Cyber Crime and Computer Hacking

DOZENS of Android apps have been caught nicking people’s Facebook passwords without their permission, cyber security experts report. The malicious apps were downloaded more than 2.3million times and posed as step counters, wallpaper apps, mobile games and more. They were removed by Google from the Play Store after the search giant was alerted to the

A WINDOWS 10 update has been bugging users with false security warnings about apps that don’t exist. The May 2020 update is said to be causing problems with Windows Defender, the anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows. The bug is causing it to flag potentially dodgy apps that have already been removed. Windows 10 now has

ANDROID phone owners are being warned over 19 games that can slow your phone down and drain your battery life. Cyber-experts say these apps are “up to no good”, running rogue ads in the background of your device. This puts additional strain on your phone, earning money for the app makers at your expense. The

GOOGLE Chrome users are being warned about downloads that could have left them vulnerable to spying hackers. The Google extensions were downloaded 32 million times and at least 70 have now been deleted from the Web Store. Extensions are just extra features that people can add to their browser, such as those for ad-blocking or

A HOAX message is trying to scam Instagram users out of their account details. The DM pretends to come from Instagram’s help centre and threatens to close your account if you don’t hand over your information. This is according to customer choice firm Which?, which reportedly received a copy of the phishing direct message. If

CHINA has been blamed for a massive cyberattack on Australia’s essential services – including hospitals – by experts. Australian PM Scott Morrison said the sophisticated hack targeted critical infrastructure and all levels of government. “We know it is a sophisticated state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting,” he said at

SCAMMERS are using Google Alerts to send out links to malware. The cybercriminals are doing their best to impersonate big name companies to try and fool people into a false sense of security. According to a BleepingComputer report, Google Alerts is accidentally helping to spread these malicious notifcations. The Google Alerts service is supposed to

EXPERTS have dismissed claims there was a massive DDoS cyberattack on Monday after Facebook, Instagram, Fortnite, T-Mobile and Comcast went down. Despite initial thoughts, security experts say the outage was caused by network changes T-Mobile was making, Newsweek reported. Twitter Fears were sparked about a possible distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack when more than 100,000 T-Mobile customers

GOOGLE has deleted 36 popular apps from the Play Store and you may need to delete them from your phone. The apps were removed after they bombarded users with unwanted adverts and intrusive browser redirections. Unsuspecting users would apparently be taken to website links they hadn’t even clicked on by the malicious software. The scam

USERS of Windows 10 are being told to update their PC to escape an ‘Eternal Darkness’ flaw. The security issue was supposed to be fixed in March but hackers are reportedly targeting unpatched systems. The recent warning comes from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). It claimed that attackers are still trying to

MILLIONS of Android users are being warned to delete an app that could be draining their bank accounts. The app is called SnapTube and claimed to easily allow users to download videos from YouTube and Facebook. According to a report from UpStreamSystems, the 40 million people who have downloaded the app could end up paying a high

BANNING China from 5G networks will make the world less safe, a former cyber spy has warned. Marcus Willett, former deputy head of the government’s listening post GCHQ, said freezing China out would split the internet in two and make attacks between each side more likely. China relies on western tech – its army uses

APPLE users are being warned about three VPN apps that could be overcharging without providing any service. The warning comes from researchers at Avast who noticed that the apps charge $9.99 per week (around £8) but don’t work properly. VPN stands for virtual private network and these kind of apps are being used a lot more

“HACKTIVIST” group Anonymous has sprung back into life – apparently disabling the Minneapolis Police Department website in protest against George Floyd’s death. The force has been warned that more of its alleged “crimes” will be “exposed to the world” by the secretive group of online hackers. ⚠️ Read our George Floyd protests live blog for

WHATSAPP is reportedly planning a huge new update that will make its two billion users even more secure. Until this update is available, your messages probably aren’t as secure as you might think. However, WABetaInfo reported that too major changes are being trialled in the beta version of the app and may be rolled out

GOOGLE Chrome can now reveal if your passwords have been hacked. A new update to the Chrome browser makes it much easier to keep prying eyes out of your online accounts. Google already has a Safety Check tool that can scan new passwords you create – to see if those logins are already circulating online.

WINDOWS 10 users are being told to update now before hackers have a chance to take advantage of a critical flaw. An apparent vulnerability within the Microsoft operating system could let cybercriminals take control of your PC and even delete files. Microsoft recently addressed over 100 flaws in its latest Patch Tuesday update, 16 of

CYBER criminals who hacked a celeb law firm are threatening to reveal Donald Trump’s “dirty laundry” unless their $42million ransom is paid within a week. Hacker group REvil doubled their original demand for $21million after stealing confidential files on the firm’s A-list clients including Madonna and Mariah Carey. High-profile attorney Allen Grubman is reportedly refusing

CALL of Duty is forcing some gamers to hand over their phone number before they can play Warzone. It’s a bid to boost account security – but also a clever way to prevent cheaters from abusing the system. Activision is now enforcing two-factor authentication for some users. It means when gamers want to log on,

GOOGLE has removed hundreds of apps suspected of being used to stalk and harass people from its official Play Store. The so-called “creepware” apps had been downloaded more than a million times and were used by hackers to directly or indirectly attack people. Google banned 813 of the downloads last year following a report from

CYBER criminals are threatening to leak A-list stars’ personal information after hacking into a celeb law firm whose clients include Lada Gaga and Elton John. The hackers have already released what is claimed to be a contract for Madonna and warned more will follow unless the lawyers pay a $21million ransom. The crooks penetrated the

MALAYSIAN DJ and Playboy model Leng Yein reportedly helped expose a “massive, highly organized online porn ring.” Yein’s help reportedly lead to more than 136,000 illegal pornographic photos and videos of victims being taken down from the internet, The Daily Beast reported. Yein said that victims begged for her help, as they told her how

A CORONAVIRUS scam-busting service has been able to take down 300 fake sites with help from the public. The Suspicious Email Reporting Service set up in the UK was forwarded over 160,000 suspicious emails after being promoted on TV. The sites in questions were claiming to sell masks, Covid-19 tests and coronavirus cures. The scam

SHOCKING images of child abuse were inflicted on dozens of wine enthusiasts during an online tasting event. The wine workshop was being hosted on video chat app Zoom when it was hacked by ‘cowardly’ internet vandals. The sick cybercriminals proceeded to post horrendous child porn videos to the Zoom chat. Police are currently investigating the

A NEW WhatsApp hoax message sweeping the UK falsely claims to reveal when the nation’s lockdown measures will be lifted. The text, which purports to share leaked information from the government, alerts recipients of an alleged “five-stage” exist strategy ending in August. It’s designed to resemble official government advice, and indicates that lockdown will be

FOREIGN cyber-spies have been seeking coronavirus vaccine information from medical research organisations in the UK and US. A senior US intelligence official and UK security sources reportedly confirmed this to the BBC. ⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates The BBC revealed that the US government has had to warn

A NEW Facebook scam reportedly enables hackers to steal $1.6million from regular users of the social network. The scam involves users voluntarily sending money to a Facebook friend after noticing they have received that money in their PayPal account. However, the money the victims see in their PayPal accounts is removed after a few days.

A SEVERE flaw in Apple’s iPhone software may have left millions of users at risk of having their emails hacked. Cyber-experts said that at least six high-profile victims were targeted using the bug – and millions more could be vulnerable. The bug is believed to have been present in iPhone versions going back to iOS

IGNORE a WhatsApp text offering free beer from Heineken – because it’s a total scam. The message promises four free beer kegs for filling in a survey, but handing over your info is pointless. Heineken has confirmed that it’s a con and no such promotion exists. These scams are fairly common, and are typically “phishing”

AN APP investigation claims to have uncovered a secret network of 27 developers that have created 101 dodgy Android apps. The accused apps have been installed over 69million times and if you’ve got one on your phone experts advise deleting it. According to a report from CyberNews, the developers have been working together to copy,