[German]Did you know that Firefox registers a unique installer ID in the browser? When someone downloads the Firefox installer from the Mozilla web pages and then installs the Firefox browser, a unique identifier is generated during this process and sent to Mozilla when the browser is first launched. This identifier, called dltoken, is confirmed in a Mozilla bug report. Addendum: Statement from Mozilla added.
[German]Apple is currently (March 21, 2022, 18:00 CET) experiencing a major disruption of its cloud services, that is probably affecting the entire world. Many Apple services from the cloud such as iCloud Calendar, iCloud Mail, iTunes Store, Apple Music, Radio are currently unavailable. However, it looks like Apple is already working on fixing the disruption as the number of disruption reports are decreasing.
[German]The FBI and the U.S. Treasury Department have just released new Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) for the AvosLocker ransomware. These are indications of how to detect an infection with this ransomware. The information can be used in your own security information and event management (SIEM) systems, if necessary.
[German]U.S. manufacturer Solarwinds warns its customers of possible cyber attacks and recommends uninstalling Web Help Desk (WHD) 12.7.5 in a security message dated March 15, 2022. The background is attacks on Web Help Desk (WHD) 12.7.5 reported by customers. So far it is still unclear what exactly happened, it is probably a precautionary measure.
Microsoft issued a brief post last week reminding users of the end of support for Internet Explorer. The Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop app will be retired on June 15, 2022 for certain versions of Windows 10 (version 20H2 and later). When users access the Internet Explorer 11 desktop app, they will be automatically redirected to Microsoft Edge. However, nothing changes for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and older Windows 10 builds, where IE 11 will continue to be supported.
[Sponsored Post]In the rapidly evolving IT world, choosing the right remote desktop software is critical for organizations that value security, ease of use and reliability. One provider of secure remote access that has been on the market since 2001 is ISL Online, which presents some considerations for choosing such software below. More ...
[German]The Cyclops Blink botnet has been infecting network devices around the world for several weeks. The botnet is operated by the suspected Russian Sandworm APT. Manufacturer ASUS has issued a warning this week, which is directed at users of its routers. The Cyclops Blink botnet is probably attacking ASUS routers in order to insert them into the botnet. Here is some information about it.
[German]Microsoft has released the Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit 1.0 in Nov. 2021. This week I was asked if the Windows Policy Analyzer – a utility for analyzing and comparing Group Policy Objects (GPOs) – which has been available since 2016, is now being phased out. The download of the package is no longer available. It looks like the tool is now part of the Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit 1.0, so here are a few notes.
[German]Brief information for users of the Firefox browser in Windows, who also have the F-Secure antivirus solution in use. Since March 18, 2022, the browser has blocked the F-Secure Browser Protection add-on in versions up to 4.0.52, allegedly for violating Mozilla's add-on guidelines.
[Geman]A brief article about Microsoft's Outlook.com: There is a problem for users who want to collect mails from other email providers via Outlook.com. The feature in question has not been usable for some time now, with an error message stating that the settings cannot be loaded. And so far Microsoft does not seem to have addressed the problem.
Microsoft has released revisions to its security alerts and update descriptions as of March 17, 2022. Here is a summary of these revisions that I received by mail.
MVP:
2013 – 2016
WIMVP:
2017 – 2020
