Adobe Lightroom adds RAW support for photos taken on your Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a

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Adobe Lightroom adds RAW support for photos taken on your Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a
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Adobe has recently updated its Lightroom application to add RAW photo support for Google’s midrange Pixel smartphones, such as the Pixel 4a, Pixel 5a, and Pixel 6a. This means that users of these devices can now use this popular photo editing app to edit their photos.


Adobe Lightroom is a powerful tool that allows users to adjust various aspects of their photos such as exposure, contrast, color, and more. With the latest update, 9to5Google discovered that Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a users can now take advantage of this app’s features to enhance their photos and create stunning visual content.


Prior to this update, only a limited number of Android devices were supported by Adobe Lightroom, and certainly not less powerful devices. However, with the inclusion of Google Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a, a wider range of users can now benefit from the app’s capabilities. This move is likely to increase the app’s user base and make it more accessible to a wider audience.

Traditionally, Google Pixel devices use Google’s computational photography prowess to produce, what most consider to be very good looking photos, without the need for tweaks or a Pro mode. However, RAW images offer photographers greater control over their images by allowing them to capture more detail and information than a standard JPEG image.

The above is why most photographers, or those who need to make significant edits to their images, tend to prefer the RAW format. Thankfully, with the April 2023 update to Lightroom version 6.3 — or Lightroom Classic 12.3 — and the most recent version of the Camera Raw extension (15.3) you will be able to edit RAW photos taken with your mid-range Pixel.

via Adobe - Adobe Lightroom adds RAW support for photos taken on your Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a

via Adobe

Adobe Lightroom’s support for Google Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a is part of Adobe’s ongoing efforts to expand its presence in the mobile market. As more users rely on their smartphones to take photos and create content, it makes sense for Adobe to offer support for a variety of devices in its software.


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Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files

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Hackers Storing Malware in Google Drive as Encrypted ZIP Files
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Malware in Google Drive

Google released the threat horizon report for April 2023, which showed multiple methods used by threat actors for evading security systems.

Google’s Cybersecurity Action Team (GCAT) and Mandiant researched a list of techniques and methods used by threat actors over the period for penetrating the environments and other malicious activities.

Cloud-Hosted Encrypted ZIP Files Evading Detection

Mandiant observations during Q4 2022 showed a technique where threat actors stored malicious files on Google Drive as encrypted ZIP files to evade detection.

A malware campaign also distributed URSNIF malware, a banking bot, and intrusion software by hosting the URSNIF binary in Google Drive.

EHA

Threat actors use phishing emails to lure victims into downloading the password-protected malicious ZIP files, which will then install the malware on the victim’s machine.

Q4 2022 also showed another expansion of this technique where DICELOADER malware was distributed, which had multiple purposes.

In this technique, Mandiant observed that the Google Drive link in the phishing email had an LNK file.

When this file is downloaded, it will install a Zoom MSI installer, a Trojan that eventually leads to a DICELOADER infection.

Several other threat actors used this technique for different purposes in several other cases.

Customer Challenges and Solutions When Security Patching Google Kubernetes Engine

Kubernetes has been a great feature for cloud customers due to its availability, flexibility, and security.

However, even Kubernetes needs patching routinely, which installs security and bug fixes.

As per Google’s reports, the 2021-2022 data showed most of the Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) customers delayed their patching due to the fear that “patching might affect production operations.”

This delay in security patching might sometimes result in vulnerabilities that threat actors can exploit over time.

Many options are available to maintain security patching and business continuity, which can also be combined with scanning and notification services to find vulnerabilities. 

There were many reasons from GKE customers for delaying security patching as,

  • Session maintenance of customers (Pinned sessions) will be terminated.
  • AI/ML application-based clients were worried that unsaved workloads might be lost during the patch and restart activity.
  • Some customers were worried that patching might bring unexpected API changes, affecting their application’s functionality.
  • Large node customers will take more time for patching, creating a weak security posture.

Solutions for Balancing Availability and Security Patching in GKE

  • Choose appropriate and relevant channels (Rapid, Regular, and Stable) upgrades for the applications
  • Use maintenance windows for patching with proper duration.
  • Have maintenance-exclusion windows to prevent upgrades during some special cases.
  • Setting up a Pod Disruption Budget is preferable for session maintenance-based customer applications.
  • Setting up regional clusters rather than zonal clusters is recommended for workload availability.
  • Having a Security posture dashboard is highly result-providing.
  • Using various notification services will have additional security awareness for patching.

The low hanging fruit: Leaked Service Account Keys and the Impact on Your Organization

Leakage of service account credentials has been the greatest threat to organizations with Cloud-based infrastructures.

As per Top Threats for cloud computing during 2022 by CSA (Cloud Security Alliance), 42% of the incidents were leaked key incidents.

Identity, Credentials, Access, and Key management are extremely important for Cloud-based systems as the keys might have access to confidential information.

Most of these were due to new account creation or developers testing their code in a public repository, leading to the leaking of service account credentials.

Google stated, “In 42% of leaked critical incidents detected by our abuse systems, customers did not take action after Google attempted to contact the project owner, so the key remained vulnerable to abuse.

While there are many instances of new accounts or developers testing code exposing service account keys, our teams have observed compromises distributed across varying sizes and maturities of organizations”.

Attackers Shifting Tactics to Conceal API Calls

Threat actors who get these leaked service account credentials have been using several defense evasion techniques to hide the origin of their API calls.

Most attackers use Tor nodes, open proxies, and other compromised cloud instances or cloud service providers for anonymous API calls.

Often, attackers are unaware of the capability of the service credential, hence depending on automation tools to level up its resource utilization resulting in the shutting down of the instance.

Attackers who get knowledge of the discovered credential can do extreme damage to the infrastructure depending upon the permissions of the credential. 

The data survey on the IAM roles of compromised service account keys corresponds to the following data.

  • 67.6% of keys had basic IAM roles
  • 23.5% had Owner roles
  • 44.1% had editor roles

Another report by Palo Alto’s Unit 42 Cloud Threat Research stated, “99% of the cloud users, roles, services, and resources were granted excessive permissions.”

Hardcoded credentials checked into code repositories

Credentials leaking onto a public/private repository originate when a developer downloads a service account key (typically an RSA public/private key pair) and uses it to check the code in a private code repository, leaving it there too long.

Instances where these private repositories become public are when the exposure of these keys becomes predominant.

Threat actors cast nets inside repositories to find these keys, considered low-hanging fruits.

As per the Threat Horizon report of Jan 2023, Jenkins, the IT automation software, was the most targeted.

This was because keys and other credentials were found in an organization’s commit along with CI/CD logs which displayed these keys when they were sent as command-line arguments.

Unfortunately, these went unnoticed for a very long. As per IBM’s 2022 Cost of Data breach report, 19% of the breaches were due to compromised or stolen credentials and took the longest time of nearly 243 days to detect.

Another instance where a developer scanned Python Package Index (PyPi) revealed 53 legitimate and valid AWS keys.

The fact is that Amazon themselves had a leaked key, and the oldest active key found in the scan dates back to 10 years.

Mitigations

  • The need for a service account must be validated
  • Local development can use personal account credentials to authenticate
  • Keep an inventory of keys and audit them regularly
  • Having a naming convention for service accounts might be helpful
  • Audit logs monitoring and identify malicious behavior
  • Having policies to disable accounts not used for some time is recommended.

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Payment giant’s point-of-sale outage caused by ALPHV ransomware

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Payment giant’s point-of-sale outage caused by ALPHV ransomware
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An issue with the NCR Aloha point-of-sale system turned out to be a ransomware attack claimed by the ALPHV group

On April 12, 2023, payment giant NCR reported it was looking into an issue with its point-of-sale (POS) systems that caused an outage, leaving customers unable to use the system.

The NCR Aloha POS systems are popular in hospitality services. Customers include Wendy’s, Chuck e Cheese, Café Rio, Leeann Chin, and FATZ Café. The NCR website claims the company helps over 100,000 restaurants run their operations. The outage primarily caused problems in the US but some European and Asia Pacific online ordering services were affected as well.

On April 13, NCR found that the root cause of the outage was the result of a ransomware incident. At this point it contacted customers, notified law enforcement, and initiated an investigation aided by third-party security experts.

In a statement on April 17, NCR reassured customers it was working hard to quickly restore functionality:

“We are committed to re-establishing secure access to the impacted Aloha and Counterpoint applications as quickly as possible. We are restoring impacted applications in a new secure environment. We will have further updates on the timeline for rebuilding this new environment, and we are targeting this week to bring these applications back online. We will also be contacting customers with a few key steps to access our new environment.”

Although NCR has released no specific information about the responsible ransomware group, it is rumored that ALPHV aka BlackCat was behind the attack after security researcher Dominic Alvieri found a post to that effect on the ALPHV leak site.

ALPHV has since removed the post in which they claimed to have stolen credentials belonging to NCR’s customers and threatened to publish these data if a ransom was not paid.

“We take a lot of credentials to your clients networks used to connect for Insight, Pulse, etc. We will give you this list after payment,”

The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group ALPHV, also known as BlackCat or Noberus, is currently one of the most active. ALPHV was ranked #4 in our list of most prolific ransomware gangs last month.

ALPHV ransomware is used by affiliates who conduct individual attacks, breaching organizations using stolen credentials or by exploiting weaknesses in unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers. During the attacks, data is stolen and encrypted and the victim is asked to pay a ransom for both a decryption tool, and to prevent the stolen data from being leaked.

How to avoid ransomware

  • Block common forms of entry. Create a plan for patching vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems quickly; disable or harden remote access like RDP and VPNs; use endpoint security software that can detect exploits and malware used to deliver ransomware.
  • Detect intrusions. Make it harder for intruders to operate inside your organization by segmenting networks and assigning access rights prudently. Use EDR or MDR to detect unusual activity before an attack occurs.
  • Stop malicious encryption. Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response software like Malwarebytes EDR that uses multiple different detection techniques to identify ransomware, and ransomware rollback to restore damaged system files.
  • Create offsite, offline backups. Keep backups offsite and offline, beyond the reach of attackers. Test them regularly to make sure you can restore essential business functions swiftly.
  • Don’t get attacked twice. Once you’ve isolated the outbreak and stopped the first attack, you must remove every trace of the attackers, their malware, their tools, and their methods of entry, to avoid being attacked again.

Malwarebytes removes all remnants of ransomware and prevents you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra unboxing, let’s see what’s inside

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra unboxing, let’s see what’s inside
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The Xiaomi 13 Ultra got announced yesterday, and we already have a review unit in hand. Now, this is a model made for the Chinese market, as yesterday’s announcement did occur in China, but a global variant is coming. In this article, we’ll talk about the Xiaomi 13 Ultra unboxing, and a video unboxing link is embedded below. Do note that the contents of the box will be basically the same (in global markets), save for the changed paperwork, of course. So, this is basically what you’ll get when you buy the phone after it launches in more markets. Speaking of which, yes, Xiaomi did confirm that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is coming to various markets around the world. We still don’t know the launch date, yet, however.

We’re unboxing the black variant of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra

Xiaomi shipped us a black-colored model, while three colors launched in China, black, green, and white. It seems like only the black and green (officially called ‘Olive Green’) will make their way to markets outside of China, though. That has not yet been officially confirmed by the company, but only those two models appeared in the company’s global marketing materials, so… that’s likely what’s happening. In any case, if you check out the video below the article, you’ll be able to see the black Xiaomi 13 Ultra unboxed.

So, what’re you getting in the retail box? In addition to the phone itself, you’re also getting a plastic case, with a ribbed pattern on the back. You can feel that under your fingers, and it does add some grip to the phone itself. This case is extremely thin, which is a good thing, as this is not a small phone. It’ll serve you well until you get something else, or even if you decide to keep it, it’s good to go. It does offer good camera protection, and makes the phone sit in the hand nicely.

Xiaomi did include a charger in the box, a 90W charger

You will also find a 90W charging brick in the box, with a Type-A port on it. A Type-A to Type-C USB cable is also included here, and both the cable and the charger itself are white-colored. That will be the case with every model you get, regardless of the phone’s color. It is worth noting that the phone also supports 50W wireless charging, though you’ll need to get a charger separately for that. You can also recharge your truly wireless earbuds on the go, or something like that via reverse wireless charging (10W).

You’ll also notice a SIM ejector pin in the video provided below, of course. Other than that, only the paperwork sits on the inside, that’s it. It’s what you’d expect, to be quite honest. Some smartphone OEMs stopped shipping their smartphones with chargers (like Apple and Xiaomi, for example), but Xiaomi is not one of them. You’re always getting a charger that can take advantage of the maximum charging speed a phone allows. That’s always nice to see, at least from the user’s perspective. Tracking down that 90W charger on the side would be a pain, to say the least.

This phone comes with a truly powerful spec sheet

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is, overall, a truly powerful smartphone. Spec-wise, it’s one of the most powerful on the market. It includes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, LPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.0 flash storage, a 5,000mAh battery, fast charging we’ve mentioned earlier, and much more. There are four 50-megapixel cameras on the back, led by a 1-inch camera sensor with variable aperture. Leica lenses are placed on each of those cameras, and the phone is also IP68 certified. The display is the brightest on the market at the moment, as its maximum brightness is 2,600 nits. There’s much more to say here, and if you’d like to take a closer look at the phone’s specs, click here. We’re working on a review as we speak, and until then, feel free to check out the unboxing video below.


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Sideloading apps on iPhones could become a reality with iOS 17

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Sideloading apps on iPhones could become a reality with iOS 17
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For the start, sideloading apps on iPhones has been impossible. Apple designed a way to block all apps not installed from the AppStore from existing on their products. According to them, this restriction improves the security of iPhones and other Apple products.

This action is in sharp contrast to what is attainable on Android devices. Users of Android devices can install apps to their devices from sources other than the Play Store. These apps then undergo security checks from the device’s system before being permitted to exist with other apps.

Over the past few years, some users of Apple products have spoken up about this app sideloading restriction. But Apple has been able to hold its ground and prevent sideloading up until this point, possibly. Multiple sources have come out to make claims that the coming iOS 17 upgrade will permit app sideloading.

Apple might come under pressure and allow sideloading apps on iPhones with their new operating system upgrade

The European Union back in November 2022 kicked off its Digital Markets Act, which put companies like Apple under pressure. This act was put in place to ensure open markets across the board (business users and consumers). It is set to go into full effect by May this year, which is just a few weeks away.

This act will force Apple to allow sideloading apps from different sources on their devices. Some Apple product users will find this quite interesting, as they would be able to access some apps that Android users have always had access to. Such apps for sideloading are available on platforms like APK Mirror as well as the websites of app developers.

Details of the sideloading apps on iPhones were made available by the folks at Bloomberg in a recent Power On post. The WWDC 2023 event will bring official details regarding this switch in Apple’s stance regarding app sideloading. For now, the company seems to be working hard to “overhaul the software to open up the iPhone to sideloading.”

The iOS 17 upgrade will also pack some more features that you can check out here. But this app sideloading issue is not the only change the European Union will force Apple to make. The tech giant will also switch to using USB-C ports on all their devices, hence moving away from lighting ports.


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Hackers Using Old Nokia 3310 Phone to Start Car Without Key

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Hackers Using Old Nokia 3310 Phone to Start Car Without Key
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Nokia 3310 Phone

Recent car thefts have involved technology concealed inside outdated Nokia phones and Bluetooth speakers. This brand-new type of car theft is becoming more prevalent in the US.

Criminals use tiny gadgets to interface with the car’s control system, sometimes hidden within innocent-looking Bluetooth speakers or cell phones.

This makes it possible for thieves with little technological expertise to steal cars without a key, sometimes in as little as 15 seconds.

With the gadgets available online for a few thousand dollars, the barrier to stealing even high-end luxury cars is significantly decreased.

EHA

How Thieves Steal Cars Using Outdated Cell Phones?

According to YouTube videos exhibiting the technique, identified by Motherboard is the one where a man uses a Nokia 3310 to start a Toyota.

A man is repeatedly tapping a button next to the steering wheel while seated in the driver’s seat of a Toyota.

The engine fails to start, and a red light flashes. Because he lacks the key, the man pulls out an everyday object: a Nokia 3310 phone.

Using a black cable, the man connects his phone to his vehicle. He selects a few options on the tiny LCD screen of the 3310. The display reads, “CONNECT. GET DATA.” He then tries starting his car once more. The engine roars while the light turns green.

Reports say the technology is sold for between $2,700 and $19,600 on numerous websites and Telegram channels. One vendor sells the Nokia 3310 phone for 3,500 Euros ($3,800), while another advertises it for 4,300 Euros ($4,300).

When one person offered to sell engine starters online, Motherboard pretended to be an interested buyer. That person stated they would use DHL to send a device to the United States.

“Yes, Nokia works with USA cars,” they wrote, referring to the engine starter hidden inside a Nokia phone. The seller said they take Western Union, MoneyGram, bank transfers, and cryptocurrency.

One advertisement for a device concealed inside a Bluetooth speaker bearing the JBL logo reads, “JBL Unlock + Start.” “No key is required!”

According to the advertisement, a range of Toyota and Lexus vehicles can use this particular device: “Our device has a cool stealthy style and look,” it claims.

Ken Tindell, CTO at vehicle cybersecurity company Canis Labs, wrote in an email to Motherboard, “The device does all the work for them, all they have to do is take two wires from the device, detach the headlight, and stuff the wires into the right holes in the vehicle side of the connector.”

Tindell and Ian Tabor, a colleague in automotive cybersecurity where Tabor purchased a device for reverse engineering after it appeared that auto thieves used one to steal his own Toyota RAV4 last year.

Tabor researched and discovered devices for sale that target Jeeps, Maseratis, and other car models.

Keyless repeaters are a different kind of vehicle theft deterrent that Motherboard has previously spoken with vendors about.

These send signals from a victim’s car key, which may be in their home, to their automobile, either in the driveway or nearby. But thieves don’t need the car key to operate with these modern gadgets.

 Despite the devices’ high cost, the one Tabor purchased only had parts worth $10. These comprise another CAN-related chip and a chip containing CAN hardware and firmware.

The assault, known as CAN (controller area network) injection, operates, by Tindell and Tabor’s study, by delivering fake messages that seem to originate from the car’s smart key receiver, the research adds.

The Effective Solution

The only efficient remedy, according to Tindell, would be to add cryptographic protections to CAN messages. He stated that a software update may accomplish this.

“The software is straightforward, and the only complex part is introducing the cryptographic key management infrastructure. But since new vehicle platforms are already deploying cryptographic solutions, that infrastructure is either in place or has to be built anyway,” Tindell said.

“Vehicle theft is an industry-wide challenge that Toyota takes seriously. Even with technological advances, thieves reportedly are devising ways to circumvent existing anti-theft systems.

We are committed to continuing to work on this issue with theft prevention experts, law enforcement, and other key stakeholders”, Corey Proffitt, senior manager of connected communications at Toyota Motor North America, told Motherboard in an email.

Building Your Malware Defense Strategy – Download Free E-Book

Also Read:

The Relatively Unknown Car Hacking Threat

PASTA – A New Car Hacking Tool Developed by Toyota to Test The Security Vulnerabilities


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Spring cleaning tips for your browser

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Spring cleaning tips for your browser
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Some tips that can enhance your browser’s speed, so you have more time to enjoy the outdoors.

When you are resting up from the physical part of your spring cleaning and you’re sitting behind your laptop or swiping left on your phone, why don’t you speed up your browsing experience with a few simple actions?

Let’s start with your browser, as that usually has the most impact on your perception of how “fast” your device is. In this post we will focus on the settings for Chrome since that is the browser with the biggest market share, but many browsers (like Edge) will have the same settings because they are based on the same Chromium codebase or they will have very similar settings (Firefox). We’ll also mention where you can find similar or the same settings in Safari, if available. These will be shown in red.

There may be slight differences in the methodology and screenshots, based on the type of device, the operating system, your language settings, and maybe even the manufacturer of your device, but the basics should be pretty much the same as the Windows-based methods and screenshots shown in this post.

Backups

Before we start let’s take some precautions to minimize the chance of having regrets about our actions afterwards.

1. Backup your currently open bookmarks: More (three dots) > Bookmarks > Bookmark all tabs… (Safari: In the Menu bar > select Bookmarks > then choose Add Bookmarks for these {number of open} Tabs.)

bookmark all open tabs

This will create a Set of bookmarks of the currently open tabs.

You will see a prompt where you can provide a name for this set of bookmarks. Something with the date in it would make it easier to find if you plan to do this more often.

Name that set and save it by clicking the Save button.

type a name for the set of bookmarks

2. Exporting your data can be used to synchronize your browser between devices, but it can also be used as a backup for your data.

To create a backup click on More (three dots) > Settings > Turn on sync… Then log in to your Google account and access sync settings by clicking on Settings:

turn on synchronization

(Safari: click the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen. Then click System Preferences > Click iCloud > select the checkbox next to Safari.)

Then select Manage what you sync and turn on Sync everything if it’s disabled, or make a custom selection of what you want to back up.

manage what to synchronize

Once you’ve decided what to sync, it’s all automatically available across devices, as long as you sign in with the same Google account. When push comes to shove you can use this as a backup to restore your browser. If you were not using sync between devices before you started, you may want to turn it off once you are satisfied everything went well.

Speeding up

1. Check if you have the latest version of Google Chrome. Updates not only introduce new features, they also improve security and fix bugs.

Under More (three dots) > Help > About Google Chrome you can find what version you are on. If there is an update available, Chrome will download and install it. When it’s done you need to relaunch the browser to complete the update. 

update installed, you need to relaunch

Safari: Go to the Apple menu > System Settings > click on Software Update > if updates are available click Restart Now to install them. Once your macOS has updated, Safari will be up to date too.

2. Close some of those tabs that open every time you start your browser. Each site will take some time to load and that slows down your browser. Remember, you can create a set of sites that you need every day and the rest can be moved to your bookmarks so you can always find them.

Now you can start closing tabs and create a set of tabs that you would like to start your sessions with. Once all the unnecessary tabs are closed, click on More (three dots) > Settings > On startup. Select Open a specific page or set of pages.

select your opening tabs

Click on Use current pages and the currently open tabs will be the ones you see at the start of every browser session.

Safari: open the tabs you want to start with and use the method outlined under backups to create a set of bookmarks. Name that set of bookmarks, for example “Startup”. Go to Safari menu > Preferences > select Choose tabs folder from the New windows open with drop-down list. Select the folder of bookmarks (e.g. Startup) you created. Then, click Choose.

3. Under Performance > Memory Saver you can find another way to minimize the impact of your open tabs. When on, Chrome frees up memory from inactive tabs. This gives active tabs and other apps more computer resources and keeps Chrome fast. Your inactive tabs automatically become active again when you go back to them. 

memory saver settings

4. Clean out some clutter you have picked up over time. Click on More (three dots) > Settings > Privacy and security. Click on Clear browsing data. This will open a prompt where you can select which data to clear. The top four are usually the ones you will want to clear. If you are using Chrome as a password manager you will certainly want to leave the fifth one unchecked.

select the data to remove

Cookie warning: if you delete all your cookies, you will find that you will have to log in on several sites, so have your password manager ready or be selective about which cookies to delete. If you uncheck Cookies and other site data here, you can select which ones to delete if you click More (three dots) > Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data > See all site data and permissions. This allows you to go over a complete list and make more granular decisions. You can use the trash can symbol behind each site’s symbol to remove the site data and permissions.

a more granular approach

Or use the dropdown arrow to have even more options.

Safari: Click the Safari menu > Clear History… > in the Clear field choose All History > click Clear History.

 

5. When it comes to browser extensions that you only use occasionally, you might consider disabling them until you need them. And if you no longer use them at all, remove them. Depending on the type of extension, the difference in surfing speed can be noticeable.

Click More (three dots) > Settings > Extensions to see an overview of the currently installed browser extensions.

installed extensions

The one(s) with the slide to the right (showing blue) are enabled and the one(s) with the slider to the left (showing in grey) are disabled. Any unwanted or no longer needed extensions can be removed by clicking on the Remove button in the extension’s tile.

Safari: Choose Safari > Settings > Extensions. To turn off an extension, deselect its checkbox. To uninstall an extension, select the extension and click the Uninstall button.

6. Preload your pages. Click More (three dots) > Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data. Here you can turn on Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.

prefetch settings

7. Scan your device with Malwarebytes to see if any malware is lurking on it. Clearing up any malware on your system is a surefire way to speed it up. And it means you are safer, too!

If you came here looking for a resolution for an extremely slow browser and all of the above didn’t help, there could be other reasons at play. You can try resetting Chrome to default or even uninstall and re-install Chrome.

If a certain site isn’t working properly, you can also try opening the site in an Incognito window. Click More (three dots) and then New Incognito Window. Then copy and paste the URL of the problem site in the address bar and see if it works now. If it does solve the issue, then circle back to point 4 and remove all the cookies and data of the domain that the problem site belongs to.

Malwarebytes removes all remnants of ransomware and prevents you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.

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Adobe Lightroom now supports RAW photos from Pixel 4a, 5a & 6a

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Adobe Lightroom now supports RAW photos from Pixel 4a, 5a & 6a
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Those of you who use Adobe Lightroom and Google’s mid-range Pixel phones will be happy to hear this. Adobe has added support for RAW photos from the Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a to its Lightroom software.

Adobe Lightroom now supports RAW photos from Google’s Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a handsets

The vast majority of you probably never shoot in RAW, but some of you do. To put it simply, if you tend to edit images frequently, and want to do the best job of it, shooting in RAW is the way to go.

Adobe Lightroom is one of the best and best-known software offerings to make such edits, and you’ll be glad to know that you can now do it if you use one of the aforementioned devices. This change comes as part of the April 2023 update. Those models are now supported by the Adobe Camera Raw extension.

This does come as a surprise, as Adobe usually focuses on high-end smartphones. That’s not surprising, as usually those users use the RAW function. Not to mention that high-end phones usually have better cameras. We all know that Google’s mid-range Pixels can snap a great photo, though, so… there you have it.

Sadly, the camera matching profile is not available for either of the three phones

One thing to note is that the support is here regardless of whether you use your PC, Mac or smartphone to edit. The thing is, the camera matching profile is not available for either of the three phones. The same goes for ‘Lens Correction’ profiles for wider FoV lenses, even though ultrawide cameras are supported in general. The same goes for front-facing cameras.

Now, if you’re planning on using this functionality, do note that you’ll need the Adobe Camera Raw version 15.3, in addition to LIghtroom 6.3 and/or Lightroom Classic 12.3.

In the image below, you can see a full list of the latest cameras that Adobe added in the April 2023 update. The vast majority of the list is populated by PIxels, but a camera from Panasonic also made the list, and the same goes for one camera from Sony.

Adobe Lightroom cameras update April 2023


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Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch sooner than expected

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Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch sooner than expected
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According to some new info from Revegnus, a tipster, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch a bit sooner than expected. He says that Qualcomm’s next-gen SoC will arrive in late October, as opposed to mid or late November.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch a bit sooner than expected

As a reminder, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 launched on November 16. Its predecessors had similar launch dates, it’s usually mid-November or late November. We’re not sure why would Qualcomm move that to late October, but if Revegnus is to be believed, it’ll happen.

In addition to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, he also mentioned two offerings from MediaTek. He said that the Dimensity 9200+ is coming in May, while the Dimensity 9300 will launch in late October, just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be a 4nm chip, and the Dimensity 9300 is expected to be as well. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will likely be made using TSMC’s N4P 4nm node, but it remains to be seen.

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 & Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 turned out to be outstanding chips

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 proved to be outstanding processors. They were both miles better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, not just in sheer performance, but power consumption too. Overall, Qualcomm did an excellent job. So, the expectations are high for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Now, in regards to MediaTek, the company’s Dimensity 9200 flagship SoC proved to be a worthy opponent. That 4nm processor performed great in the Vivo X90 Pro we’ve tested, and is in the same league as Qualcomm’s offerings. It still doesn’t offer as good control over power consumption as Qualcomm’s offerings do, but that could change moving forward.

MediaTek’s chips have come a long way over the years, as the company truly closed the gap (for the most part) with Qualcomm. It will be interesting to see how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 compare.


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Avoid this “lost injured dog” Facebook hoax

andreasc
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Avoid this “lost injured dog” Facebook hoax
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We take a look at a Facebook hoax which uses supposedly injured dogs as the lure for a bait and switch scam.

Facebook users are advised to be wary of posts involving injured dogs receiving treatment at a vet surgery, or pets sitting next to people post-operation adorned with bandages and plaster casts.

The dog-themed missives all follow a similar format, with the primary change between them being the location the post is supposedly coming from. Here’s an example:

Hello. If anyone is looking for this sweet girl, found her lying on the side road in [hashtagged location name]. She was hit by a car in a hit and run incident.I took her to the vet. She is in a critical condition,sustained multiple fractures and on pain relief and oxygen.She is not chipped. I know someone is looking for her. Please bump this post to help me find the owner.

Fake Facebook dog operation post

The images are randomly sourced, with many of the posts reusing the same photographs. Comments are often disabled.

Who is doing this? Well, in terms of the individual accounts on display, they’re a variety of personal accounts with little to no posting history. They’ve either been compromised first and then wiped clean of content, or they’re spam accounts with a recent creation date. The examples we’ve seen strongly suggest the latter.

As for posting tactics, they follow the standard Facebook spam tactic of being posted to local community / classified / real estate groups for maximum exposure. This is something which happens a lot, and was used to great effect in the “dead daughter / free PS5” campaign from the middle of last year.

What, specifically, are these bogus dog in the vet stories for? The scammers are banking on sympathetic engagement off the back of the heartstring tugging tale. With enough engagement, eyeballs, replies, anything at all of value…the posts switch to something else altogether.

This is exactly what was happening back in December with another Facebook scam. There, mostly freshly minted accounts posted up harrowing tales of missing toddlers dumped outside the gates of their homes. Eventually, they would become adverts promoting a variety of decidedly non-missing baby content.

Content switcheroo scams on Facebook are incredibly manipulative, and there’s a fair chance that such behaviour likely drives people away from engaging with genuine “missing baby / relative / injured pet” warnings down the line.

There are, however, a few things you can do to keep your Facebook house in order.

Avoiding Facebook hoaxes

  • No replies allowed. Disabled replies can be a major warning flag. If you’re asking for help or giving a warning, why limit the number of people who can reply?
  • If there’s a photograph, try performing a reverse image search. This is where you try to deduce the origin of the image. These scams are lazy; image reuse is rife, often going back many years. There are dedicated sites for this, such as TinEye. There, you either upload an image or provide a URL and TinEye will find any matches from across the internet. Most search engines also offer some reverse image search functionality, though quality of results will inevitably vary. It’s worth noting that sometimes scammers will flip an image (from left to right or vice versa) to try and fool reverse image searches. Deepfaked images will also typically not produce results.
  • Copy / paste that text. Take the text of the suspicious post and search for that, too. You may well find a whole raft of cut and paste efforts across multiple social media portals.
  • Freshly baked scammers. If the site the message or photo is posted to displays details about the person who posted it, see if it’ll let you observe things like account creation date or if the name on the account has been altered. A new account with no other content has likely been set up to scam people.

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