Apps
CCleaner has been Distributing Malware for a Month
A big incident regarding web security and viruses has been showing its ugly head. This time by the hands of the well-known Disk Cleaner tool CCleaner. Version 5.33 of the CCleaner app offered for download between August 15 and September 12 was modified to include the Floxif malware, according to a report published by Cisco Talos.
The Floxif malware is a malware downloader that gathers information about infected systems and sends it back to its C&C server. This malware put a lot of machines that had the program at risk of having their data leaked. But it needed to have administrator permissions to run properly, otherwise it would shut itself down.
The malware collected information such as computer name, a list of installed software, a list of running processes, MAC addresses for the first three network interfaces, and unique IDs to identify each computer in part. Researchers noted that the malware only ran on 32-bit systems, while 64 bit systems were in the clear.
The people at Cisco Talos found the problem while running tests their latest exploit detection technology. They found out that CCleaner 5.33 was making calls to suspicious domains. This would usually happen if the circumstances were those of pirated software. But the CCleaner installer was downloaded from the official website and was signed using a valid digital certificate. Below you can see how the virus worked:
The theory currently states that a threat actor might have compromised Avast’s supply chain and used its digital certificate to replace the legitimate CCleaner v5.33 app on its website with one that also contained the Floxif trojan. However, by the time of this writing nothing has been confirmed on the issue.
“Before delving into the technical details, let me say that the threat has now been resolved in the sense that the rogue server is down, other potential servers are out of the control of the attacker, and we’re moving all existing CCleaner v5.33.6162 users to the latest version.” Said Paul Yung, VP of Products in an Official post. “In other words, to the best of our knowledge, we were able to disarm the threat before it was able to do any harm.”
In an e-Mail provided to Bleeping Computer, Avast CTO Ondrej Vlcek mentioned that updating to the latest version of CCleaner and CCleaner Cloud version will delete the Rogue malware. “The only malware to remove is the one embedded in the CCleaner binary itself. There is no indication or evidence that any additional “malware” has been delivered through the backdoor”
This seems to be a threat that came up and died, but the people reading this article must remember that this has been happening for a month. It’s important to update the CCleaner apps to the latest versions and also to constantly scan with your Antivirus of preference for threats.
Google is getting ready to make a big change to how its Chrome browser works. This is because new browsers from startups like Arc are making the market more competitive. The company said on Wednesday that it will be adding a new feature called “Minimized Custom Tabs” that will let users tap to switch between a native app and their web content. When you do this, the Custom Tab turns into a small window that floats above the content of the native app.
The new feature is all about using Custom Tabs, which is a feature in Android browsers that lets app developers make their own browser experience right in their app. Users don’t have to open their browser or a WebView, which doesn’t support all of the web platform’s features. Custom tabs let users stay in their app while browsing. Custom tabs can help developers keep users in their apps longer and keep them from leaving and never coming back.
If you make the Custom Tab into a picture-in-picture window, switching to the web view might feel more natural, like you’re still in the native app. People who send their customers to a website to sign up for accounts or subscriptions might also find this change useful, since it makes it easier for users to switch between the website and the native app.
After being shrunk down to the picture-in-picture window, the Custom Tab can be pushed to the side of the screen. Users can tap on a down arrow to bring the page back to the picture-in-picture window when it is full screen.
The new web experience comes at a time when Google is making it easier for Android users to connect to the web. People can find their way to the web with AI-powered features like Circle to Search and other integrations that let them do things like circle or highlight items.
The change is coming to the newest version of Chrome (M124), and developers who already use Chrome’s Custom Tabs will see it automatically. Google says that the change only affects Chrome browsers, but it hopes that other browser makers will add changes like these.
Meta’s latest social network, Threads, is launching its own fact-checking initiative after leveraging Instagram and Facebook’s networks for a brief period.
Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram, stated that the company has recently implemented a feature that allows fact-checkers to assess and label false content on threads. Nevertheless, Mosseri refrained from providing specific information regarding the exact timing of the program’s implementation and whether it was restricted to certain geographical regions.
The fact-checking partners for Threads—which organizations are affiliated with Meta—are not clearly specified. We have requested additional information from the company and will revise the story accordingly upon receiving a response.
The upcoming U.S. elections appear to be the main driving force behind the decision. India is currently in the midst of its general elections. However, it is improbable that a social network would implement a fact-checking program specifically during an election cycle rather than initiating the project prior to the elections.
In December, Meta announced its intention to implement the fact-checking program on Threads.
“At present, we align the fact-check ratings from Facebook or Instagram with Threads. However, our objective is to empower fact-checking partners to evaluate and assign ratings to misinformation on the application,” Mosseri stated in a post during that period.
Apps
Mark Zuckerberg reports that Threads has a total of 150 million users who engage with the app on a monthly basis
Threads, Meta’s alternative to Twitter and X, is experiencing consistent and steady growth. During the Q1 2024 earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg stated that the social network currently has over 150 million monthly active members, which is an increase from 130 million in February.
Threads made significant progress in integrating with ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol that powers networks such as Mastodon, during the last quarterly earnings conference. In March, the firm granted U.S.-based users who are 18 years of age or older the ability to link their accounts to the Fediverse, enabling their posts to be seen on other servers.
By June, the business intends to make its API available to a broad range of developers, enabling them to create experiences centered on the social network. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether Threads will enable developers to create comprehensive third-party clients.
Meta just introduced their AI chatbot on various platforms like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Threads was conspicuously omitted from this list, perhaps because of its lack of built-in direct messaging capabilities.
Threads introduced a new test feature on Wednesday that allows users to automatically archive their posts after a certain length of time. Additionally, users have the ability to store or remove specific postings from an archive and make them accessible to the public.
Threads is around nine months old, and Meta has consistently expanded its readership. Nevertheless, Threads cannot be considered a viable substitute for X, as Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, explicitly stated in October that Threads will not “amplify news on the platform.” However, Meta’s social network continues to grow in popularity. According to app analytics company Apptopia, Threads now has more daily active users in the U.S. than X, as Business Insider reported earlier this week.
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