifically to procure Bitcoins.

How Bitcoin Stealing Malware Works

These programs work in several ways, and a fair amount of them can be operated by people with little to no experience in coding or programming. All they have to do is buy cheap, effective tools that can target vulnerable devices. In the hacker underground, someone can purchase PredatorPain, a highly infectious piece of malware that functions as a file, and credential-stealing Trojan program, for about $144 BRL (or $44 USD). Another program, SovietMiner, is designed to steal wallet files, and force infected devices to mine Bitcoins.

More specifically, it adds transaction records to Bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions for the hacker’s profit. The latter costs about $48.89 BRL ($15 USD) per month. With general wallet-stealing malware, the virus searches for wallet files stored on the victim’s computer, and subsequently uploads applicable files to a remote server, where the hacker can extract the keys from said files, and obtain coins by signing a transaction to transfer the money to their account.

Safety First

Malware programs can infiltrate computers in several ways, but the most common method is to bug USB drives. The malware hides folders and files on the USB, replaces them with shortcuts, and effectively controls the infection of other devices that connect to the USB port.

While all this information may seem daunting, you should know that it’s within your means to protect yourself from these data breaches, and online attacks. By installing PSafe Total on your Android phone, you give yourself everything you need to defend your device from this sort of infectious malware. Don’t hesitate, and do what you can to protect yourself today.