Should You Click on Unsubscribe?
February 28th, Tip of the Week | According to KnowBe4, “the short answer is that, in general, it is OK to click on a legitimate vendor’s unsubscribe link. But if you think the email is sketchy or coming from a source you would not want to validate your email address as valid and active, or are unsure, do not take the chance, skip the unsubscribe action. Most of the time, clicking on a fraudster’s unsubscribe feature will simply confirm your email address is valid and active and this will likely result in your email appearing for sale in cybercriminal forums for years.”
If you’re unsure about the safety of a particular email source, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at X4357 or help@wlu.edu for assistance.
Beware Using Google Search Results to Download Software
February 20th, Tip of the Week | Searching Google for downloads of popular software has always been known to come with risks, but over the past few months, a surge of malvertising across Google Ads is distributing dangerous malware, as quoted by Spamhaus. Further, the founder of abuse.ch believes, “It is likely that a threat actor has started to sell malvertising as a service on the dark web, and there is a great deal of demand.” They explained they’re observing “different infrastructure being used in these ads, spreading different malware families.” This leads to the conclusion that “ad serving” is a service that threat actors purchase. If you’re unsure about the safety of a particular software download source, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at X4357 or help@wlu.edu for assistance.
Think Twice About Saving Passwords in your Browser
February 13th, Tip of the Week | When you save passwords in your browser, it can makes it easier for cybercriminals to hack into your home or work network. The Verizon Data Breach Report (click “view only” for quick access) shows that attackers are increasingly successful using a combo of phishing and password dumper malware to steal your users’ credentials. Once hackers gain access, they can steal usernames and passwords to any accounts saved in browsers.
