Technology

Google Ads spread Mac malware disguised as popular browser

Published

6 months ago

July 27, 2024

Press Room

Google Ads spread Mac malware disguised as popular browser

Join Fox News for access to this content

You have reached your maximum number of articles. Log in or create an account FREE of charge to continue reading.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Google Ads are mostly harmless, but if you see one promoting a particular web browser, avoid clicking.

Security researchers have discovered new malware for Mac devices that steals passwords, cryptocurrency wallets and other sensitive data.

It masquerades as Arc, a new browser that recently gained popularity due to its unconventional user experience.

GET SECURITY ALERTS, EXPERT TIPS — SIGN UP FOR KURT’S NEWSLETTER — THE CYBERGUY REPORT HERE

Real new browser image. (Arc)

How the Mac malware infects your device

The Mac malware lurks behind sponsored search results. Clicking the ad redirects you to arc-download[.]com, a phony website that pretends to offer a Mac version of Arc. The downloaded file looks like a typical Mac app installer.

However, there’s one catch — you’re asked to run the file by right-clicking and choosing open, rather than the more straightforward method of simply double-clicking on the file. This is to bypass a security measure Macs have in place. By forcing you to skip this step, the malware tricks you into installing it.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

An analysis of the malware code shows that once installed, the stealer sends stolen information, such as your passwords, to the IP address 79.137.192.4, which turns out to be the home base for this malware’s control panel. This sneaky panel lets cybercriminals access stolen data from infected accounts.

“There is an active scene for Mac malware development focused on stealers,” Jérôme Segura, lead malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes, wrote. “As we can see in this post, there are many contributing factors to such a criminal enterprise. The vendor needs to convince potential customers that their product is feature-rich and has low detection from antivirus software.”

Fake Arc browser ad. (Malwarebytes)

ANDROID BANKING TROJAN MASQUERADES AS GOOGLE PLAY TO STEAL YOUR DATA

The Mac malware is ‘verified by Google’

The Mac malware posing as a Google ad is called Poseidon, according to researchers at Malwarebytes. When clicking the “more information” option next to the ad, it shows it was purchased by an entity called Coles & Co, an advertiser identity Google claims to have verified.

Google verifies every entity that wants to advertise on its platform. In Google’s own words, this process aims “to provide a safe and trustworthy ad ecosystem for users and to comply with emerging regulations.” However, there seems to be some lapse in the verification process if advertisers can openly distribute malware to users. Though it is Google’s job to do everything it can to block bad ads, sometimes bad actors can temporarily evade their detection.

This isn’t even the first instance of cybercriminals exploiting Google ads. I reported in May that ads are being used to position bogus websites atop your search results. These websites pose as trustworthy sites, and they pilfer your money and personal information.

In this latest instance, Google identified this issue and suspended the advertiser account for violating its policies, removing all its ads from its platforms, even before the Malwarebytes report.

We reached out to Google, and a spokesperson offered this statement:

“We prohibit ads that attempt to circumvent our enforcement by disguising the advertiser’s identity to deceive users. When we identify ads that violate our policies we move quickly to remove the ads and suspend the associated advertiser account when applicable, as we did in this case.”

Fake entity called Coles & Co behind bogus ad. (Malwarebytes)

ANDROID USERS AT RISK AS BANKING TROJAN TARGETS MORE APPS

5 ways to protect yourself from Google ads malware

It’s hard to detect which Google ad is malicious. Follow these five tips to protect yourself from these Google search scams.

1. Bookmark or save URL: If you frequently visit certain sites, particularly social media and financial platforms, bookmark or save their URLs. This will ensure that you end up on the right page and avoid counterfeit pages.

2. Avoid clicking on unknown links: Always type the website address directly into your browser’s address bar. Avoid clicking on links, especially those sent via email or found on unfamiliar websites, as they might lead to counterfeit or malicious pages. By manually entering the URL, you ensure that you’re navigating to the correct and intended site, reducing the risk of phishing attacks and other online threats.

The best way to protect yourself from clicking malicious links that install malware that may get access to your private information is to have strong antivirus protection installed on all your devices. This can also alert you of any phishing emails or ransomware scams. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices.

3. Download apps from trusted platforms: When downloading apps on your Mac or any other Apple device, use the App Store. Apple has strict security guidelines that only allow secure and legitimate apps to be hosted on its platform.

4. Keep your browser updated for maximum security: Regularly updating your browser is crucial, as updates often include security patches that protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities.

5. Recognize urgent requests as potential scams: Always be wary if someone is urgently requesting you to do something like send money, provide personal information or click on a link — chances are it’s a scam.

HOW TO REMOVE YOUR PRIVATE DATA FROM THE INTERNET

Kurt’s key takeaway

The Poseidon malware case is a wake-up call for everyone to be super careful with online ads, especially those for popular software. Don’t just click on the first sponsored search result that pops up. Also, ensure you only download apps from trusted sources, like official app stores. To add another layer of security, consider using strong antivirus protection.

Do you feel confident in recognizing legitimate download sites versus fake ones? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

Follow Kurt on his social channels:

Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:

Technology

Intel still dreams of modular PCs — it brought a tablet laptop gaming handheld to CES

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Intel still dreams of modular PCs — it brought a tablet laptop gaming handheld to CES

At CES 2025, Intel let journalists into its private “Innovation Showcase,” where we saw things like prototype next-gen laptops and giant stereo 3D handheld gaming PCs.

While I was there, I also spotted a heavy metal handheld on a table that didn’t seem… fully attached… to its screen. When I lifted the screen, it came away easily.

It felt suspiciously light to be a real tablet, so I flipped it over and saw three connectors underneath:

Above it, on a shelf, was a laptop with a suspiciously sized chunk of plastic on the bottom that looked like a perfect match. A minute later, Intel gaming evangelist Colin Helms confirmed: I was looking at a concept modular PC.

That module contains a complete Intel Lunar Lake computer, the entire guts you’d need to make one work outside of peripherals and screen. It’s basically a reboot of Intel’s abandoned Compute Card idea, except it’s not all Intel’s doing and you probably shouldn’t ever expect it to ship.

It’s a concept from Quanta, a company whose name you don’t typically see on the laptops and tablets they create, because Quanta is an ODM (like Compal, Pegatron, Wistron, and Apple’s better known iPhone supplier Foxconn) that designs and manufactures hardware on behalf of brand names.

Quanta’s calling the whole modular system the “AI8A,” and the aforementioned module at its heart is the “Detachable AI Core.” Helms told me it plugs into other concept computers as well, including an all-in-one desktop that Intel didn’t have to show off. And presumably, like the Compute Card idea, you could upgrade your computer just by putting a new new module into it.

The modular laptop has lots of concept-y bells and whistles too, so many that Intel’s CES staff hadn’t even worked them all out yet.

For starts, the laptop has a motorized hinge, so you can tell it to open and close its own lid; it also claims to offer eye-tracking that lets you sling around multitasking windows just by looking at where you’d like them to be. It apparently comes with a mouse integrated into a ring that you could wear.

The most mundane: a built-in Qi wireless charging pad in the palmrest, with indicator lights to show your battery’s remaining capacity.

I couldn’t try any of it working, unfortunately, nor did I manage to ask what “AI8A” means, because I mistakenly thought it said Aiba until I checked my photos closely just now. Nor could we hotswap the module between the handheld and laptop, since the module apparently doesn’t have a battery inside.

Again, this is a cool computing concept car: it’s not likely that this computer will ever ship, even in a more practical / less gadgety form. Thankfully, we have begun to see some real, practical modularity in the laptop space since the death of Intel’s Compute Card. Framework just celebrated its fifth anniversary this week, and Dell took a smaller step forward at CES with its first modular repairable USB-C port.

Photos by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Technology

AI isn’t going anywhere: Prompts to make life easier

Published

10 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

AI isn’t going anywhere: Prompts to make life easier

I was having dinner with my husband in Paris. We got the wine menu and all the names, of course, were in French. Barry wanted something equivalent to a Napa cabernet, so I took a picture of the menu and asked ChatGPT. In seconds, it recommended a wine. I double-checked with the waiter, and he gave it a thumbs-up.

Win a pair of $329 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Enter here, no purchase necessary!

You might think AI is just for businesses, programmers, or the ultra tech-savvy, but it’s not. It’s for anyone willing to give it a try.

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Instead of ignoring this powerful tool, make this the year you embrace AI. It’s easier and more helpful than you think.

Let’s start with the basics

“So, uh, where do I find ChatGPT?” I get that in my email every day. Use it on the web or download it for iPhone or Android.

The free tier works for most people. I pay $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus. It’s worth it to me for access to the better features and faster response times. Start with free. If you find yourself relying on your favorite AI tool regularly, consider upgrading. It is worth considering.

A man is pictured working on an airplane and using a cellphone. (iStock)

ChatGPT isn’t the only option, but it is my preference (at least for now) and the most popular. You can also try Google Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.

With all these, the workflow is the same. Think of it like Google, but instead of punching in one search term and scrolling through results, you have a “conversation” with the bot to get exactly the output you want.

Like any tool, you need to use AI wisely and triple-check its results. Trust me, you don’t want to end up like those lawyers who used AI to draft court documents, only to have the judge catch the glaring mistakes.

BIOMETRIC DATA: IS IT SAFE TO HAND IT OVER TO ANY COMPANY THAT ASKS?

You’ve heard of prompts, right?

This is what we call the text, question or command you provide an AI system to guide its response or action. It’s your instruction on what you want, so the better your prompt, the more useful and accurate the response will be.

“Priming” is the insider term for telling a chatbot exactly what you want from it. With ChatGPT or any other, the more constraints you give, the better your answer. Examples: “Limit your response to 250 words,” “Give me the list in bullet points,” “Format the results as a table,” “Use this data to create a bar chart.”

Remember, AI can’t read your mind. It only knows what you tell it. Use “do” and “don’t” in your prompts to get the results you want. Say you’re cooking for friends, and some have allergies. Say, “Create a recipe for six people. Do include protein, fruits, vegetables and carbs. Don’t include dairy products, shellfish or nuts.”

ChatGPT app shown on a iPhone screen with many apps.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen. (iStock)

7 prompts to make life easier

Make your goals actionable: “I have a goal for 2025 to [fill in the blank]. Can you help me make it SMART?” (SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.) Maybe you’re not there yet. Try this: “I want to [fill in the blank], but it feels overwhelming, and I don’t know where to start. Can you help me by breaking it down into more manageable tasks?”

“Give me 10 more examples”: That’s a prompt I use with ChatGPT all the time to make the chatbot a better brainstorming buddy. Some of its “ideas” are downright bad, but it might spark something creative in your brain, too.

“How can I make this better?” Add in anything you’ve written — a blog post, a travel plan, a resume or even a heartfelt email. This prompt works wonders for polishing your work and pointing out improvements, like a personal editor at your fingertips.

DO THIS WITH YOUR FAMILY VIDEOS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Your very own free assistant: Say you have messy notes from a meeting. By hand, you’d spend 15 minutes turning those into an email fit for your boss or team. Instead, open a chatbot and say, “Turn these notes into a professional, friendly email to my team.” Paste your notes at the end and voila. Pro tip: Ask your bot of choice, “Is there anything that needs more details?” to fill in any missing info.

Shortcut your inbox: When you get a really long email, open your AI chatbot of choice, and type in the prompt, “Summarize this email for me. Tell me what I need to do, then write a thoughtful reply. Here is the email.” Paste in the email and let AI do its magic.

Wanna get in shape? Ask your AI to create a custom fitness plan. Try this: “Create a 30-day fitness plan for fat loss and muscle gain tailored to a [male/female] beginner at [your age].” Or get specific: “Create a four-week fitness plan to help me run a mile for the first time.” Don’t sweat it.

A 12-year-old boy types as he uses a laptop computer on December 19, 2023, in Bath, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Spouse forgot to load the dishes again? Instead of firing off a rage-filled text, let AI step in. Ask your fave chatbot to reframe your frustration into something a bit more … constructive. I like this prompt: “Make this message sound more friendly.”

Don’t forget about privacy

It’s easy to think your bot is a trusted ally, especially when it’s pumping out helpful answers all day long. But it’s definitely not. It’s a data-collecting tool like any other.

Be smart about what you say. Never type in passwords, sensitive financial data, or confidential work or business information. My rule of thumb: Don’t tell a chatbot anything you wouldn’t want made public.

With a free ChatGPT or Perplexity account, you can turn off memory features in the app settings that remember everything you type in. For Google Gemini, you need a paid account to do this.

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

Technology

Amazon is ‘winding down’ some of its DEI programs

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Amazon is ‘winding down’ some of its DEI programs

As we head toward the end of the year, I want to give another update on the work we’ve been doing around representation and inclusion.

As a large, global company that operates in different countries and industries, we serve hundreds of millions of customers from a range of backgrounds and globally diverse communities. To serve them effectively, we need millions of employees and partners that reflect our customers and communities. We strive to be representative of those customers and build a culture that’s inclusive for everyone.

In the last few years we took a new approach, reviewing hundreds of programs across the company, using science to evaluate their effectiveness, impact, and ROI – identifying the ones we believed should continue. Each one of these addresses a specific disparity, and is designed to end when that disparity is eliminated. In parallel, we worked to unify employee groups together under one umbrella, and build programs that are open to all. Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes – and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture. You can read more about this on our Together at Amazon page on A to Z.

This approach – where we move away from programs that were separate from our existing processes, and instead integrating our work into existing processes so they become durable— is the evolution to “built in” and “born inclusive,” instead of “bolted on.” As part of this evolution, we’ve been winding down outdated programs and materials, and we’re aiming to complete that by the end of 2024. We also know there will always be individuals or teams who continue to do well-intentioned things that don’t align with our company-wide approach, and we might not always see those right away. But we’ll keep at it.

We’ll continue to share ongoing updates, and appreciate your hard work in driving this progress. We believe this is important work, so we’ll keep investing in programs that help us reflect those audiences, help employees grow, thrive, and connect, and we remain dedicated to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees, and communities around the world.