Those sneaky hackers are at it again. Here’s a new phishing scheme that has managed (so far) to elude Google’s filters. If you have a Google account and aren’t using 2-Factor Authentication (or 2FA, or 2-Step Verification, as Google calls it), something like this could be real trouble.
And if you’re pretty sure you wouldn’t fall for this, imagine a less-savvy relative or friend who might…perhaps you can help them lock down their account.
This alert affects all users who have ever created an account on Adobe.com. This would include those who have registered their licensed software, those who have purchased software through Adobe.com, and those who participate in their community forums. Adobe themselves has confirmed this breach, which includes not only usernames and passwords, but also possibly credit card information, password hints, and other personal information.
Adobe is the company that brings you Photoshop, Lightroom, Acrobat & Reader, Flash Player and more. It is an extremely widely used company and it’s entirely likely that you may have used their software along the way.
To find out if your account is among the ones compromised, please visit this link and enter the email address you used when you created your Adobe.com account. If yours is one of the many compromised (mine was as well), Adobe has already reset your password and you can request a password reset link to be sent so you can choose a new password.
If you are like millions of Internet users who use the same password at different Websites, it is advisable that you change your password at these other sites as well, as your password and email address are now revealed to the thieves and could possibly be used to further steal your identity.
Typically, roughly 60% of my service calls include cleaning up some kind of malware. Whether it’s because updates have been ignored (you know, those pesky ones from Adobe, or Java, or Microsoft), browsers are outdated, extraneous toolbars have been installed, or someone’s been visiting nefarious Websites, one way or the other it’s a common refrain that I hear: “The computer is running really slowly….” or “I’m getting tons of popups” or the like. Once all the updates are installed, browsers cleaned and proper safe browsing habits have been reviewed, a majority of the time the computer is back in action and has gained a noticeable amount of speed. It’s usually at this point that someone asks me “what’s the difference between a virus and malware?”
It can be tricky to explain the difference, especially because nowadays the threat from other kinds of malware are far greater than an actual virus (which is, itself, a form of malware). I came across this article today from one of my favorite Websites, LifeHacker, which does a pretty decent job of explaining the difference between the two. Not only that, but the author is in agreement with me about the two protection tools I recommend deploying, since they are light on performance drags but heavy on effective protection (Avast Free Antivirus and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, although a newer tool, ADWCleaner, has earned a spot in my permanent toolbox as well). The article is written with the average layperson in mind, so it’s relatively easy to understand. If you’re curious at all about these constant threats we face, I urge you to check it out.