Why You Need Antivirus Software & How to Select the Right One

You probably heard about switches for LAN but not a lot of people heard about KVM switches. So what exactly is KVM switch?

If we look at the name, it is a shortcut for Keyboard, Video & Mouse and the original idea was to have multiple computers but one keyboard, mouse, and monitor. These peripherals would be connected to the KVM switch and other computers could all use one set of these on the fly when needed.

The technology behind the switch is a little interesting since it will actively fake signals to other computers that are not using peripherals. Once they are switched to them the transition is smooth and not noticeable. In old days these switches were more important than today since on every mouse or keyboard disconnection you had to reboot the computer, and although today that is not the case CPU will still detect disconnection and on the next connection it will run through the ID of the device and try to use the existing driver and if peripheral was connected in other USB port, it will install the same driver but connect it to the new USB port.

This type of reconnection can slow down work and place unnecessary load on the CPU so that is why KVM will fake connection in order to make switching externals on the computer smooth and in nick of a time.

Modern KVM switch

These days modern KVM switches will offer you more options than just being able to switch between keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Modern switches now offer Lan, audio, and many more various options.

There are also different kinds of switches offering you only one option, like for example just a Video switch that will let you use one monitor on three computers and many more other specialized options.

Software switches

So far we talked about Hardware switches, a real device being able to take peripherals into it and switch computers on the fly. On the other line, we have software switch solutions that will have specific software installed on all computers and have it run at all times, and switching between them will be through specific software.

There are two very good and main advantages of using software solutions instead of a hardware one. First, of course, is the price, since the most popular Synergy is an open-source solution, completely free of charge. The second big advantage is that software switch is not limited to how many computers can you use. Hardware switches tend to go to a large number like 16 but if you have a large cluster of computers over a LAN, let's say 30 then the box solution might be difficult.

On the other hand software solution will switch only keyboard and mouse since each other computer will have to have some screen on it in order to work. Both solutions have their strong advantages and disadvantages and it is up to you to choose one that best suits you.

Conclusion

If you are multitasking with a lot of computers or just need your peripherals from time to time to connect to another machine then the KVM switch is something that you might find the use of. Just be aware that if you go for some cheap switch you might experience some lag on your peripherals, but if that is not a concern you can get hardware one for as low as $50 USD.

If you encounter Error 0xc0000005 when you try to launch a program on your Windows 10 computer then this means that Windows was unable to process the files and the configuration correctly needed in order to run the program properly. You can encounter this kind of error with an installed program and even as the installer for a particular program. To fix this error, this post will provide you with some potential fixes that might help. Error 0xc0000005 occurs due to Access Violation which happens when a user tries to open a program and this error code may be accompanied by any of the following three error messages:

• The application was unable to start correctly
• Access violation Exception Error
• Windows Installation Error

To fix this error, you need to follow the given options below carefully but before you do that, you can try to use System Restore Point first to put your computer back to its previously known stable state.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

After performing System Restore check if Error 0xc0000005 is now fixed or not. If not, then make sure to use the options given below to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Update or rollback drivers

If the System Restore didn’t work, then it’s time to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 2 – Try running the System File Checker Scan

The SFC or System File Checker scan could detect and automatically repair damaged system files that could be causing Error 0xc0000005. SFC is a built-in command utility which helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

 Now restart your computer.

Option 3 – Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool

Since this error could be caused by some issues in the memory, you can try running the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool and see if it helps.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
• After that, it will give two options such as:
  • Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
  • Check for problems the next time I start my computer
• Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.

Note: After you select the option, your PC will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them and if there’s no issue found, then it’s most likely not a memory-based issue so you should try the other options given below.

Option 4 – Try recreating the Boot records

If your system files are infected and modified by some malware, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting Error 0xc0000005 since this error can also be due to malware. To fix this, you can try to recreate the boot records on your computer. How? Follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “cmd” in the field and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
• After that, type in each one of the following commands below and hit Enter right after you input each one of them.
  • Del D:WindowsSystem32xOsload.exe
  • Del D:WindowsSystem32xNtKrnl.exe
  • Del D:WindowsSystem32Driversoem-drv64.sys
  • attrib c:bootbcd -h -r –s
  • ren c:bootbcd bcd.old
  • bootrec /rebuildbcd
• After you input the listed commands above, it will recreate all the files needed inside the boot record.

Option 5 – Try turning off Data Execution Prevention or DEP

You might want to turn off Data Execution Prevention or DEP if it could be the one that’s blocking your process to run a particular program. To disable DEP, refer to the steps below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start Search and then right-click on Command Prompt from the results and select Run as Administrator.
• After that, type the following command and hit Enter to disable DEP:

bcedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff

• Restart your computer.

Option 6 – Try to fix Registry

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, go to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWindows
• From there, double click on LoadAppInit_DLLs located at the right side of the panel and change its value from “0” to “1”.
• Now restart your computer.

Option 7 – Try checking RAM

You can also check RAM physically and see if it is in an operable condition. You might want to consider replacing it and see if it fixes the error.

Option 8 – Try to disable your antivirus program temporarily

Disabling the antivirus program or any security software installed in your computer might help in resolving the error since there is a good chance that it’s blocking the program from execution due to suspicious behavior. Just don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 9 – Troubleshot the problem in a Clean Boot State

There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing Error 0xc0000005. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.

Option 10 – Try resetting Windows 10

To fix this error, you can try resetting Windows 10. Doing so won’t get rid of any file in your system – instead of erasing all your media files and documents, this reset option resets all the system settings and files.

Windows has a lot of built-in tools that help you fix tons of system-related issues. One of them is the System File Check which is the tool you can use to conveniently replace potentially corrupted or missing system files with good ones. But what happens when it does not work? Well, you’ve come to the right place as in this post, you will be guided on how you can replace a corrupted single Windows system file manually with a known good copy of the file if the System File Checker scan is not working. When you encounter this issue with the System File Checker, it will be unable to replace the corrupted system files and returns an error message instead. And so to fix and replace corrupted system files in your Windows 10 computer without the help of System File Checker, you can refer to the instructions provided below. Step 1: First, you need to open the log files listed below and identify which particular file has been corrupted:

• %userprofile%Desktopsfcdetails.txt
• Log %WinDir%LogsCBSCBS.log

Step 2: You will see all the details on the given log files. Once you find out the name and the path of the file, you have to take ownership of this corrupted system file. Step 3: To take ownership of the corrupted file, you need to pull up Command Prompt by tapping Win + R keys on your keyboard and then type “cmd” and tap Enter. Step 4: After opening Command Prompt, type and enter the command below to execute it:

takeown /f FileNameAndPath

Note: In the given command, “FileNameAndPath” represents the name and the path of the corrupted file. For instance, the corrupted file is named “wuapi.dll”, then you need to type “takeown /f C:/Windows/System32/wuapi.dll” Step 5: Next, you need to grant administrators full access & control to the corrupted file and you can do that via Command Prompt again. Step 6: In the elevated Command Prompt, type and enter the following command to execute it:

icacls FileNameAndPath /GRANT ADMINISTRATORS:F

Note: We’re going to use the wuapi.dll again as an example. So the command should be like this: icacls “C:/Windows/System32/wuapi.dll /grant administrators: F”. Step 7: Now all that’s left to do is replace the corrupted system file with a good copy from a trusted source. Once you have a copy, open an elevated Command Prompt again and execute the following command:

copy NewFileLocation FileNameAndPath

Note: In the command given above, the “NewFileLocation” is the location where you have saved the copy of the file. For instance, if you’ve saved it on your desktop, this is how it should look: “copy C:/Users/<username>/Desktop/wuapi.dll C:/windows/system32/wuapi.dll”

One of the hardest issues you can encounter on your Windows computer is the Blue Screen of Death error. There are various kinds of BSOD or Stop errors and one of them is the “Memory Management Error 0x0000001A” error. This kind of Stop error might signify a hardware problem in your computer and is most likely caused by an issue with RAM or hard disk or even malware that takes up all your computer’s memory, thus, making it crash and display a BSOD error like the Memory Management Error 0x0000001A. Moreover, this kind of Stop error can also occur during the Windows upgrading process. So in this post, we’ll show you what you can do to fix the Memory Management error on your Windows 10 PC.

Option 1 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that can be found on the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

Option 2 – Update the device drivers

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. Look for the device driver you and then select either “Update driver” or “Uninstall device”. And if you find any “Unknown device”, you need to update it as well.
• Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
• If you have chosen to uninstall the driver, follow the screen options to complete the process and then restart your PC.
• Connect the device and Scan for hardware changes – you can see this option under Device Manager > Action.

Option 3 – Run the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool to test RAM

Since the issue concerns the memory of your computer, you can also try running the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool to find out if the RAM module of your computer has become corrupted. To run this tool, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + S keys to open Search.
• Then type “Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool.
• After that select any of the following option from the prompt that appears:
  • “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)”
  • “Check for problems the next time I start my computer”
• After that, if you find that your RAM is corrupted, you might have to purchase a new one or change the motherboard of your computer.

Option 4 – Run the DISM tool

There are cases when the Memory Management Error 0x0000001A error is caused by the Windows System Image so you need to repair it using the DISM or Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management tool. The DISM tool is another command-line tool in the Windows operating system that could help users fix various corrupted system files. To use it, follow these steps:

• Open the Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in this command: Dism /Online /CheckHealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Option 5 – Run the SFC scan

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

Option 6 – Try using System Restore

You can also try to perform a System Restore as it can also help you fix the BSOD error. You can do this option either by booting into Safe Mode or in System Restore. If you are already in the Advanced Startup Options, just directly select System Restore and proceed with the next steps. And if you have just booted your PC into Safe Mode, refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

In case you don’t know, a teletype network, also known as Telnet, is a protocol that is meant for internet or LAN communication which is used primarily to control other computers effortlessly. And it is available as a command-line utility in Windows and helps users in opening a command-line interface for the remote computer. However, a lot of users have reported an error that states, “Telnet is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file” when you try to use it. If you are one of these users, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how to fix this error in Windows 10. This kind of error means that the Telnet utility is not installed on your computer but Telnet is a default feature in Windows 10 so the protocol mainly is not enabled yet. The Telnet client is disabled by default in Windows 10 and to fix this error, you can try to enable the Telnet Client via Programs and Features or try to install Telnet using an elevated Command Prompt.

Option 1 – Try to enable the Telnet Client via Programs and Features

The first thing you can do is to enable the Telnet client using Programs and Features since it is disabled by default. To do that, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features window.
• Next, select the “Turn Windows features on or off” from the options given on the left-hand side.
• After that, look for the Telnet client from the list and check the checkbox next to it and then click on OK to save the changes made.
• Now restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try to install Telnet via an elevated Command Prompt

If enabling the Telnet client using Programs and Features didn’t work, then you can try to do it using Command Prompt instead. To get started, follow the steps given below.

• In the Windows Search bar, type “command prompt” in the field and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results, and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Next, execute this command to enable the Telnet client: dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient
• Once the command has been executed, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer.

Google fonts are a free open-source font library made to enrich web content and present end-user with a smooth web experience while surfing. Fonts are completely free for both commercial and personal use and they are not limited to use in WEB only, you can use them also in other projects like business cards, flyers, etc. In order to use google fonts first thing of course you will need to download them. In this guide, we will show you how to download and install google fonts.

• Go to the Google Fonts page.
• Select the font family that you wish to use. You can preview each font style to make double-sure it is the right one.
• When you are ready, click on the Download family button.

• A File Explorer window will pop up, asking you where to save the font family.
• The downloaded file will be compressed in .zip format to save bandwidth, so you will first need to uncompress/unzip it. Right-click on the file and select Extract all.

• You will then be asked where to unzip/extract the file. File Explorer will automatically create a new subfolder, named as the file name, so all you need to do is confirm it by clicking Extract.

• Click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your desktop

• Select the Personalization category and Fonts.

• Split the screen between File Explorer and Settings by dragging the windows to either the left or right edge of the screen. Select all the font files by pressing CTRL + A and drag them into the Add fonts box.

Internet connectivity issues like Can’t connect to this network present a complex problem with simple solutions for PC and laptop users. First, it is usually recommended that users rule out problems with the internet connection, router, and Wi-Fi settings before proceeding to troubleshoot settings on your PC/laptop. Once the rest are ruled out, we can then proceed with the following troubleshooting steps and guidelines to fix your wifi connection issue: The first step is to update your windows network adapter driver. Connectivity problems may arise if your network driver is not updated or if it is incompatible with the network adapter. To do so, you may resort to any third-party driver scanning and installing programs found online. This solution should resort if users don’t want the hassle of perusing through windows settings that users may not be familiar with. However, this solution requires a pre-existing internet connection other than wifi, so it is recommended you have a backup internet connection via ethernet. The second step is to uninstall the driver for your network adapter. This solution is to resort if there is an issue with the driver as restarting the PC after the following steps let windows reinstall the driver again:

• Open the quick access menu on your keyboard by pressing the Windows key and X key at the same time and select “Device Manager” from the menu list.
• From the list of devices, select “Network Adapters”
• Usually on the top of the list is the Wireless Network Adapter
• Right-click the Wireless Network Adapter and select the option to “Uninstall device”
• You will be given a confirmation in a new separate window to proceed. Click “Uninstall” to proceed.
• After completing the previous steps, try rebooting your Windows PC and reconnecting to see if it works.

A third step is to disable the 802.1 1n modes of your network adapter by following the next steps:

• First press the Windows logo key and the X key at the same time to bring up the quick-access menu. And like the previous step, select “Device Manager”
• From the list of devices, select “Network Adapters”
• Right-click the Wireless Network Adapter from the drop-down menu and select properties
• Under properties, select the “Advanced” tab then select the 802.1 1n Mode. To the right drop-down menu change the option to  “Disabled” and click “Ok”
• After, try to re-establish the connection to see if the steps have worked.

In the event that any of the preceding did not fix your problem, it helps to take a second look at the router and network settings using the interface provided by your ISP. A simple reset to the back of your router often fixes the issue. Also, try to check if you have any other administrative capabilities over the network to determine whether your device, in particular, has been MAC filtered or if the frequency of your wireless adapter is not compatible with the broadcast frequency of your router.

What's Error 0x8004060c?

If you use Ms-Outlook. You may experience the malfunction 0x8004060c sooner or later. This malfunction was proven to arise in nearly every MS Outlook variation be it 2010 or 2,000, 2007. The malfunction 0x8004060c hinders your capacity to deliver and get e-mails from and your MS-Outlook account and happens without any forewarning. The error happens when the PST file grows too big and there's almost no memory to handle the increase (Which is rather rare nowadays). Generally, the PST file has about 2 gigabytes upper limit and when you reach that, this error is unavoidable. This error happens when you attempt incorporating data that is fresh into your MS-OUTLOOK Account.

Solution

Error Causes

This malfunction might generate difficulties for you personally as your e-mails vanish and can happen suddenly. The system could also crash at times unpredictably. You may not be able to see fresh notifications and attachments in your e-mail. Also, it's also possible to drop significant contact details. What's more, this malfunction could stop e-mails that are fresh to arrive in your inbox. Therefore, it is undoubtedly a significant issue that has to be repaired immediately. The following may be some of the causes for error 0x8004060c:-

• This error might occur when OST/PST file got corrupt.
• OST file becomes inaccessible due to Exchange connectivity or synchronization issue.
• OST/PST file exceeded its default maximum file size.

Further Information and Manual Repair

In the event that you find the malfunction 0x8004060c at any stage, you should do the repair instead of risking dropping connections and all the significant data in your account. The easiest way to repair this malfunction and to handle this issue would be to download the Restoro. Click here to obtain this fix tool on your computer. After installing, click your mouse's left button after which can use the application. It repairs the error code 0x8004060c in the least period and walks you through the entire repair procedure quickly.

If you are using the Camera app on your Windows 10 computer but encountered an error code 0xa00f429f with an error message that says, “Can’t start your camera”, read on as this post will guide you in fixing this problem. This kind of error in the Camera app could be due to a recent update gone wrong or it could also be due to a corrupted driver. If you are certain that the camera is connected and is properly installed, you can try to check for updated drivers. The error code signifies that the drivers have to be updated. However, that isn’t always the case sometimes as the problem could also have something to do with corruption in the driver. The effective ways to troubleshoot this problem would be trying to reinstall or reset the Windows Camera app, or update, rollback or uninstall some device drivers as well as use the Registry Editor. Before you proceed with the instructions provided below, make sure that you have admin privileges and don’t forget to create a System Restore point.

Option 1 – Try to reset or reinstall the Windows Camera app

As pointed out earlier, you can also reset the Camera app to fix the error. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is go to the My Pictures folder under the C: drive of the File Explorer and then delete the Camera Roll folder.
• Once you’re done, right-click on an empty area on your screen and create a new folder and name it “Camera Roll”.
• Then from the Start menu open the Settings app and select System.
• From there, navigate to the Apps and features section.
• Now go to Camera and click on the Advanced Options and click the Reset button.

Option 2 – Try to reinstall the Camera app

If resetting the Camera app didn’t help, you might want to reinstall it by following these steps:

• Tap the Win + X keys and select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option from the menu to open Windows PowerShell as admin.
• Next, type this command to uninstall the Camera app: Get-AppxPackage *camera* | Remove-AppxPackage
• Once done, exit the Windows PowerShell and restart your computer and then try to install the latest version of the Camera app from Microsoft Store.

Option 3 – Try to rollback, update or disable drivers

The next thing you can do to fix the error code 0xa00f429f in the Camera app is to roll back, or update, or disable device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• After opening the Device Manager, look for the device drivers which have a yellow exclamation mark.
• Then right-click on each one of them. If you haven’t updated this driver in a while, select the “Update Driver” option. On the other hand, if you’ve just updated this driver, then select the Uninstall Device option.
• Next, follow the screen option to update or uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically if you have chosen to uninstall them.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 4 – Try to use the Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and then hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWOW6432NodeMicrosoftWindows Media FoundationPlatform
• From there, right-click on any empty space on the right side part of the window and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Then name it as “EnableFrameServerMode” and double click on it.
• Now set its value data to “0” and its base value as Hexadecimal and then click on OK.
• After that, restart your computer and see if it helped in fixing the problem or not.

New malware with extensive spyware capabilities steals data from infected Android devices and is designed to automatically trigger whenever new info is read to be exfiltrated. The spyware can only be installed as a 'System Update' app available via third-party Android app stores as it was never available on Google's Play Store. This drastically limits the number of devices it can infect, given that most experienced users will most likely avoid installing it in the first place. The malware also lacks a method to infect other Android devices on its own, adding to its limited spreading capabilities. However, when it comes to stealing your data, this remote access trojan (RAT) can collect and exfiltrate an extensive array of information to its command-and-control server. Zimperium researchers who spotted it observed it while "stealing data, messages, images and taking control of Android phones."

What happens when malicious software is installed

"Once in control, hackers can record audio and phone calls, take photos, review browser history, access WhatsApp messages, and more," they added. Zimperium said its extensive range of data theft capabilities includes:

• Stealing instant messenger messages;
• Stealing instant messenger database files (if the root is available);
• Inspecting the default browser's bookmarks and searches;
• Inspecting the bookmark and search history from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Samsung Internet Browser;
• Searching for files with specific extensions (including .pdf, .doc, .docx, and .xls, .xlsx);
• Inspecting the clipboard data;
• Inspecting the content of the notifications;
• Recording audio;
• Recording phone calls;
• Periodically take pictures (either through the front or back cameras);
• Listing of the installed applications;
• Stealing images and videos;
• Monitoring the GPS location;
• Stealing SMS messages;
• Stealing phone contacts;
• Stealing call logs;
• Exfiltrating device information (e.g., installed applications, device name, storage stats).

How does it work?

Once installed on an Android device, the malware will send several pieces of info to its Firebase command-and-control (C2) server, including storage stats, the internet connection type, and the presence of various apps such as WhatsApp. The spyware harvests data directly if it has root access or will use Accessibility Services after tricking the victims into enabling the feature on the compromised device. It will also scan the external storage for any stored or cached data, harvest it, and deliver it to the C2 servers when the user connects to a Wi-Fi network. Unlike other malware designed to steal data, this one will get triggered using Android's contentObserver and Broadcast receivers only when some conditions are met, like the addition of a new contact, new text messages, or new apps being installed. "Commands received through the Firebase messaging service initiate actions such as recording of audio from the microphone and exfiltration of data such as SMS messages," Zimperium said. "The Firebase communication is only used to issue the commands, and a dedicated C&C server is used to collect the stolen data by using a POST request."

Camouflage

The malware will also display fake "Searching for the update.." system update notifications when it receives new commands from its masters to camouflage its malicious activity. The spyware also conceals its presence on infected Android devices by hiding the icon from the drawer/menu. To further evade detection, it will only steal thumbnails of videos and images it finds, thus reducing the victims' bandwidth consumption to avoid drawing their attention to the background data exfiltration activity. Unlike other malware that harvests data in bulk, this one will also make sure that it exfiltrates only the most recent data, collecting location data created and photos taken within the last few minutes. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.