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Shocking Netflix ‘hijacking' that uses convincing trick to empty your bank account exposed as TV fans told ‘be careful'
Shocking Netflix ‘hijacking' that uses convincing trick to empty your bank account exposed as TV fans told ‘be careful'

The Sun

time3 days ago

  • The Sun

Shocking Netflix ‘hijacking' that uses convincing trick to empty your bank account exposed as TV fans told ‘be careful'

NETFLIX users are being warned of a scam that could see them vulnerable to having their personal data stolen. Cyberprotection company, Malwarebytes, issued the serious warning for people who search for tech support numbers online and that hackers were using sponsored ads to fool unsuspecting punter. The company explained that "cybercriminals frequently use ads directing to a malicious site to take advantage of our trust in sponsored search results for popular brands." It found in a recent ruse, that support scammers were hijacking the results of legitimate sites. How they pull off their scam is that they will pay for a sponsored ad on Google pretending to be a major brand and while that will usually lead to a fake website, there were some cases people were to a brand's legitimate site, "but with one small difference." The company used photos showing how the address bar on a website that a person was taken to after unknowingly clicking on one of these dodgy ads looked legitimate, but "the results had been poisoned to display the scammer's phone number instead of the business' real number." "When you call the scam number, the scammers will pose as the brand with the aim of getting you to hand over personal data or financial information, or even allow them remote access to your computer," Malwarebytes wrote on X, formerly Twitter. It then showed examples of how scammers had manipulated the real Netflix site but a "fake number appears in what looks like a search result, making it seem official." "This is able to happen because Netflix's search functionality blindly reflects whatever users put in the search query parameter without proper sanitization or validation," the company explained. "This creates a reflected input vulnerability that scammers can exploit." Netflix was just one example of the scammers' grit, Malwarebytes also found other brands that were targeted included, PayPal, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and HP. Malwarebytes suggested people install browse guards on their computers to protect them from the elaborate scams. Netflix reveal huge list of movies and TV shows being axed next month – with some children's favourites in the mix Outside of installing the browser guard, people can also protect themselves from this kind of scam in a number of different ways. Red flags to look out for include, a phone number in the URL, suspicious search terms like 'Call Now' or 'Emergency Support' in the address bar of the browser, an excess of encoded characters alongside the characters,such as, %20 (space) and %2B (+ sign) along with phone numbers. Other warning signs include, the website showing a search result before you entered one, an in-browser warning for known scams, and urgent language displayed on the website. How to spot a dodgy app Detecting a malicious app before you hit the 'Download' button is easy when you know the signs. Follow this eight-point checklist when you're downloading an app you're unsure about: Check the reviews - be wary of both complaints and uniformly positive reviews by fake accounts. Look out for grammar mistakes - legitimate app developers won't have typos or errors in their app descriptions. Check the number of downloads - avoid apps with only several thousand downloads, as it could be fake. Research the developer - do they have a good reputation? Or, are totally fake? Check the release date - a recent release date paired with a high number of downloads is usually bad news. Review the permission agreement - this agreement gives permission for the app to take bits of your data, and fake apps often ask for additional data that is not necessary. Check the update frequency - an app that is updated too frequently is usually indicative of security vulnerabilities. Check the icon - look closely, and don't be deceived by distorted, lower-quality versions the icons from legitimate apps. All of this information will available in both Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store. "And before you call any brand's support number, look up the official number in previous communications you've had with the company (such as an email, or on social media) and compare it to the one you found in the search results. If they are different, investigate until you're sure which one is the legitimate one," said Jérôme Segura, senior director of research of Malwarebytes. "If during the call, you are asked for personal information or banking details that have nothing to do with the matter you're calling about, hang up." 2

Is Your PC Running Slow? Here's How to Get It Back Up to Speed
Is Your PC Running Slow? Here's How to Get It Back Up to Speed

CNET

time5 days ago

  • CNET

Is Your PC Running Slow? Here's How to Get It Back Up to Speed

We've all been there. You've just sat down after a hard day at work and all you want to do is play your new game, only to find your PC is misbehaving. Or maybe you're trying to meet a work deadline only to suffer from a slow PC that simply refuses to let you get the job done. A laggy system and a stuttering mouse can be infuriating, and the simplest of tasks can feel like a battle. And no matter how fast computers get, it just keeps on happening. The thing is, these PC slowdowns don't just come out of nowhere. There's always a reason, and finding that reason is the first step on the road to fixing things. There are a few common reasons for a slow PC. You might have too many applications in the background or you're running low on hard drive space, for example. Or, if you powered down your computer forever, it may just desperately need a restart. Weirder things have fixed lagging PCs, trust us. But these problems aren't the end of the world, and they can all be dealt with. With a few tweaks and smart maintenance, you can get your PC running almost as fast as it did the day you set it up. Maybe even faster, if you're willing to make some changes. On the off chance there's nothing you can do and need a new computer entirely, these are the best desktop PCs for 2025 and the best laptops for 2025. 5 quick tips to speed up a slow PC 5 quick tips to speed up a slow PC Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 1:03 Loaded : 9.60% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 1:03 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. 5 quick tips to speed up a slow PC Task Manager is like a magic crystal ball Think of Task Manager as a window into your PC's health. The app gives you insight into what's taxing the processor, how much memory something is taking up and even how much network data a program has used. An easy way to open Task Manager in Windows is by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys together. Alternatively, you can also click on the magnifying glass on the Taskbar and search for Task Manager. Task Manager's default view only shows basic information, like which apps are running -- useful if you already know which one you want to close. To view what really matters, click Details in the left pane. Zainab Falak/CNET By default, this list is broken down into Apps and Background Processes. It's refreshed constantly, with the various columns continually updating. My advice is to let Task Manager run for a few minutes and watch it. Watch for apps that shoot up to the top of the list, then disappear a few seconds later. Look for processes that stay at the top of the list with high memory or CPU use. Not sure what one of the processes is? Google its name to find out more. To close an app or process that you suspect may be partly responsible for slow performance, click on the listing, then click End Task. Four more common reasons for a slow PC There are far too many apps and services to create a succinct list of what's likely slowing down a PC, but that doesn't mean there aren't likely culprits. Here are some of the top issues that we all experience on a PC. Antivirus scans After watching your system running slow with Task Manager open, you may have noticed that your antivirus software is routinely near the top of the list. Antivirus software can slow down your system while it's actively scanning your computer for malware and viruses. Instead of letting your antivirus program scan whenever it sees fit, schedule it to run at times when you're not likely to be using your PC, such as overnight or during your lunch hour. Changing the schedule for scans will depend on the program you use, but generally, you can open the app and go to the settings pane to customize the schedule. If you use Windows Defender as well, you can disable the periodic scanning option by opening the Windows Security app and navigating to Virus & threat protection > Microsoft Defender Antivirus options. Turn the toggle for Periodic scanning off and see if that makes any difference. Zainab Falak/CNET Too many apps are running at login If your PC takes forever to be responsive after you log into your Windows account, then you probably have too many apps trying to run at startup. You can edit the list of apps and services that begin running when you log in to your computer by opening Task Manager and clicking on the Startup apps option (tiny meter icon in the left pane). Go through the list and remove anything that you don't need to have loaded and ready the moment your PC turns on by clicking the app name, followed by Disable. Zainab Falak/CNET Some web browsers are resource hogs Your web browser could be the culprit, especially if you've lost count of the number of windows and tabs you have open. Each browser window and tab takes up memory and processing power and, over time, that will begin to slow down your PC. You can view a breakdown of extensions and tabs that could be to blame in Task Manager by clicking on the arrow next to your browser's name. Alternatively, if you use Chrome, it has a built-in task manager of its own. Launch it by pressing Shift+Esc while using Chrome, or click on the menu button > More Tools > Task manager. Zainab Falak/CNET If you find that your browser is often causing your PC to slow to a crawl, try a different browser or keep an eye on how many tabs or windows you have open at a given time. Your operating system or its drivers might be outdated Drivers act as middlemen between your hardware and software. When they are outdated, the components can struggle to communicate with each other, resulting in slow performance, crashes, or worse, random errors. Similarly, an outdated operating system lacks new features and performance improvements, which can be a problem when newer software demands more from your old system. To install the latest driver and OS updates, head over to the Windows Settings app and click Windows Update. Use the Check for updates button to scan for any new updates and take the time to install those that are available one by one. Zainab Falak/CNET Battle-tested solutions There's a wide range of methods available for troubleshooting and speeding up your PC. Below are some steps to take that should, at the very least, temporarily speed up your slow computer: Close running apps when you're done. Make sure they're not running in the notification tray (next to the volume and Wi-Fi indicators). When you close some apps, such as Slack, they keep running in the background. Usually, you can completely close apps that keep running by right-clicking on the app icon and selecting quit or exit. If you no longer use an app, consider getting rid of it for good by uninstalling it through the Control Panel. Pause OneDrive syncing. This is something even Microsoft admits can slow down your computer. Pause OneDrive by clicking on the OneDrive icon in the notification tray, select More and then Pause syncing. Check available storage space and hard drive health. If your hard drive or SSD is running out of space or is getting old, it could be failing. I use CrystalDisk Info (Standard Edition) to get basic insights into my drives. It's a free app that quickly scans your drives and tells you their current health status. If you aren't comfortable testing your hard drive, take your computer to a technician who can properly diagnose the issue and, if required, upgrade your storage. Regularly turn off your computer. Don't just restart it; completely power it off and walk away for a few minutes. This gives your computer a chance to clear out memory and start fresh the next time it's turned on. If none of the above suggestions speeds up your computer to a level that you're happy with, you can try reducing animations, changing themes and toggling other Windows-specific settings. If you're trying to get remote help, make sure you know the best way to take screenshots on Windows 11. If you're more of an Apple household, you're in luck: We have recommendations for speeding up a slow Mac, too.

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