Blog
Ransomware Attackers Are Setting Their Sights On Small Businesses
Do you think your business is safe from a ransomware attack? It isn’t. This was indeed the case that when ransomware first burst onto the scene. Hackers were targeting very large institutions, seeming to favor the health care and insurance industries. But that is now changing, at least according to a recent report published by […]
Popular Browser Toolbar May Contain Malware
Ask.com is one of the internet’s oldest properties. It is not as well-known as the titans of the web (Google, Yahoo, etc.) but almost everyone who has spent any time at all on the internet is familiar with the brand, and its popular browser-based toolbar, distributed by the APN (Ask Partner Network) is used by […]
Google’s Updated reCAPTCHA Service May Require No Clicking
Nobody likes CAPTCHAs. They’re annoying. They slow you down when you’re trying to log into a site that has data you need. Unfortunately, CAPTCHAs themselves proved necessary to help weed out bots and keep them at bay. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but in Google’s case, they began using text digitized […]
Employee Wiring Money Scams Are On The Rise At Companies
If you’re a business owner, and you haven’t yet heard of BEC scams, it’s a term you owe it to yourself to get familiar with. The acronym stands for Business Email Compromise, otherwise known as CEO fraud, and it’s growing in popularity. The basic idea is that a hacker spends time studying your business, how […]
Flaw May Have Allowed Hacker Control Of Your WhatsApp Account
The security company Checkpoint recently found a critical security flaw in both the Whatsapp and Telegram services that could have spelled big trouble for their users. Fortunately, it has already been patched with no apparent damage done, but below, the details of the flaw are outlined because this may not be the last time we […]
Lost Your Car? Google Maps Might Help
Google Maps has, for years now, been the savior of directionally challenged people everywhere, and it just got even better. Thanks to a new update that was made without fanfare, it will now help you remember where you parked. When you get wherever you’re going, if you’ve got the app pulled up, you can simply […]
Lip Reading Technology May One Day Replace Traditional Typed Passwords
There’s a new technology being developed by researchers at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) that stands to be a game-changer. Dubbed “lip password,” the new tech utilizes machine learning to recognize lip motion, shape and texture for each user when you speak your password. Of significance, your voice has nothing to do with the password […]
500 Million Apple Users Might Have Accounts Erased By Hackers
A brazen group of hackers calling themselves the “Turkish Crime Family” claims to have more than half a million user names and passwords for a variety of Apple-based services, including mac.com, me.com and icloud.com. Unless their demands are met and the company pays a hefty $150,000, the group is threatening to erase everything in all […]
Windows Slated To Get Surpassed By Android As Most Used OS
Everyone who knows anything about computers knows that Windows won the war for the desktop a long time ago. Even today, it holds an impressive 84.1 percent of that market. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the battlefield has shifted. In 2012, Android could claim just 2.2 percent of the total OS market (desktop PCs, laptop PCs and […]
Microsoft Ends Support For Windows Vista April 11
If you’re one of the relatively few people still using Windows Vista, you should know that the OS is on life support. As of April 11, Microsoft will no longer be providing any kind of support. This means no critical security updates, no tech support and no patches of any kind for any reason. You’ll […]
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.
