New Malware Locks Chrome to Steal Passwords; You Can Now Save Passkeys to Chrome on Windows: Windows 11 to Get Popular Apple Feature; How Windows May Look in the Future… and more!
Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Wednesday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
New malware locks Google Chrome in kiosk mode until you enter your password — how to stay safe
Whatever you do, don’t enter your password if Chrome is stuck in kiosk mode
Imagine this, you step away from your computer for a minute with your browser open, only to come back and find Google Chrome stuck in kiosk mode. To make matters worse, you find that the Esc and F11 keys on your keyboard no longer work.
Unfortunately, this is a real situation that you could very well find yourself in thanks to a malware campaign designed to steal your Google password and other credentials.
As reported by BleepingComputer, the malware used in this new campaign is designed to frustrate users and trick them into entering their Google password to unlock their computer in order to get their browser out of kiosk mode. However, doing so not only gives the hackers behind this campaign your Google credentials but if you have other passwords saved in your browser, they could end up taking control of the rest of your online accounts.
Here’s everything you need to know about this new malware campaign including how to get your browser out of kiosk mode the safe way and what you can do to keep your computer safe from hackers…
You can now save passkeys to Google Password Manager on desktops
Previously, passkeys could only be saved with Android devices.
Yesterday, Google announced that we’re now one step closer to a future without passwords: you can now use Google Password Manager on both Android and desktop devices to save passkeys, not just passwords.
Up until the announcement, passkeys could only be saved to Google Password Manager on Android. Those passkeys could be used on other devices, but you’d have to scan a QR code with an Android device with the Android app to actually save them to your account.
With this update, you can now save passkeys to Google Password Manager via Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Linux devices. (The feature is currently still in testing for ChromeOS devices.) Once saved, passkeys are synced across all your devices and usable on any device with Google Password Manager…
Windows 11 replicates Apple’s ‘handoff’ feature
“Hand Off” (note the space) is suspiciously similar to Apple’s “Handoff” (no space).
Microsoft is bringing Apple’s “Handoff” functionality to Windows 11 with a new feature called…Hand Off.
X user @techosarusrex first posted a screenshot of the “Hand Off” feature toggle in the Settings of the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4225 which was released late last week.
What does “Hand Off” do? Well, Mac users will be very familiar with this feature because it already exists with Apple’s similarly-named “Handoff” feature.
Microsoft’s Hand Off vs. Apple’s Handoff
Hand Off basically allows users to continue whatever they were doing on one device seemingly on another device. For example, if a user utilizes the continuity feature on the Mac, they can pick up where they left off reading an article on Safari for iPhone. The Windows 11 feature will work similarly, allowing both iPhone and Android users to hand off what they were doing on their mobile device to their PC…
Microsoft gives a sneak peek into how Windows may look in the future
Operating system developers put a lot of effort into making their UI look standard across the platform. That way, you can always tell when an app or a service is related to the operating system; it gives off a specific vibe or feeling that you associate with the product. Microsoft seems to be brewing up a new look and feel for its own products, and we may see them appear in future Windows updates or apps if the company goes ahead with it.
In a post on Microsoft Design, the company shows off what it’s working on with its new “Fluent” art style. If the company goes through with them, you should see them around the Microsoft scene more often. While the company hasn’t explicitly stated where these art pieces will appear, there’s a good chance we’ll begin to see these pop up in Microsoft’s apps and within the operating system.
Microsoft states that its new Fluent style will encapsulate five elements: humanity, color and gradients, dimension, sophistication, and playful. These will be used in different styles depending on the context of what’s happening on-screen…
Adobe and Webmail trails Microsoft when it comes to scams
Phishing attacks remain a significant threat to organizations across various industries, with threat actors disguising malicious emails as legitimate messages from trusted brands, in an attempt to deceive users into divulging sensitive information or installing malware.
A multi-year survey by Cofense has highlighted phishing campaigns that spoofed trusted brands across the top 10 industries they serve – with Microsoft coming out on top as the most impersonated brand.
Cofense found 92.87% of the phishing emails it analyzed targeted Microsoft users, followed by Adobe and Webmail, accounting for 3.53% and 1.62%, respectively.
Be wary of emails from MicrosoftMicrosoft spoofing is highly versatile, Cofense warned, with emails mimicking everything from Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) requests to shared document alerts. The familiarity of Microsoft-related emails makes it easy for attackers to design convincing phishing attempts…
Thanks for reading this week’s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful. Darcy & TC
