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Great news for iOS users! You can now use your iPhone or iPad, running iOS 10 or later, as a physical security key for securely logging into your Google account as part of the Advanced Protection Program for two-factor authentication. Android users have had this feature on their smartphones since last year, but now Apple product owners can also use this advanced, phishing-resistant form of authentication as an alternative to a physical security key. Adding extra security later of two-step authentication is one of the more essential steps you can take to secure your online accounts, which makes it harder for attackers to log in to your account, especially when they steal your password. "According to a study we [Google] released last year, people who exclusively used security keys to sign into their accounts never fell victim to targeted phishing attacks," said Shuvo Chatterjee, Product Manager at Google's Advanced Protection Program. Google recently update...

In April this year, a software update from Google overnight turned all Android phones , running Android 7.0 Nougat and up, into a FIDO-certified hardware security key as part of a push to encourage two-step verification. The feature made it possible for users to confirm their identity when logging into a Google account more effortless and secure, without separately managing and plugging-in a Yubico's YubiKey or Google's Titan key . "FIDO security keys provide the strongest protection against automated bots, bulk phishing, and targeted attacks by leveraging public key cryptography to verify your identity and URL of the login page, so that an attacker can't access your account even if you are tricked into providing your username and password," Google said . Android's security key feature until now was only compatible with Bluetooth-enabled Chrome OS, macOS, or Windows 10 devices over the Chrome browser. However, the latest update from Google now allow...

In today's rapidly evolving threat landscape, safeguarding your organization against cyberattacks is more critical than ever. Traditional penetration testing (pentesting), while effective, often falls short due to its high costs, resource requirements, and infrequent implementation. Automated internal and external network pentesting is a game-changing solution, empowering organizations to stay ahead of attackers with cost-effective, frequent, and thorough security assessments. Strengthen Your Defenses: The Role of Internal and External Pentests  Effective cybersecurity requires addressing threats from both inside and outside your organization. Automated solutions streamline this process, enabling IT teams to implement a holistic and proactive defense strategy. Internal Pentesting: Securing the Core Internal pentesting simulates an attacker operating within your network, exposing vulnerabilities such as insider threats, compromised credentials, or breaches through physical or ...

With so many data breaches happening almost every week, it has become difficult for users to know if their credentials are already in possession of hackers or being circulated freely across the Internet. Thankfully, Google has a solution. Today, February 5, on Safer Internet Day, Google launches a new service that has been designed to alert users when they use an exact combination of username and password for any website that has previously been exposed in any third-party data breach. The new service, which has initially been made available as a free Chrome browser extension called Password Checkup , works by automatically comparing the user's entered credential on any site to an encrypted database that contains over 4 billion compromised credentials. If the credentials are found in the list of compromised ones, Password Checkup will prompt users to change their password. Wondering if Google can see your login credentials? No, the company has used a privacy-oriented i...

Google today revealed that Google+ has suffered another massive data breach, forcing the tech giant to shut down its struggling social network four months earlier than its actual scheduled date, i.e., in April 2019 instead of August 2019. Google said it discovered another critical security vulnerability in one of Google+'s People APIs that could have allowed developers to steal private information on 52.5 million users, including their name, email address, occupation, and age. The vulnerable API in question is called "People: get" that has been designed to let developers request basic information associated with a user profile. However, software update in November introduced the bug in the Google+ People API that allowed apps to view users' information even if a user profile was set to not-public. Google engineers discovered the security issue during standard testing procedures and addressed it within a week of the issue being introduced. The company said...

Google just made its Titan Security Key available on its store for $50. First announced last month at Google Cloud Next '18 convention, Titan Security Key is a tiny USB device—similar to Yubico's YubiKey—that offers hardware-based two-factor authentication (2FA) for online accounts with the highest level of protection against phishing attacks. Google's Titan Security Key is now widely available in the United States, with a full kit available for $50, which includes: USB security key, Bluetooth security key, USB-C to USB-A adapter, USB-C to USB-A connecting cable. What Is Google Titan Security Key? Titan Security Keys is based on the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, U2F (universal 2nd factor) protocol and includes a secure element and a firmware developed by Google that verifies the integrity of security keys at the hardware level. It adds an extra layer of authentication to an account on top of your password, and users can quickly log into their acc...

Nintendo's new location-based augmented reality game Pokémon GO has been making rounds since its launch just a few days ago. People are so excited to catch 'em all that brought Nintendo's market-value gains to $7.5 Billion (£5.8 Billion) in just two days – the highest surge since 1983. Due to the huge interest surrounding Pokémon GO, even hackers are using the game's popularity to distribute malicious versions of Pokémon GO that could install DroidJack malware on Android phones, allowing them to compromise user's devices completely. However, the latest threat is related to the privacy concerns raised about the iOS version of the official Pokémon GO app. Pokémon GO – A Huge Security Risk Adam Reeve labeled the game "malware," saying that Pokémon GO is a "huge security risk" as the game, for some reason, grants itself "full account access" to your Google account when you sign into the app via Google on iPhone or iPad. Ye...

It's no secret that Google knows a lot about you. The company tracks almost everything you do on the Internet, including your searches, music you listen to, videos you watch, and even the places you travel to, and it does this for targeting relevant ads to its users and better improve its service. Now the technology giant has a plan to make it easier to control all the data the company collects throughout all your different devices. Google has rolled out a new My Activity page that shows a searchable history of pretty much everything you do online, including previously visited websites, voice searches, searched things and places, watched Netflix programs, and all activities you did on each of its products. "My Activity is a central place to view and manage activity like searches you've done, websites you've visited, and videos you've watched," Google says. "Your activity is listed as individual items, starting with the most recent. These items...

When it comes to data breaches of major online services like LinkedIn , MySpace , Twitter and VK.com , it's two-factor authentication that could save you from being hacked. Two-factor authentication or 2-step verification is an effective way to secure online accounts, but many users avoid enabling the feature just to save themselves from irritation of receiving and typing a six-digit code that takes their 10 to 15 extra seconds. Now, Google has made the 2-Step Verification (2FV) process much easier for its users, allowing you to login with just a single tap instead of typing codes. Previously, you have had to manually enter a six-digit code received via an SMS or from an authenticator app, but now… Google has introduced a new method called " Google Prompt " that uses a simple push notification where you just have to tap on your mobile phone to approve login requests. Also Read: Google Plans to Kill your Passwords . In other words, while signing in to your...

The importance of increasing online security around personal information has risen due to the increase in cyber attacks and data breaches over recent years. I find it hilarious people are still choosing terrible passwords to protect their online accounts. The massive LinkedIn hack is the latest in the example that proves people are absolutely awful at picking passwords. The data breach leaked 167 Million usernames and passwords online, out of which "123456" was used by more than 750,000 accounts, followed by "LinkedIn" ( 172,523 accounts ), and "password" ( 144,458 accounts ). In a typical authentication mechanism, two-factor verification is the second layer of security that is designed to ensure that you are the only person who can access your account, even if someone knows your password. Project Abacus: Password-free Logins Now Instead of just relying on uniquely generated PINs, Google intends to use your biometrics data – like your typi...

As Millions of Hackers, Spammers and Scammers are after your sensitive online data, you can't really expect your passwords to stay secure forever, even if you are using long passwords. Most of us might be worried about losing our passwords as we keep signing up for online services. However, Google is equally concerned about your online security and wants to help you protect your most sensitive data in a most smarter way. Google has now made what has to be one of the smallest computers ever — Project Vault. That's a really catching name announced on the second day of the annual Google I/O developers conference on Friday. Project Vault, designed by Google's ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) group, is a secure computer entirely packed onto a microSD card that can be plugged into any system whether it's a desktop or a mobile phone. The vault is technically a computer though it is not for regular computing. Rather it is a new and secure way to com...

Less than 24 hours after Google launched the new Phishing alert extension Password Alert , a security researcher was able to bypass the feature using deadly simple exploits. On Wednesday, the search engine giant launched a new Password Alert Chrome extension to alert its users whenever they accidentally enter their Google password on a carefully crafted phishing website that aimed at hijacking users' account. However, security expert Paul Moore easily circumvented the technology using just seven lines of simple JavaScript code that kills phishing alerts as soon as they started to appear, defeating Google's new Password Alert extension. Google shortly fixed the issue and released a new update to Password Alert extension that blocked the Moore's exploit. However, Moore discovered another way to block the new version of Password Alert, as well. The first proof of concept exploit by Moore relied on a JavaScript that looks for instances of warning screen every five mil...

As cybercriminals have started using sophisticated phishing techniques in an attempt to hijack online users' account, Google on Wednesday launched a new Chrome Extension to fight against Phishing . The search engine giant has launched a new Password Alert Chrome extension that will alert you whenever you accidentally enter your Google password on a carefully crafted phishing website that aimed at hijacking your account. So, GO and INSTALL the freely available, open-source Password Alert extension which is now available in the Chrome Web Store. Password Alert extension does two things: Prevents you from re-using your Google account password on other websites. Protects you if you've typed the same Google password on a non-Google website by generating a warning that you have just been phished and should immediately change your password. According to the company , nearly two percent of the e-mail messages to Google's Gmail are phishing emails from cyber ...

Google has found an excellent idea to celebrate Safer Internet Day . The search engine giant is offering a nice perk for its users who complete a quick Security Checkup by February 17th. No doubt, its willing to bribe us, , but you probably should review your security settings anyway, and I loved the idea. Now, what's the perk?? Google is providing you 2GB of extra space in your Google Drive account and there's an easy way to fetch the offer. You just have to check your account security, and for that, simply follow the steps given below: In the next week, head to Google's security checkup page Then, follow some simple instructions given on the page Under the Security Checkup process, a user will go through simple confirmations, like: Your backup email address Ensures your account recovery information is current Lets you review recent sign-in activity Confirms the list of apps that access your account information. The process will hardly take 5 minutes or so t...