BASH into Windows 10.

                  Microsoft released its operating system Windows 10 recently and there has been millions of downloads and of course Microsoft made many to download Windows 10 to their systems. Recently there has been a news that Microsoft is going to support BASH into Windows 10.

                   Microsoft also has a command line utility named "Command prompt (cmd.exe)" and also power users / administrators uses "Powershell". They serves many awesome services to the users and on the opposite side Ubuntu has #BASH (#Bourne Again SHell).

                   BASH beats both cmd and powershell in many ways as it can do magic if properly used in Ubuntu flavours. Almost all Linux build has BASH inbuilt and there has been many commands used normally but has greater impact.

                    There is an official statement that Microsoft is going to support BASH in new Windows 10. Of course now also the users can run BASH by installing any third party applications such as Cygwin but now it is officially supported by Microsoft.

                    It is not Virtual machine that runs on Windows or Linux just BASH is supported. Users can download it from Windows store and use it. Microsoft is working with Ubuntu parent company Canonical for this new support.

                   The feature is yet to be released and if released will contain all features such as sudo, apt, get, wget, perl, python and many more BASH commands. If not wrong shell scripting can also be executed with bash support.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Gmail new privacy features.

               There has been millions of users across globe using Gmail feature and Google is constantly adding new features to its mail service. Recently there has been 5 new features added to Gmail service.

                1. End to End Encryption:

                           End to end encryption is one such awesome feature and it prevents the Man in the Middle attack and of course it exists before itself but now they are offering it through their Chrome Extension and PGP is one such feature many uses but it may seems to be tedious for some beginners and so they rolled out a chrome extension to support end to end encryption

                 2. New Red Padlock Icon:

                            If you have used Gmail frequently recently you could have noticed a padlock icon red colour in the message you received. It notifies that the mail has been sent through insecure channel and the message can be viewed by any middle man. The locked icon signifies it came in secure channel.

                 3. Alert for State Sponsored Hacking:

                            If you are a criminal or doing any unethical activity your activity may be monitored and in that case state can try to hack your account and it is stated that around 1 million Gmail account has been targeted. Gmail new feature will notify you if your account is targeted by state sponsored hackers.

                4. SMTP STS:

                             It is now to move to strict security and there is no counter clarification with security these days. We moved to HTTPS Strict Transport Layer Security and now SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) has been moved to SMTP Strict Transport Security SMTP STS to avoid MitM attacks.

                  5. Google Safe Browsing:

                             Google Safe Browsing is an feature that checks the website for any malicious content before they are being loaded and any user can visit the site and copy paste the URL suspected there and it will give you the result whether to trust it or not.

                 These are the new features and Facebook recently rolled out new features and it is very evident that all the giants are moving towards to end to end encryption as security is one such pressing issue now.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Facebook's New Features.

              Facebook having billions of users across globe releases new features often. There has been many new features like owning the Facebook account after the death of the existing user. Recently a new feature has been rolled out by Facebook.

              The latest features involves many such as 

1. Notifying Impersonated Profiles
2. Non-consensual intimate images
3. Photo Checkup

                Impersonated profiles are the profiles that are created with the same profile pictures and same name with the motive of defaming the person. Profile impersonating is the common thing for celebrities. The new feature of Facebook is to notify the users if the same profile name and the same picture exists.

                Non-consensual images are the concept of reporting any nudity in the photograph to avoid any unwanted materials from circulating through Facebook.

                Photo Checkup is similar to that of the privacy setting available in Facebook.It is the dedicated feature of editing who can see the pictures uploaded and who cannot.

                The main problem with the Notifying the Impersonated profile is that what if the person not in Facebook has been impersonated and if he / she joins later which profile will be detected as fake profile. 

                The features are yet to be released officially and it uses the advanced Facial recognition software for detecting the fake accounts.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Handle USB with caution.

          USB (Universal Serial Bus) is one of the common interface used by many users for data sharing and many other purposes. One of the common application is the Pen Drive that has been used in large scale. Recently there has been a new malware that has been spreading in large scale.

          Dubbed #USB Thief is now doing many malicious activities and it has been identified that they are targeted for the isolated computers that are not connected to the Internet.

          It is said that to make a computer safe it should be disconnected from the Internet but this proves the fact to be false since it is attacking the isolated computers.

          Few months back its #Stuxnet a program that causes a massive destruction also implanted through the USB and initiated from the computer that is isolated from the network.

          #USB Thief is masked as either the portable applications plugin or any DLL (Dynamically Linked Library) files. The malwares steals the sensitive data from the system if the program has been executed.

             The malware is mainly for the air-gapped systems and it uses multi-stage encryption which makes it very harder for any anti-virus program to detect them and since it is USB leaves no traces in the local computer.

             Few months back there has been USB Kill that explodes the computer and now USB Thief. Users are recommended not to use any USB from untrusted source and regular backup plan will help much.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to be misused.

Instacare, Who viewed me on Instagram ?

                It is hard to believe the fact that these days it is very easy to fool a person than to fool a computer or system. Thus attacks are moved towards #Social Engineering to exploit the system. Recently a malicious application has been identified.

                Instgram is one such popular applications among many users and one of the main feature every user needs is that #Who viewed me recently ? Actually there is no such official application from the same Instagram developers who are providing this functionality.

                To exploit this, a malicious developer developed an application in the name of #Instacare and #Who viewed me on Instagram? for both the iOS and Android platforms. There has been thousand of users who downloaded them.

                 It is identified that after the installation, the application requests the users to provide their login credentials and then the credentials will be secretly sent to the attacker's server and it can be exploited later.

                The application also provides with top 100 people of your contacts and may look legitimate but it is a sophisticated way of exploiting people and getting the login credentials.

                 The same has been identified by a security researcher and also the researchers from Kaspersky labs confirmed it.

                 If you had installed this application earlier uninstall the application and change the Instagram login credentials immediately.

                 The researcher who identified the same posted it and it can be found here. The post by other researchers can be found here.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

End to End Email Encryption Service.

            Encryption is the only way by which we can get atmost privacy from Eavesdroppers, Attackers and so on. Emails are sent on a larger volumes these days. Recently there has been a rise in the service providers which offers End to End Encryption.

            Encrypting the mail is the way of making the mail unreadable by other who has the key with them. Both official and personal transactions are made through Emails these days and inorder to secure them Email encryption is needed.

             It is to be noted that the emails sent are analyzed fully and read (By Bots) before they are forwarded to the recipients. It is made to prevent spammers and also to restrict any unwanted materials.

             PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is one such solution that has been used by many for encryption and the use of PGP and maintaining the Key chain seems to be difficult for many people who are new to this field.

              #ProtonMail offers this End to End Email Encryption and it offers many additional features such as 

500 Mb of storage capacity
150 Messages per day
Two Factor Authentication

                To use the service create the message and click on the Encryption key and give some random password you want. Only the person having the password can read the original content.

                Another nice feature is that #Self Destruction message which will be deleted automaticaaly on the specified time from the recipients mailbox.

               The app is available for both iOS and Android. You can download it from both official App Store and Play Store respectively.

               You can start sending encrypted email now. To reach me mail at : kingprakatheesh@protonmail.com

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not ot be misused.

Good Old Stagefright is back - New Exploit for Android.

             Android is the most popular and mostly used mobile operating system due to its openness and many other features. Last year there has been a vulnerability that puts almost major Android devices at stake in the name of #Stagefright. Recently there has been another bug related to that was found.

            Actually there has been another vulnerability dubbed as #Stagefright 2.0 puts many devices at risk. Now the vulnerability has been dubbed as #Metaphor and it also exploits the old Stagefright vulnerability.

             Stagefright is the core component in Android devices that has been used in playing the multimedia contents in the device the new #Metaphor vulnerability works as follows

1. Tricks the user to navigate to the vulnerable page
2. Get the device info
3. Send the malware with payload to get more information about the device.

              The vulnerability is due to the Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) that is to be the main component in security of the devices.

              The new vulnerability puts millions of devices at risk and the detailed report can be found here.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to be misused.

Next to Apple its WhatsApp now.

             Apple has been facing some rough weeks due to the unlock issue with the FBI and it seems to be a long arguement and there has been many twists involved in the case. Recently there is a news that next to Apple its WhatsApp.

             WhatsApp is one of the most common application in almost all the smartphones which was developed in 2010 and there has been no privacy encryption at that time and FBI can wiretap the conversations if needed under court order.

              After few years, after Facebook acquired WhatsApp, they made many changes and they offered #End-to-End encryption by which the message will be secured and not able to eavesdrop at the conversation.

              End-to-End Encryption has been offered to both the Android and iOS version and in addition to their VOIP (Voice Over IP), it is nearly not possible to wiretap the users conversation.

              Now there has been a statement that WhatsApp has faced the same as Apple, few weeks before WhatsApp VP has been arrested at Brazil for not complying with Law enforcement.

               If Apple said "Yes" for developing a vulnerable version of iOS then FBI can force WhatsApp to do the same which will put all privacy at risk.

               It has to be noted that if such version has been developed by Apple, then not only FBI can wiretap the citizens conversations but also FBI conversations can be wiretapped. Privacy seems to be an important asset that can't be diluted.

              Already security seems to be the bigger problem with the evolution of IoT (Internet of Things) and now making a single wrong decision can put entire world Internet at stake.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

FBI Threatens Apple to hand over iOS Source Code.

                   It seems to be a never ending battle between Apple and FBI over the locked iPhone of a terrorist who has been involved in the shoot out. FBI has asked Apple to develop a vulnerable iOS version with Backdoor.

                    Apple refused to built a backdoored version of iOS as it can be exploited by any attacker if capable and it put all users privacy at risk. A Judge sided Apple and said that Government can't force an indivudual private organization to comply.

                   There has been many tweets and debates about the issue and few days back a sheriff stated that if Apple refuses to comply with legislation he will arrest the CEO Tim Cook.

                   Now FBI again stated that they need the source code of iOS and a Electronic signature. The source code they need is so that they can develop a backdoored version with which they can bypass the authentication and Electronic Signature that has been needed by iPhone to accept the modified iOS.

                   It has been filed and the trail is yet to complete and it seems to be a tough battle and to be frank, putting a backdoored version of iOS is similar to that of the case with #Red Star OS which has been used by North Korea for monitoring purpose.

                   The entire privacy will be lost if the backdoored version of iOS comes into action.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

FCC plan to stop ISP from selling data.

             Privacy is one word which is nearly extinct in this cyber world and we live in a world where our private data are without someone we dont know. Recently there has been a plan by FCC that can help in preserving somewhat privacy.

             ISP (Internet Service Provider) can track any users data when they needed and they can even track the physical location of the user throughout the day and it is stated that ISPs are selling the data they collect to the Advertisers.

             User data has a good value in Underground market, but not only there it has an immense value in normal web too. The ISPs will collect the 

App you use frequently
Websites you visit regularly and
Queries you make often 

             and sell these data to the advertisers so that they can targetly send the advertisement to that user. FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has planned a new proposal in which ISPs has to provide the details about what data they are using and how they are using them.

             It is said that the new plan will be considered and will be implemented if agreed by the concerned authority. You can view the complete report here.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Android N - New Features.

            Google is expected to release the developer preview of #Android N in Developer conference but they have released early and it is said to have many new cool features.

             Google launched #Android Marshmallow few months back and not every manufacturer still released the update version to its vendor and now Google released developer preview of #Android N.

             Some of the cool features it is said to have are

1. Multi App Window: Now Android can have multiple windows running different Applications simultaneously. It may be used by tablet users popularly.

2. Direct Reply: Now Android users can directly respond to their messages without even leaving from the applications.

3. Data Saver: Data saver prevents the application from being pulling data when not in use and it may be useful for prepaid Internet users and users can also make changes to the settings.

4. Picture in Picture Mode: Videos can be viewed while surfing the Internet.

5. Better Battery Life: Android M had Doze which helps in better battery life and now they are using the same so that Doze will work when the mobile is not in use.

6. No Need to Flash the device: Users no need to flash the device or to tether inorder to download the developer preview, users can download the developer preview straightly from the site.

              The developer preview of #Android N is available here.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

iPhone will alert if user is monitored at work.

           Apple has been coming out with many new features in its mobile operating system #iOS in its mobile devices. Recently there has been many new features that has been added to the new version yet to be released.

            #BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has been used in many corporates and another solution is #MDM (Mobile Device Management) in which employee can bring their own devices and then operate them at work.

             Many corporates monitor their employees online activities and there is a report that the major threat to an organization is Insider Threat (Disgruntled Employee). Employees will be provided with operational devices that can be used.

               Even Apple provides the devices to their employees that can be used while work in orer to avoid the leakage of information by the employee.

                With the upcoming iOS version 9.3 Apple is planning to make the monitoring purpose more easily. Some of the cool features are

1. Blocking unwanted Applications
2. Enable and Force Notifications
3. Customize the Home Screen Layout.

                  While coming to the user side 9.3 will notify the user that they are being monitored. The features are

1. Your phone is monitored will be displayed at the bottom of the screen
2. Clicking on Manage button, will show what are things are being monitored.

                  This features provide more flexibility to both employees and employers. The features are believed to be rolled out with iOS 9.3.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Can New Technology been uploaded into the Brain?

           There has been a news that goes viral in Internet that is it possible to upload the data directly into the human brain so that there is no need of learning. Recently a study similar to that has been made and published.

            Learning is a never ending process and human spend first half of their life in learning new things and what if the knowledge has been uploaded into the brain ? It is the technology that has been discussed everywhere in Internet.

            Researchers at HRL laboratories developed a new way of enhancing the learning ability of the person. Actually it is just enhancing the ability not uploading directly into the brain like feeding into robot.

             What the actual research is they selected few newbies learning to drive an aircraft and given them this #transcranial Direct Current Simulation (tDCS) a painless shock that uses small current. After this treatment their learning abilities increased at a notable rate.

              Actually when you learn something new, new connections are made in brain and they are strengthened in the process of #Neuro plasticity. Simulating them through electric current will increase the learning ability of a person.

              So, it is not the technology that helps in directly uploading the data into one's brain but to enhance their learning abilities and of course with this slow learner term can be eradicated if successful.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Secret Messenger Apps.

             Cyber world today offers very little or no privacy and there has been many privacy solutions but are not used by many people. There are some Apps which offers secrecy and anonymity. Some of the Apps are listed here.

#Telegram :

               When comes to messenging the name comes to the mind is WhatsApp to all but there is an application named #Telegram. Few might have used it one of the best feature is that it offers #Secret Chat. If you and your partner started a secret chat its a peer to peer connection and no server inbetween you two and nothing will be stored anywhere.

                Another thing is #Self Destructor. Set the timer and once it is off the message will start disappearing. Another feature is that if you take a screenshot in secret chat the partner in chat will be notified. 

                In its open challenge none cracked the Telegram encryption.


#Signal :

                Considered to be the most secure messenging app in world and it operates based on the phone number and all the messages are encrypted and the encryption is very strong and tested by many security researchers and the main thing is that Edward Snowden is said to be using this application.

                It is available for iOS and also in Android store for free download. Once installed validate the phone number and then it will crawl the contact and populate the list for you and another feature is that it doesnot save the contact list of your phone in its server.


#Richochet :

                 Coolest application ever used and is available for desktop as of the time of writing. Based on TOR network. All the messages routed through TOR to provide anonymity and eaves dropping. No server and no operator works peer to peer.

                   No name and no email and no sign up just you need the .onion address of your partner to chat and once the window has been closed all chat history cleared. Nice app to use for ultimate anonymity.

#TOR Messenger :

                     Dedicated TOR messenger by TOR project for anonymous messenging. Works on TOR network. It will take time to connect to TOR network and once connected you are like an invisible man (Your payload).

P.S : The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.

Tech Giants facing Legal Problems.

             Many Tech Giants are facing some hard time these days as the traditional crime has been reduced and the modern crimes got the form of #Cyber Crime. Apple has been fighting against FBI in unlocking the phone of the terrorist. Recently a Judge supported Apple.

              Few weaks back a terrorist iPhone 5C has been captured by DEA and they approached FBI to help in unlocking the locked phone and FBI cant get through the security measures embedded in Apple's iOS.

              FBI approached Apple and after Apple rejected they filed a law suit against Apple and many debate has been going on in twitter, youtube and also in blogs. 

              Giants such as Google, Facebook supported Apple and ofcourse Microsoft and Donald Trump opposed Apple and now as a twist a Judge from New York supported Apple.

               He stated that the law was used improperly and the Government cant force a Private Organization to reveal the data or to unlock the device.

                One of the noteable thing is that a mother of the son who died in the terrorist shoot out told that Privacy is important and supported Apple. It is also stated by Tim Cook that FBI is asking to build a backdoor in the devices.

                 It is not only Apple, now Facebook VP has been arrested for not providing the requested data and Brazil black out WhatsApp for 24 hours and they now arrested Facebook VP.

                 WhatsApp stated that they cant provide the data that they dont have. The Judgement is pending in Apple case.

P.S: The post is to create awareness and not to create any negative impact.