In this article, we will explore the concept of a honeypot in cybersecurity and how deception honeypot technology is utilized to strengthen digital defenses.

What is a Honeypot and How Does it Work?

If you’re wondering, “What is ReasonLabs?” or “How can it help protect me online?” you’re in the right place. This blog will explore how the new Online Security ReasonLabs application has become one of the best tools for safeguarding social security online, protecting your identity, and ensuring privacy.

What Is the Best Digital Secure App? ReasonLabs Application

In this review, we’ll tell you how RAV Endpoint Protection lives up to its promises and how it compares to some of the competition. 

Is RAV Endpoint Protection Legit?

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and to learn more about consumers’ internet habits and the cybersecurity issues they face, ReasonLabs commissioned a survey of 7,484 consumers across the United States from August 23 - September 4, 2024. The survey results highlight significant online security, privacy, and identity theft issues.

2024 Consumer Cybersecurity Pulse Report

FaceTime is one of Apple’s most cherished apps, offering effortless video calls to iPhones, iPads, and Mac users worldwide. However, FaceTime can occasionally encounter problems such as technical glitches, or UX issues like activation. 

Why Is My FaceTime Not Working? How To Activate FaceTime

If you are a Canadian traveling abroad or someone trying to enhance your privacy and security online, utilizing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a must-do. This article will help walk you through the process of how to get a Canadian IP Address.

How To Get A Canadian IP Address

The word ‘games’ implies fun – but some of these popular online experiences, even those aimed at kids, contain worrying content. Here's what you should be looking out for.

7 Alarming Online Games to Watch Out For

We'll explore effective strategies and tips to help you figure out how to prevent trackers and how to stop being tracked online.

Tired of Being Tracked? How to Stop Being Tracked Online

This blog post will guide you through understanding iMessage, troubleshooting common issues, and teach you how to enable iMessage.

iMessage Not Working? Here's How To Enable iMessage

 In this article, we'll detail how to know if your phone is hacked, what to dial to see if your phone is hacked, describe different signs your phone is hacked, and finally what you should do if your phone is hacked.

What To Dial To See If Your Phone Is Hacked

If you are a Navy Federal Credit Union member and you are wondering how to report Navy Federal credit fraud, read this blog.

How To Report Navy Federal Credit Fraud

This detailed article will dive deep into what is an IP UK address, how to get a UK IP address, how to use a UK IP address, RAV mobile VPN for iPhone, and more. 

How to Get a UK IP Address

If you’re looking for information on how to reprieve AOL Mail, look no further! Retrieving your AOL mail is a straightforward process and for mobile users, AOL also offers an app for Android and iOS devices.

What is AOL? How to Retrieve AOL Mail

Is identity theft protection worth it? Utilizing identity theft protection can provide peace of mind, especially for seniors who may be more susceptible to fraud and online scams. 

What Is The Best Identity Theft Protection For Seniors?

You might be wondering how to get a US IP address, so let’s dive into why you might want one in the first place, what a US IP address look like, how can I get a US IP address, and more. 

How To Get A US IP Address

Mukbang has gained immense popularity across various social media platforms, particularly on video-sharing sites like YouTube, Twitch, and platforms that support live streaming. But what does 'mukbang' and ASMR mean?

What Is Mukbang and ASMR? Effects Of This Social Media Trend

Who doesn’t love a good fishing trip? Go ahead, picture the scene: it’s just you,…

What is Spear Phishing? How to Defend Against Spear Phishing

Identity theft is a growing concern that can have severe consequences for your financial health and personal security - so being able to check if your identity has been stolen is crucial.

How To Check For Identity Theft: 7 Tips For Identity Protection

The csrss.exe Trojan is a type of malware that disguises itself as the legitimate csrss.exe process. Cybercriminals exploit this to hide malicious activities within a process that appears to be a trusted system file. The csrss.exe Trojan can open backdoors, steal sensitive information, and allow unauthorized access to your system.


How To Remove csrss.exe Trojan: A Comprehensive Guide

As Instagram continues to evolve, so do the strategies employed by scammers on Instagram. Staying vigilant and informed is essential in safeguarding yourself from these threats. 

Instagram Scam Messages: How To Avoid Them & Protect Yourself

The svchost.exe process is a fundamental part of the Windows operating system, responsible for running essential services efficiently. However, its importance also makes it a target for cybercriminals who create malware disguised as svchost.exe.

What Is svchost.exe Malware? How To Protect Your System 

The security of your Wi-Fi network is paramount in protecting our data and online behavior. This blog explores the potential vulnerabilities, signs of compromise, and effective strategies to protect your Wi-Fi from unauthorized access.

Can Someone Hack Your Wi-Fi Password? Signs & How To Fix It

Ticketmaster is the latest company to suffer a data breach, leading to compromised customer data.
Discovering that your data has been breached can be a troubling experience, but recognizing the signs early can help you mitigate the damage and take appropriate action.

Latest Data Breach: Were You Affected By Ticketmaster Hack?

Search engines are indispensable tools for accessing information. However, as concerns about online privacy grow, many users are seeking alternatives that prioritize their personal data's security. 

Best Secure Search Engines: How A VPN Can Help

ReasonLabs is proud to be recognized by Virus Bulletin alongside other top-tier security providers for excellence in malware detection and prevention

RAV Endpoint Protection Earns A+ Grade In VB100 Certification

With the allure of new online games and the temptation of obtaining them for free, many young gamers might find themselves downloading pirated software. As a parent, it's crucial to understand the risks associated with this practice and how you can protect your children from potential harm.

Is Your Child Gaming Online? How To Avoid Pirated Software

The Zeus virus, also known as Zbot, is one of the most infamous and persistent malware threats to ever hit the cybersecurity landscape. In this blog, we'll delve into what the Zeus virus is, how it operates, and how you can protect yourself from its harmful effects.

Zeus Virus Detected! The Signs You Need To Know

As the frequency of cyber threats and data breaches in the digital age are rampant, consumers are increasingly concerned about the security of their online activities. Web browser extensions, such as Online Security from ReasonLabs, play a crucial role in empowering users to defend themselves against potential threats and data breaches.

Digital Identity Protection: Why Data Monitoring Is An Important Defense

One often overlooked aspect of digital hygiene is clearing out your Wi-Fi history. In this blog post, we'll explore why you might want to delete your Wi-Fi history, how to do it, and some additional tips for keeping your digital life organized and secure.

Digital Spring Clean! How To Delete Wi-Fi History

While VPNs are commonly associated with desktop computers, their utility extends seamlessly to mobile devices, including Android smartphones and tablets. Using RAV VPN for Android will enhance your online security - find out how!

Best VPN For Android: How To Download RAV VPN 

With the rise of mobile payment platforms like Apple Pay, the ease of sending and receiving money has never been simpler. However, with this convenience also comes the risk of scams and fraudulent activities.

Apple Pay Scams: How To Prevent These Scams

The recent AT&T data breach has underscored the evolving threat landscape and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data, such as the use of the Online Security browser extension. 

AT&T’s Massive Data Breach: All You Need To Know

As one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, Instagram makes it easier than ever to make connections, share experiences, and discover new trends. However, amidst the endless scroll of captivating content lurks the darker world of scams - namely, crypto scams.

How To Recognize Bitcoin Mining Instagram Scams

Restrictions on access to advanced technologies, export control regulations, and concerns about misuse or abuse of AI capabilities can all contribute to limitations on availability of OpenAI. If OpenAI services are not available in your country, there may be a few reasons behind this!

Uh-Oh! Why OpenAI Services Are Not Available In Your Country

Removing hard inquiries from your credit report can be a strategic move to improve your creditworthiness and financial standing.

Secret Ways To Remove Hard Inquiries From Credit Reports Now!

Customer data breaches have become an all-too-common occurrence, posing significant risks to individuals' privacy, financial security, and personal well-being. From large-scale cyberattacks on multinational corporations to targeted phishing schemes aimed at unsuspecting individuals, the dangers of data breaches loom large.

Online Dictionary Data Leak Occurs! What You Need To Know About The Latest Data Breach

The surge in online scams reported by the FBI, and subsequent huge financial losses, reveals the significant threats to consumers' financial security and personal information. But how is this happening? How are malevolent actors managing to get away with so much?

$12.5 Billion Losses From Online Scams! All You Need To Know

Tax identity theft is a serious concern, but with awareness, vigilance, and the right cybersecurity measures, individuals can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to these scams.

Tax Identity Theft: Protect Yourself from Tax Return Scams & Frauds

It would be nice to believe that giveaway offers on social media platforms are real; however, as with most online ‘too good to be true’ scenarios, this is unfortunately generally not the case. We’ve rounded up some of the most common giveaway scams that occur on the YouTube platform.

Fake YouTube Giveaway Scams: How To Recognize Them!

.msi files are widely used for software distribution and installation due to their standardized format and reliability. While .msi files themselves are not inherently unsafe, they can be manipulated by malicious actors to deliver malware

MSIExec.Exe Files: How To Know If I Can Uninstall Or If It's Safe   

Malicious code refers to specific lines or segments of code within a program or script that are designed to carry out malicious actions e.g. cause harm, exploit vulnerabilities, or compromise the security and functionality of a computer system, network, or device without the knowledge or consent of the user. 

How To Avoid Downloading Malicious Code: Malware Warning!

This January 2024, the ‘Mother of All Breaches’ is making headlines as a ‘supermassive’ data leak, affecting no less than 26 billion leaked data records. It's time to change your passwords and scan your email to check for personal data breaches!

Data Leaked! How To Secure Your Accounts After The "MoAB"

The increasing reliance on the WhatsApp messaging app has brought to light several security concerns that users should be aware of to protect their privacy and data.

WhatsApp Security Issues: Risks & Dangers Hiding In Your Phone!

Java, a versatile programming language, has become an integral part of countless applications and websites. With its widespread use, scammers have seized the opportunity to exploit users through deceptive Java update scams.

Java Update Scam: Is It Safe To Download Or A Fake Virus?

One crucial tool in the arsenal of identity protection is the Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). This unique six-digit number adds an extra layer of security to your identity, helping to prevent unauthorized use of your Social Security Number (SSN) and thwart potential identity theft.

Identity Theft Defense: How To Find My Identity Protection Pin

By preventing data breaches and ensuring secure communication, Endpoint Protection safeguards your sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. 

EPP vs Antivirus: Unmasking the Endpoint Protection You Need

Cyber threats are continually evolving, and one particularly stealthy technique that has gained notoriety is DLL injection. This method allows attackers to compromise the integrity of a system by manipulating dynamic link libraries (DLLs). 

What is DLL Injection Attack? A Hacker's Secret Weapon Exposed

The latest report from ReasonLabs, The Cashback Extension Killer, discusses a set of malicious web extensions disguised as fake VPNs, delivered by a Trojan installer, and distributed through torrent files, that were then live on the Chrome Web Store for months, ultimately affecting over 2 million users! What can we learn from this?

Fake VPNs: How To Prevent Them On Your Device

In the realm of software and digital media, keygens have a notorious reputation. This blog will explore what keygens are, how they work, the associated risks, and how users can navigate the delicate balance between legitimate and illegitimate keygens while safeguarding their cybersecurity.

What Is A Keygen?: How To Safely Activate Software

Rogue security software, often synonymous with fake antivirus, encompasses a broader category of malicious applications that portray themselves as legitimate security tools. This may also be known as ‘rogueware’, ‘rogue antivirus’ or ‘scareware.’

What’s Fake Antivirus & Can It Trigger Rogue Security Software? 

'Weak security’ in the context of Wi-Fi typically refers to vulnerabilities or inadequacies in the security measures implemented to protect a wireless network. The security of a Wi-Fi network is crucial to prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and other potential threats. 

Weak Security Wi-Fi? 10 Ways to Strengthen & Fix Security Wi-Fi

The festive season is upon us, bringing joy, warmth, and unfortunately, an increase in holiday scams designed to exploit the goodwill and online shopping frenzy. As you prepare for the festivities, it's crucial to be aware of common scams that could jeopardize your holiday cheer.


12 Scams of Christmas: How To Avoid Holiday Phishing Scams!

Whether you're exploring new websites, chatting on messaging apps, or interacting with AI software like ChatGPT, it's crucial to distinguish between what's real and genuine, and what's fake and possibly malicious. 


How to Recognize Fake ChatGPT & Fake Domains

As businesses and individuals alike host crucial information on web servers, understanding the importance of security for servers and adopting best practices is imperative. In this blog, we'll delve into the realm of web server security and explore its significance, different methods to secure web servers, and the best network security practices to keep your digital fortress robust.


What is Web Server Security? Best Secure Practices To Employ

WhatsApp is a great way to keep in touch with far-off friends and relatives but it also can be a scammer's digital playground.

Coming to a Smartphone Near You! The Latest Round of WhatsApp Scams

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, take proactive steps to protect yourself online. With ReasonLabs products by your side, you can navigate the digital landscape with confidence.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How To Empower Your Cybersecurity Journey

Understand the ways in which identity fraud can occur, and the depth to which it can affect the victim.

How Does Identity Theft Happen? Learn to Safeguard Yourself

ReasonLabs’ Revenge of the Unitrix report brings to the fore the latest research on how text tricks can make us run malicious code on our devices.  But what do you as a consumer need to know? Can fonts have viruses? Can font files contain malware and other cybersecurity risks? 

Can Fonts Have Viruses? Cybersecurity: Fonts Dangers To Avoid 

Cybercriminals and hackers constantly seek ways to exploit vulnerabilities in security systems to gain access to sensitive financial information, including credit card numbers.

Credit Card Hacking: How Do People Steal Credit Card Numbers?

Investigate the VBS downloader Trojan VBS:malware-gen detection, and learn how to prevent this malware from attacking your devices. 

What is VBS:Malware-gen?

By actively monitoring your credit card activities and providing alerts, credit card monitoring services enable you to detect and respond to identity theft in its early stages.

What is Credit Monitoring? 6 Pros of Credit Monitoring Services

Find out more about tax identity theft and how you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

What is Tax Identity Theft? How You Can Protect Yourself

What is a credit report and what is a credit inquiry? This blog examines both of these subjects, as well as provides some top tips for the removal of hard inquiries on a credit report.

Top Tips For How To Remove Hard Inquiries From Credit Report

Your social security number (SSN) is one of the most crucial pieces of personal information you possess. Unfortunately, it is also a highly sought-after target for identity thieves and fraudsters.

Is It Safe To Text Social Security Numbers? 10 SSN Safety Tips 

ReasonLabs researchers discovered multiple files downloaded to its users’ devices which were supposed to be Super Mario Bros. but were instead files distributing malicious software.

The Super Mario Bros. Pirate

ReasonLabs has developed a new Dark Web Monitoring feature as part of its Online Security Extension. So what is the dark web and how does dark web monitoring software help protect the consumer?

What Is Dark Web Monitoring And Why Should Everyone Use It?

How can Microsoft Office documents be used as cyber threats and what can users do to protect themselves?

Office Documents Are Being Weaponized. How May It Affect You?

Let’s take a look at how and why parental controls can offer added cybersecurity, and why it is so important.

Cyber Safety For Every Member of Your Family

Here are the top cybersecurity trends home users need to know for 2023.

Top Cybersecurity Trends for 2023: What Do Home Users Need To Know?

Here's how Chrome push notifications work and why you need Online Security.

How Do Chrome Push Notifications Work and What Security Risks Are Involved?

Browser Extensions: Will They Boost My Online Experience?

Endpoint Protection: All You Need to Know for Maximum Security

It’s Halloween! Scary Cyber Attacks and How To Avoid Them

It’s almost October – known more fondly in the cybersecurity world as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022: 5 Tips for Consumers

  It’s the last week of the summer holidays, and parents, kids, teens, college students and teachers alike are getting ready to of back to school.

Back to School: 5 Top Cybersecurity Tips at this Busy Time

Filters, Protects, Blocks: 3 Ways A DNS Ensures Safer Online Experience

Here are out top tips for keeping you and your kids cyber safe on this World Social Media Day.

6 Top Tips for Staying Cyber Safe on World Social Media Day

Betcha didn’t know it, but June is Internet Safety Month. You probably missed that section in…

June is Internet Safety Month; How Safe are Your Kids on Social Media?

Most of us don’t realize just how easy and common it is for hackers to…

Why Webcam And Mic Protection Is A Must-Have

Technology keeps changing our lives — in most cases for the better, but in some…

Improving Your Cybersecurity Habits: 5 Tips for Digital Hygiene

Spring is here! Bunnies are hopping, birds are chirping – and little colored eggs are…

The Easter Egg Hunt meets Cybersecurity! 3 tips for a Cyber Safe Easter

Having reviewed in depth the cybersecurity threats that have been facing consumers worldwide in our…

Year Of the Miner: Cybersecurity Threats Exposed in ReasonLabs' 2022 Report

  Roses are red,  Violets are blue; Protect your online presence In 2022 Hearts, flowers,…

Love is in the Air! Don’t Let Cybercrime Ruin Your Special Day!

February 3rd is Harry Potter Book Night! Kids and adults around the world are looking…

Harry Potter and the Cybersecurity Solution: Tips to Stay Cyber Safe in 2022!

Data Privacy Day occurs annually on January 28th; it represents an international effort to raise…

How You Can Protect Yourself This Data Privacy Day

News broke last week concerning a Monero mining malware found in a copy of the…

Don't Get Stuck in its Web! How to Combat Spider-Man Mining Malware

 Spider-miner, spider-miner, does whatever a miner can. Mine a coin, spawn a thread, Uses…

Spider-Miner: With Great Power Comes Great Problems!

It’s that time of year again – mulled wine, pine needles, cuddly sweaters, and maybe…

Jingle Bells Are On Their Way! Beware Of These Christmas Scams

With Cyber Monday looming, and ads galore headed our way, we know that we can…

Cyber Monday: The Online Shopper's Dream! But Are You Shopping Securely?

You’ve probably all seen the announcement that October is ‘National CyberSecurity Awareness Month’ – and…

Be Cyber Aware: Where Do You Find the Best Antivirus in Oct 2021?

It’s Halloween this week – a time for people to dress up in scary costumes,…

Don’t Get Spooked: How to Recognize Cyber Demons Before They Find You!

The technology for virtual private networks (VPNs) dates back to 1996 when Microsoft employees created…

VPNs: Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How?

One manifestation of freedom is the privilege to be a small business owner. Freedom and…

Independence Day: Cybersecurity Brings Independence to SMBs

The Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) movement has made significant progress in raising…

The LGBTQ Community Faces New Cyber Threats 

Dear Dads, As Father’s Day approaches and you prepare for tasty outdoor barbecues, fun family…

Note to Dad: The Nuts and Bolts of Cybersecurity

The COVID-19 pandemic was not a one-time, over-and-done traumatic experience. It continues to be a…

The COVID-19 Effect: A Surge in Online Retail AND Cyber Attacks

Reason Cybersecurity has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) to improve global cybersecurity in…

ReasonLabs has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA)

No more cookies in our future? In today’s digital world, data is the mainstay of…

No More Cookies in our Future?

Mother’s Day is one of the most popular holidays of the year and the second…

What NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother's Day

Cyber-attacks against insurance companies are growing exponentially; so is the damage they’re causing. Furthermore, because…

Why are Cybercriminals Eyeing Insurance Companies?

Imagine this scene: You’re sitting at home one night, happily watching House of Cards on Netflix. Suddenly, the lights go out. You peek through your curtains and see…_nothing_.  
Your whole neighborhood plunged into blackness. But it’s not only your neighborhood, but it’s also your whole city. It’s your whole state.  
Your power grid has been hacked.

**Attacking critical infrastructures**  
Depending on the attack at hand, hackers may have infiltrated the network of your region’s power grid and are holding it ransom for hundreds of thousands of dollars. If this were to be the case, you can be sure that the attackers would have no intention of restoring power until the ransom fee is paid.  
Or perhaps they have caused actual harm to the network in an effort to do a whole lot of damage to the economy, public morale and their targeted company all at once.

**A matter of national concern**   
Industries such as energy, water treatment, gas and oil providers, telecom, financial, transportation, manufacturing and food production/agriculture, to name a few, are considered industries whose functionality is vital to national safety and/or security. Any attack or loss of service at one of the [16 Critical Infrastructure sectors](https://www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors) can cause widespread damage, not only to the company at hand but to regular ol’ citizens in a matter of moments.  
As scary as the idea of an attack on one of these sectors sounds, it’s not unprecedented. In [December 2015](https://www.wired.com/2016/01/everything-we-know-about-ukraines-power-plant-hack/) and again in [December 2016](https://www.wired.com/story/crash-override-malware/), two separate power grids in Ukraine were hacked. Though the lights went dark in both cases for just a few hours, some very real and dire questions were raised: Just how vulnerable are our nation’s critical infrastructures to attacks? Can attackers also target other critical infrastructures? Are these industries prepared for large scale attacks? How will the public be affected?

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_761907331-scaled.jpg)

**The problem with ICS networks**   
It turns out that attacks to critical infrastructures happen more often than most people would probably like to know.  
The networks of critical infrastructures, called ICS networks, tend to be made up of a patchwork of technologies, some of which have been in place since the ’60s, and 70’s. Back then, companies didn’t have to worry about being connected to, and therefore exposed by, the Internet because it didn’t exist. As newer technology was introduced to make machine interfaces simpler for plant operators, often this new technology was just slapped on top of the already existing network. At their core, these networks were designed with userability, not security, in mind.

The result is that the networks that lead straight to our nation’s most critical assets are made up of layer upon layer of technologies that don’t always have the greatest level of interoperability. Moreover, since the process of shutting ICS networks down for any periods of time to update/upgrade software has always been considered intolerable, they often run on operating systems that have not been updated in many, many years. In some especially disturbing situations, these operating systems are no longer even supported by their developers, which can force plant operators to use unapproved workarounds that can lead to even greater vulnerability. Clearly, this creates a situation rife with potential dangers. The good news is that despite the lack of security, attacks like these don’t happen every day. Typically, attacks to ICS networks are carried out by nation-state actors with political agendas (though not always) and they have other, preferred attack methods up their sleeves. But they are beginning to occur with greater frequency and that in and of itself is cause for alarm. Some recent attacks “victims” include:

*   San Francisco’ s transportation system
*   A German steel mill, which was partially blown up by hacked pumps
*   A network of Polish trains, which was taken over by a teenager with a homemade device, injuring 12 passengers
*   Houston’s water system
*   New York City’s dam system, hacked by the Iranians
*   Most famous of all, Stuxnet, the worm that shut down Iranian nuclear reactors at Natanz in 2010

**The New Cybersecurity Executive Order**   
With experts warning that we have only begun to see the true force of ICS attacks, the government and even President Trump have taken notice. Last month, Trump signed a new Executive Order that places ICS vulnerabilities in the national spotlight. Now critical infrastructure companies will have to submit reports to Homeland Security who will then pass those reports off to the President’s Office to be evaluated for proper adherence to new standards. Regardless of what you think of his politics, this is a bold move in the right direction towards ensuring that the nation’s most sensitive resources remain secure. What experts hope to see is a gradual upgrading of security and awareness across Critical Infrastructure, one that will ultimately make us all more safe and secure.  
The take-home for you, sitting there watching Netflix?  
The kind of sad, kind of relief-inducing truth is that there isn’t much you can do, save for pooling your money and buying a power plant just so you can make sure it’s up to snuff. On the other hand, vulnerabilities in critical infrastructures have the ability to affect each and every one of us in a scary way, so it’s important to be aware of what’s at stake.

Imagine this scene: You’re sitting at home one night, happily watching House of Cards on…

shutterstock_761907331-scaled.jpg

Attacks to critical Infrastructures: the next cyber front to worry about

_When is adware not just adware?_ When it’s also malware, of course!  

Fireball, a new threat out of China, created by marketing firm Rafotech, is just one such example of a threat that is one part adware and one part malware. Together, these two parts pack quite a wallop, one which has infected over 250 million computer users in the last month alone.

Fireball, [discovered by security firm Check Point](http://blog.checkpoint.com/2017/06/01/fireball-chinese-malware-250-million-infection/), is making its way onto systems via software bundling. Bundling is what happens when unwanted software is pushed to users via downloads of wanted software. Using some legal loopholes and a lot of fancy footwork, these distributors manage to stay just on the right side of the law. The thing is that the wares they pedal are typically unwanted by the recipient, hence their name around the industry is a “Potentially Unwanted Program”, or PUP for short.

PUPs can range from relatively benign programs to annoying ad distribution software to truly destructive malware. In Fireball, researchers have noted the delivery of both annoying the adware as well as the more dangerous malware. Researchers have been able to pinpoint some of the programs that Fireball came with, including Soso Desktop and FVP Image viewer, which are relatively common programs in China. But since a very significant number of infections have been found on non-Chinese computers that likely have not come into contact with these Chinese programs, it’s hard to pinpoint just how these machines became infected. At the moment, researchers are placing their bets on elaborate phishing scams or on a yet-discovered stealthy exploit.

## What Fireball Does
In its current format, Fireball is a browser hijacker that has the ability to switch the unlucky victim’s home page to a rogue one that will then direct the user to certain websites and search engines. These websites are filled with ads that make money for Rafotech each time a user clicks one of them. What’s more, the search engines place tracking pixels on the user’s browser to collect information, which essentially spies on them.  

The most disturbing part? According to Check Point, Fireball is capable of executing any code on any machine once it has infiltrated. This means that while Fireball may not be doing anything malicious at the moment, it has the ability to switch gears on a dime and begin executing highly dangerous code.  

At the moment Fireball is most prevalent in India, with 25 million infected machines, 24 million infected machines in Brazil and 61 million hits in Mexico. It has infiltrated enterprise machines as well as personal computers and seems to still be spreading.  

## Adware Gone Rogue
This isn’t the first time adware has walked that thin line between annoying and evil, only to wind up on the evil side. Last year’s [Faster Internet](http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/46671/malware/faster-internet-adware.html) and 2015’s Vonteera proved that a trojanized piece of adware can do plenty of harm. Faster Internet may have started out life as a mere tool for ad distribution, but eventually, it began taking snapshots of users’ computers and phoned that information home to unknown parties. Vonteera had been around for quite a while before it began disabling legitimate antimalware products so that it could do its dirty work uninterrupted.  

As bad as these variants were, they didn’t have nearly the strength that Fireball has. Having reached over a quarter of a billion computers in a matter of days (that’s one out of every five computers; good luck trying to wrap your head around that one), coupled with the fact that it can basically do anything it darn well pleases once on a machine, Fireball makes most other exploits look childish in comparison.  

So how will you know if you have been hit with Fireball? If you’re in India, Brazil or Mexico, there is a pretty significant chance that you may already be compromised. Otherwise, it seems like the odds are on your side. Either way, the signs of infection to watch for are the same:

*   Your homepage has been changed to a different one without your consent or knowledge
*   You are forced into using a different search than you normally do and it can not be overridden in your settings
*   You have new browser extensions that you didn’t install

If any of these sound familiar, there is a decent chance that Fireball is the culprit.  
Removal of Fireball is similar to any other threat, with the notable difference that the program conceals itself very well, which may make it difficult to locate. To get rid of it for good, run a scan with a malware scanner like [RAV Endpoint Protection](https://reasonlabs.com/platform/products/endpoint-protection) which will locate it and remove the threat. 

The most effective ways to keep things like Fireball and other exploits from infiltrating?
*   Be incredibly careful when downloading software
*   Stay away from freeware as much as possible
*   When you do install new software, read each frame of the installer as it runs to ensure you understand what’s taking place on your machine
*   Make sure to choose the “custom install” option when installing new programs. The “express install” option can fill your computer with tons of PUPs.

Aside, the Unchecky feature that’s built-in to RCS prevents unwanted software from being installed to keep you even more secure. Fireball isn’t your typical attack and quite honestly, that in and of itself should be discomforting. Attackers are experts at changing their game on a dime and Fireball represents the kind of ingenuity today’s hackers are using to get what they want – i.e. your, and the rest of the world’s, data.

When is adware not just adware? When it’s also malware, of course! Fireball, a new…

#Malware

Attacks to critical Infrastructures: the next cyber front to worry about

Fireball & the explosive malware heard around the world

The amazing mothers of tech

Vulnerability of the year: Ransomware

Complete security for your device, privacy and identity.