Krishna A virus represents the oldest form of malware and is by far the best known to the public. But what is a virus? What separates a virus from other forms of malware? How is a virus created, and how does it target its victim? This section explores these questions and how they affect you, the … Read more
malware is an extremely broad term that blankets a range of software packages. We can say that malware is anything that steals resources, time, identity, or just about anything else while it is in operation. In order to understand what malware is, let’s look at the major types before we delve deeper into the mechanics … Read more
Ethical hackers should be mindful of the web of laws that relates to the deployment and use of malware. Over the years, malware has been subjected to increasing legal attention as the technology has evolved from being harmless to much more malicious and expansive in its abilities. The creation and use of malware have led … Read more
Malware is a term that is frequently used but frequently misapplied, so let’s first clarify its meaning. The term malware is short for malicious software, which accurately explains what this class of software is designed to do: to perform malicious and disruptive actions. Simply put, malware is any type of software that performs actions without … Read more
Once you gain access to a system and obtain sufficient privileges, it’s time to compromise the system and carry out the attack. Which applications are executed at this point is up to the attacker, but they can either be custom-built applications or off-the-shelf software. An attacker executes different applications on a system with specific goals … Read more
Security Accounts Manager (SAM) Inside the Windows operating system is a database that stores security principals (accounts or any entity that can be authenticated). In the Microsoft world, these principals can be stored locally in a database known as the Security Accounts Manager (SAM). Credentials, passwords, and other account information are stored in this database; … Read more
According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is due to propose a new set of rules known as the Digital Services Act, which will seek to hold tech companies to higher standards. Under extreme circumstances, offending companies could be excluded from the EU. In an interview with The Financial Times, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for international … Read more
Months ago, when the UK was in the midst of a nationwide lockdown brought on by the outbreak of Covid-19, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the release of an NHSX contact-tracing app that would be at the heart of the Government’s strategy to ease restrictions. Although the app was touted for a mid-May release, after … Read more
Facebook is fighting demands from European data regulators to stop transferring user data from the EU to US servers. In a lawsuit filed in Dublin, the company warned that it would not be able to provide services to EU users if forced to comply with the order. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ireland’s … Read more
Gathering information from a target is through the use of SMTP. This protocol is designed to send messages between servers that send and receive e-mail. SMTP is the standard used by the majority of e-mail servers and clients today. So how is this protocol used to gather information from a server? The process is quite … Read more