A year ago I addressed cybersecurity specialists to let them know about a new tool we’d developed. Our Open Threat Intelligence Portal (OpenTIP) offers the same tools for analysis of complex threats (or merely suspicious files) as our GReAT cyberninjas use. And lots of other folks use them now too, testing zillions of files every month.
But a lot has changed in the past year, with practically the whole world having to work remotely because of coronavirus, which in turn makes life more difficult for...

Hey, guys! We have great news! We would like to announce the user who have received awards as part of our reward program “Do you help on this Community? Get points in the Fan Club!".

This is ARQ2020 (antonio iacampo)‍! Congratulations to the winner!

Points were awarded, which he can exchange for licenses or exclusive souvenirs with the Kaspersky logo in our gift shop.

Help on the Community portal and you will get a chance to be among the rewarded!

嗨，大家好！
 
我们最近与卡巴斯基粉丝俱乐部发起了一项激励计划。 如果您在该社区中积极向求助者提供帮助并已注册卡巴斯基粉丝俱乐部（可以使用同一帐户），那么大约每季度将为你奖励积分一次。
 
以下表格为获得的勋章与奖励积分对应关系：

我们将发布在卡巴斯基粉丝俱乐部获得积分的用户所使用昵称的账户上。

We have great news! We would like to announce the list of users who have received awards as part of our reward program “Do you help on this Community? Get points in the Fan Club!". Here they are:

Berny
Caos
harlan4096
richbuff
Schulte
alexcad
bobbycooper
Wesly_Zhang
T FLOOD
nexon

Congratulations to the winners!

Points were awarded, which they can exchange for licenses or exclusive souvenirs with the Kaspersky logo in our gift shop.

Help on the Community portal and you will get a chance to be among the rewarded!

Making Origin safe and secure

Millions of gamers use the Origin platform to get the latest releases from Electronic Arts and its partners, communicate with other users, and stream directly to Twitch. If you are one of them, competing for glory in Battlefield, FIFA, Need for Speed, or other games from these developers, take a few moments to sort out the security and privacy settings. Doing so will make your gameplay more user-friendly and secure, so you can focus on winning. Here, we spotlight some neat options on EA’s platform and how to use them.

• How to protect your Origin account
  • How to change your Origin password
  • How to change the security question on Origin
  • How to set up...

Ransomware 2020

Since its first appearance, ransomware has undergone an evolutionary journey — from piecemeal tools created by isolated enthusiasts to a powerful underground industry reaping vast rewards for its creators. What’s more, the cost of entry to this shadowy world is getting lower.

Nowadays, would-be cybercriminals no longer need to create their own malware or even buy it on the dark web. All they need is access to an RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service) cloud platform. Easy to deploy and requiring no programming skills, such services enable just about anyone to use ransomware tools, and that has naturally led to increasing numbers of ransomware cyberincidents.

Another worrying...

Drones – no more airport interruption scandals: we’re here to ground you.

For a few weeks already, this here mysterious, shiny, clearly hi-tech, futuristo device has been complementing the minimalistic office furniture of my corner office at our HQ. It’s so shiny and fancy and slick and post-modern that whenever I get a visitor – which is not often of late due to our general WFH-policy – it’s the first thing they notice, and the first question is always, simply, obviously – ‘what is that?!’ ->

Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a camera (on a tripod), is it a gun, is it some kind of scanner? Warmer, warmer!…

But before I tell you – quick digression!…

Traditionally, once a year, we have...

Mobile apps are watching you

Some mobile apps track your location — and secretly report it to services that sell the data. You almost certainly use at least one such app without even knowing it. How do you find out which apps may be problematic — and what can you do about it?

When he saw a visualization of spring breakers from just one beach in Florida dispersing all over the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaspersky GReAT’s director, Costin Raiu thought not about the coronavirus, but about apps that track their users’ locations. The report used research including location data from X-Mode. But where did X-Mode get the data?

Well, X-Mode distributes...

Transatlantic Cable podcast, episode 170

We kick off the 170th edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast with the alleged end of the Maze ransomware gang.

The cybercriminal enterprise recently issued a broken-English press release claiming it was exiting the game. It would be easy to take them at their word, but they are criminals, after all, and Dave and I are not buying it.

From there, we move to Japan, whose national nuclear agency warns of a cyberattack. Not many details are available at this time in Western or Eastern publications, but this is one to keep an eye on.

We then jump into the world of COVID-19 for a pair of stories involving coronavirus and cybersecurity....

Many a splash – on Kadrin and Shabash.

After our night on the beach, we woke to yet another gloriously warm and sunny day – hooray! If only the river were a bit warmer too; it felt like it was around 10-12 degrees centigrade, no more. Quick dips were doable but it was a bit too cold for swimming.

We had an interesting day ahead of us. Just to the left of that mountain down there the Kadrin Rapids begin, which was to be our first bit of action of the day…

As we set off on our rafts the river seemed pretty darn perfect: fast-flowing yet safe, and not too choppy to prevent any photography of the surrounding scenery…

The above pics – the calm before the……… ->

Hand-held,...

OpenTIP, season 2: Come on in!

A year ago I addressed cybersecurity specialists to let them know about a new tool we’d developed. Our Open Threat Intelligence Portal (OpenTIP) offers the same tools for analysis of complex threats (or merely suspicious files) as our GReAT cyberninjas use. And lots of other folks use them now too, testing zillions of files every month.

But a lot has changed in the past year, with practically the whole world having to work remotely because of coronavirus, which in turn makes life more difficult for cybersecurity experts. Maintaining the security of corporate networks has become a hundred times more troublesome. As precious as time was before COVID-19, it is...

OpenTIP, season 2: drop by more often!

A year ago I addressed cybersecurity specialists to let them know about a new tool we’d developed – our Open Threat Intelligence Portal (OpenTIP). Tools for analysis of complex threats (or merely suspicious objects) – the very same ones used by our famous cyber-ninjas in GReAT – became accessible to anyone who wanted to use them. And use them lots of folks wanted – testing zillions of files every month.

But in just a year a lot has changed. Things have become much more difficult for cybersecurity experts due to practically the whole world having to work remotely because of coronavirus. Maintaining the security of corporate networks has become a...

Transatlantic Cable podcast, episode 169

Today we’re giving you a special edition of the Kaspersky Transatlantic Cable podcast, in which Dave and I take off our news hats for once and chat with an executive from within the Kaspersky ranks.

Our featured guest is none other than Kaspersky Chief Business Officer Alex Moiseev. During our thirty-some-odd-minute chat, we discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from the company’s recent innovation report to Alex’s passion for startups and innovation and how his love of motorsport and racing has helped his career and much more.

Perhaps the juiciest bit of the interview is our discussion on the future of the cybersecurity industry, Eugene...

How to protect your Battle.net account from hackers and scammers

Losing your Battle.net account, and the years of gaming and grinding progress, could be a nightmare. There are better ways to quit WoW, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and other games that seem too addictive to walk away from, for sure. Assuming you’d rather keep gaming with your Blizzard account, safeguard it with our guide.

• Blizzard account security
  • How to change your Battle.net password
  • How to change the security question
  • How to set up two-factor authentication on Battle.net
  • How to ensure that only you have access to your account
  • Don’t leak your Battle.net password
• Privacy settings
  • How to hide your real name
  • How to...

Right, then. Time to zoom down Ilgumen.

Altai-2020 continues. Up, breakfast, decamp > river. River: Katun. Up next: its Ilgumen Rapids – here.

‘Woah. I feel the need for a row!’

Just short rapids these, but intense! They begin here:

And end just round the bend down there:

Maybe they look a bit underwhelming at first?

Then add a raft and you get a better feel for the scale! ->

Right. Our turn…

Somewhere there there’s a ‘pulsating’ thingamajig, where the water gushes upward violently, taking with it and turning upsidedown anything that might be unlucky enough to be passing through it at the wrong time. In short – we need to be careful…

And here’s the rafter’s-eye view ->

GReAT, Ask Them Anything 2.0

A lot has changed over the past four years. We’ve seen major ransomware and wipers take the Internet by storm. Empires of bots have done everything from mining crypto to helping change how people vote. And business travel has come to a standstill thanks to a viral enemy that caused a global pandemic.

As they say, what a time to be alive.

You know what hasn’t changed? Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) and its quest to help keep the good guys one step ahead of the bad ones in the virtual and physical world.

What does that have to do with four years ago? Well, my dear readers, let me tell you.

A bit over four years ago, I wrote on this very...

Sitting and rowing – down the Katun we’re going.

Onward – downward – on the best bit of our Altai-2020 expedition: the rafting bit. Again – the Argut River, this time where it meets the Katun. The same Argut, btw, along the banks of which we were trekking a couple weeks ago, astonished by the river’s sheer power.

The sound of the fast flowing water is amplified by endless echoes!

Here it’s not clear which river’s flowing into which!…

The muddy waters of the Argut fairly sully the pristine turqouse ones of the Katun ->

Naughty Argut! Look at the mess you’ve made! Alas – that dirty-milkiness from the Argut continued along the Katun, with the turquiose never to fully return (. Not to...

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#7. Select the correct URL that opens after you press the “?” (Help) icon in the program's main window:

+ https://help.kaspersky.com/KIS/2021_mr1/en-US/87342.htm
- https://help.kaspersky.com/KIS/2021_mr1/en-US/119653.htm
- https://help.kaspersky.com/KIS/2021_mr1/en-US/43538.htm
- https://help.kaspersky.com/KIS/2021_mr1/en-US/176603.htm

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#6. Which option is UNAVAILABLE in the Safe Money window if you press the “How it works” caption/button and browse the suggestions/slides?

- At your service
- Green means protected
- Manage your list of payment websites
+ Intermittent settings

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#5. How is the icon resembling a bolt of lightning in a circle captioned in the Settings -> Additional menu?

+ Threats and Exclusions
- Self-Defense
- Reports and Quarantine
- Additional Protection and Management Tools
- Secure Data Input

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#4. Which three Security Levels are available for selection in the Settings -> General menu?

+ Maximum, Optimal, Minimum
- Potential, Recommended, Low
- Extended, Recommended, Superficial
- Extended, Secure, Minimum

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#3. During the completion of a Full Scan, what is being filled with turquoise?

+ A strip in the window
- The entire window
- A circle in the window
- The tray icon

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#2. Which component/unit is indicated in the main program window right below the Database Update unit?

+ Protection for kids / Parental control
- Privacy Protection
- My Kaspersky
- Safe Money

Answers of the mini-quiz about Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 for Windows:

#1. What is depicted above the mountains during the installation of Kaspersky Internet Security 2021 in the window with the caption “Welcome to Kaspersky Internet Security | Feel the power of protection”?

+ The sky and the stars
- Clouds
- The sun
- A flying airship

Transatlantic Cable podcast, episode 168

In the latest episode of the Kaspersky podcast, we look into recent news about Donald Trump’s campaign website being hacked — briefly — to promote a cryptocurrency scam. It was only a single page, but the hack comes at a critical time in the US election cycle.

From there, we move on to a story about a psychotherapy clinic in Finland that was hacked. Patients are now finding their details on the dark web, and some have been contacted by an elusive individual called “The Ransom Guy.”

To wrap up, we look at a case of fake news in the retail sector. Anyone familiar with the dearly departed Woolworths chain knows it went under in 2008 — but that didn’t...

The Altai river-traveler museum – ver. 2020.

Continuing our Altai-2020 expedition, one afternoon we moored our rafts to visit the makeshift river-traveler museum, which organically sprang up and grew over the years in a field by the junction of the Katun and Argut rivers. It’s a three-legged contraption-construction that has all manner of odd and sod hung upon it, placed there by passing river tourists:

Every year, new exhibits are added to the museum. Various art movements and styles are featured, but there’s a distinct preference for the post-industrialist avant-garde and general modern kunst!

The breadth of variety of the pieces on display is staggering:

Nearby, satellite art...