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If your Point Of Sale Uses Oracle, Update Now
Oracle is currently the third-largest provider of POS (Point of Sale) software on the market today, which means that there’s a fairly good chance you’re using an Oracle POS system. If you are, there’s trouble ahead. A recently discovered security flaw could put your system at risk. Oracle has already identified and patched the security […]
Fitness Trackers Could Be A National Security Risk
If ever there were two phrases that didn’t seem to go together, they would probably be “Fitness trackers” and “National Security Risk.” The very idea that a simple fitness tracker could pose such a risk seems laughable on the surface, but this is no laughing matter. Recently, a popular fitness tracking app called “Strava” published […]
700,000 Potentially Malicious Apps Removed From Google Last Year
Google recently released their Play Store stats for 2017. The results are both encouraging and disheartening. Overall, Google caught and removed more than 700,000 malicious apps from the Play Store, minimizing their impact on the company’s massive Android user base. That’s unquestionably good news, but it comes with a bit of a dark side. That […]
iPhone Throttling Issue To Be Addressed In Upcoming Update
Recently, Apple found itself in hot water with its normally adoring user base. This happened when it became known that the company was intentionally throttling (slowing down) the speed of older iPhones. The company’s intentions were good. They clearly meant well. The move was designed to even out performance in older equipment. As cellphone batteries […]
Electronic Health Record Company “Allscripts” Hit By Ransomware
Another day, another high-profile ransomware attack. This time, the victim was Allscripts, an EHR (Electronic Health Record) company that hospitals, pharmacies, and ambulatory centers around the country rely on. The company’s data was thought to be safe on the cloud, but that proved not to be the case. Disruptions of services were felt by Allscripts […]
Performance Issues Plague PC’s Updated With Spectre Patch
Recently a critical flaw was found inside every Intel chip made during the last decade. The flaw makes two different exploits possible. These exploits have been dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre.” The flaws are incredibly severe, and make it possible for a hacker to gain complete, unfettered access to the targeted PC or laptop. Although no […]
Windows 10 Privacy Becoming More Transparent In Next Version
All companies collect data on their customers, but some are better than others when it comes to being upfront about what kinds of data are collected. Over the past year, Microsoft has made many moves that have been well-received by their enormous user base. They’ve become increasingly transparent and offer an unprecedented level of control […]
Blizzard Games Vulnerability Could Leave Gamers Open To Hacking
Do you play Blizzard online computer games such as World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Starcraft II, or Overwatch? If so, there’s a potential problem you need to be aware of. Tavis Ormandy, a researcher on Google’s Project Zero team, recently discovered that the Blizzard Update Agent is vulnerable to hacking, via a technique known […]
2 Million Credit Cards Stolen From Popular Sandwich Shop
By now, we’ve seen enough large-scale Point of Sale (POS) credit card thefts that patterns are beginning to emerge. Some companies follow the general arc of the narrative better than others, and deserve credit for doing so, but in the end, the story is about the same. That’s certainly the case with Jason’s Deli. Recently, […]
Mac Computers Battling New Malware For Hijacking DNS
It’s official, the first macOS malware of 2018 is here. Discovered by an independent security researcher and dubbed “OSX/MaMi,” the code is functionally similar to DNSChanger malware. The researcher posted his findings on the Malwarebytes forum and none other than Patrick Wardle (an ex-NSA hacker) analyzed it, having this to say: “OSX/MaMi isn’t particularly advanced […]
A Visionary Approach to Your Security
The purpose of an IT partner isn’t just to fix something when it is broken, it is to keep your people working and your data secure. Astral moves beyond traditional managed services by addressing all the key areas of cybersecurity in today’s complex landscape.
