Portugal computer justice system is just 3 failed password attempts away

The computer system Citius, used by the Justice Department in Portugal, has a very strange notion of "security". Should a user fail the login attempt three times, the system would simply allow them to create a new password.

This came to light among the many revelations made by an investigation into one of the countries largest soccer club - Benfica - that is being accused of corruption and having access to privileged information for ongoing justice investigations. Apparently, the "mole" was simply taking advantage of that security (should we still call that security?) issue, by simply failing a login three times using any magistrate's username, and then entering a new password and have full access to the system.

... What would all those security experts, that have been alerting us for years that SMS-based 2-factor authentication isn't secure enough, think of this?

How to prevent the Bad Rabbit ransomware

There's a new ransomware Bad Rabbit sweeping the world; fortunately, there's an easy way for you to ensure you won't feel its wrath even if you get infected.

Beware sites asking for registration

Hackers are using innocent looking site to perform a clever attack that can take control of your account in other online services, even if you have complex passwords and even 3-factor authentication enabled.

Windows Defender put Windows users at risk

Windows comes with a virus and malware protection system called Windows Defender, but this time it was a Defender service that was putting the system at risk.

Check which apps and services can access your main accounts

It's easy to lose track of the numerous apps and services that can access your data, and it's important that every once in a while you check it out and remove all non-essential apps that do so.

Beware of "phishing" phone calls

People might be (slowly) learning about the risk of phishing, but emails are not the only way fraudsters use to try and get the data they need. They can call you pretending to be your bank and ask you directly.

Hackers use hard drive noises as a way to extract information from air gaped computers

In the paranoid world of digital espionage, the holy grail is to be able to infect and extract information from a computer kept disconnected from any network, and now there's a new method to do it using hard drive noises.

Google Prompt simplifies 2-step authentication using your smartphone

Google had already vowed to make secure login methods easier to use, and it has just done that with the new Google Prompt 2-step verification method.

TeamViewer may have been hacked - users at risk

TeamViewer is one of the most popular remote access services, letting users access their computers as if they were there even if they're halfway around the world - but that's also a big risk, should a hacker be able to access your computer as if it was you.

10y old gets $10,000 for Instagram bug

No one likes bugs... unless you end up getting $10k from Facebook, for finding a nasty Instagram bug, like Jani, a 10 year old finish kid.

Surveillance cameras with malware found on Amazon

As if there weren't enough issues already regarding the potential bad configuration of surveillance cameras that might let the entire world see what's happening in your home (or office), now there's a chance you might be getting a surveillance system with malware already included in it.

CNBC asks for reader's passwords - promptly puts them at risk

CNBC had the neat idea of talking about secure passwords and good practices to create them; unfortunately it had the terrible idea of creating a password assessment test that put all the visitor's passwords at risk.

Cars vulnerable to simple range extender for wireless keys

Wireless keys have made cars much easier to use, but that system can also easily be abused by thieves, which can use range extenders to easily open up a car (and even start it) even if the legitimate key is hundreds of meters away.

Inkjet printed fingerprints can fool smartphones' sensors

Fingerprint sensors are becoming increasingly common in smartphones, but there are those that want to remind us that they may not be as secure as people may think, showing that a simple inkjet printer may be enough to bypass such protection.

John McAfee offers to crack San Bernardino shooter's iPhone for free

John McAfee has been quite a character over the past few years, and now jumps back into action in regards tothe FBI vs Apple case over the locked iPhone, offering his services to crack the device for free - but not because it sides with the FBI, quite the contrary.

Get 2GB of free Google space today

To celebrate the Safer Internet Day, Google is offering an added 2GB of free space for those reviewing their security checklist.

Samsung allows easy bypass of Android Factory Reset Protection

Just a few days after Google hinted Samsung would better stop meddling with Android, as it was introducing several basic security flaws that made it vulnerable, here's another jab: Samsung's modifications make it very easy for anyone to bypass Android's anti-theft reset protection system.

Hundreds of apps on App Store secretly stole user data

If you thought using nothing but apps downloaded from Apple's official App Store has enough to keep you safe, here's another incident that proves otherwise, and that may have left over a million users vulnerable to data theft.

Android 5.x flaw lets anyone bypass a password protected lockscreen

If you're one of those people that care so much about your privacy that you selected the password protection on your Android smartphone over the simpler PIN or gesture methods, you may want to reconsider it: as the password protection is flawed and allows anyone to bypass it.

Medium ditches passwords for temporary urls

Want to know the best way to avoid all the concerns regarding passwords? Not to use them at all. That's what Medium has just did, replacing passwords with temporary urls sent to your email.