You can be tracked online using your Chrome browser extensions

A researcher has found a way to generate a fingerprint of your device from your installed Google Chrome extensions, and then use that fingerprint to track you online. Fingerprinting is a way of figuring out what makes your device unique and then using that to identify you as you move around the...

Client-side Magecart attacks still around, but more covert

This blog post was authored by Jérôme Segura We have seen and heard less buzz about Magecart during the past several months. While some marketing playbooks continue to rehash the same breaches of yesteryear, we have been wondering if some changes took place in the threat landscape. One thing we...

Internet Safety Month: Avoiding the consequences of unsafe Internet practices

Welcome to Internet Safety Month, a once-a-year event in which you, the public, are told that anywhere between three and 30 different best practices will simplify your approach to staying safe online. Unfortunately, much of the well-intentioned advice surrounding Internet Safety Month ignores one...

Recovering from romance scams with Cindy Liebes: Lock and Code S03E10

Earlier this year, many members of the public were introduced to the facets of a long-ignored crime in cyberspace: The romance scam. A flashy documentary called The Tinder Swindler had premiered on Netflix, and in it, filmmakers documented the efforts of one man to manipulate several women into...

A scanning tool for open-sourced software packages? Yes, please!

The Open Source Security Foundation OpenSSF, a collective of industry leaders aimed at improving the security of open-source software OSS, recently announced the release of a prototype tool that scans for malicious packages in open source repositories. This tool, conveniently called Package...

Airdrop phishing: what is it, and how is my cryptocurrency at risk?

Airdrop phishing is a really popular tactic at the moment. It emerged alongside the explosion of Web3/NFT/cryptocurrency popularity, and ensures scammers get a slice of the money pie. You may well have heard the term in passing, and wondered what an Airdrop is. Is your iPhone about to be Airdrop...

A week in security (April 25 – May 1)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Why MITRE matters to SMBs Apple’s child safety features are coming to a Messages app near you Why software has so many vulnerabilities, with Tanya Janca: Lock and Code S03E09 Watch out for this SMS phish promising a tax refund Rogue ads phishing for cryptocurrency:...

Onyx ransomware destroys files, and also the criminal circle of trust

Some ransomware authors seem to be whittling down their tenuous "circle of trust" style agreement with victims even further. Word has spread of an Onyx ransomware operation a variant of Chaos ransomware which is quite a bit more destructive than those impacted would be hoping for. However, all is...

Facebook phishers threaten users with Page Recovery Help Support

We’ve seen multiple hijacked profiles on Facebook recently claiming to be account recovery services. These bogus account recovery services arent here to help. Theyre actually just trying to scare users into falling for phishing attempts. The people behind these scams target Facebook pages belongi...

Apps removed from Google Play for harvesting user data

Dozens of apps were removed from the Google Play Store after they were found to be harvesting the data of device owners. The code in question—a software development kit SDK—was used inside apps which were downloaded over 10 million times. What happened? A wide range of Android apps were found to...

A week in security (March 21 – 27)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Anti-war open-source software developer targets Russians and Belarussians with “protestware” Elden Ring exploit traps players in infinite death loop Update now! Many HP printers affected by three critical security vulnerabilities White House urges US businesses:...

Google and Microsoft accused of feeding smaller search engines spam ads

Google and Microsoft appear to have been flooding their smaller search engine rivals with spam ads, to limit the number of higher-value ads that appear on them, according to data viewed by POLITICO. Ads are considered "spam" if they appear in search results but have little to no relevance to the...

Threat actor steals email with Zimbra zero-day

Researchers have discovered a threat actor attempting to exploit a cross-site scripting XSS zero-day vulnerability in the Zimbra email platform. Zimbra is open source webmail application used for messaging and collaboration. Cross-site scripting is a type of injection attack wherein a vulnerabili...

Ransomware targets Edge users

Unless youve been hiding under a rock for the last twenty years, youve probably heard the one about "keeping your software up to date". Applying software updates promptly is arguably the single most useful thing you can do to keep yourself secure online, and vendors, experts, pundits, and blogs...

NSO Group spyware found on iPhones of US State Department employees

iPhones of at least nine US State Department employees are said to have been hacked using the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli technology company, NSO Group. Pegasus is a proprietary and sophisticated spyware capable of the remote surveillance of smartphones. The employees targeted by an...

Bogus JS libraries become sustained ransomware threat for Roblox gamers

If your kids play Roblox, you may wish to warn them of ransomware perils snapping at their heels. A very smart, and determined attack has been taking place for a little while now. Although initially dismissed as a form of prank, the developers under fire now disagree. Whether prank or malicious...

Fake ransomware warnings hit WordPress sites: How to stay safe

A ransomware warning has appeared out of nowhere and started taking over WordPress sites. The warning, with its black background and red writing, says: “SITE ENCRYPTED Countdown FOR RESTORE SEND 0.1 BITCOIN: address redacted create file on site /unlock.txt with transaction key inside” But theres...

SoNot SoSafe: Android malware disguises itself as secure messaging app

If you haven’t heard of SoSafe Chat, you will now. This Android app, purported as a secure messaging application that uses end-to-end encryption, is the latest ruse cybercriminals put upon smartphone users, particularly those based in India, to infect their devices with GravityRAT, a piece of...

What is an .exe file? Is it the same as an executable?

You may often see .exe files but you may not know what they are. Is it the same as an executable file? The short answer is no. So whats the difference? What is an .exe file? Exe in this context is a file extension denoting an executable file for Microsoft Windows. Windows file names have two part...

ExpressVPN made a choice, and so did I: Lock and Code S02E19

On September 14, the US Department of Justice announced that it had resolved an earlier investigation into an international cyber hacking campaign coming from the United Arab Emirates that has reportedly impacted hundreds of journalists, activists, and human rights defenders in Yemen, Iran, Turke...

The joy of phishing your employees

Many companies set up phishing test programs for their employees, often as part of a compliance requirement involving ongoing employee education on security topics. The aim of these programs is to train employees on how to spot a malicious link, not click it, and forward it on to the appropriate...

GnuPG fixes a problem with Let’s Encrypt certificate chain validation

Despite advance warnings that a root certificate provided by Let’s Encrypt would expire on September 30, users reported issues with a variety of services and websites once that deadline hit. So what happened? The problem A number of high profile tech and security companies noticed their products...

4 things you should know about testing AV software with VirusTotal’s free online multiscanner

As COVID-19 soldiers on, small and medium-size businesses now feel as ripe for malware attacks as deep-pocketed multinationals. SMBs see that, along with remote work, our pandemic has also brought troubling new holes to their security. This means cybercriminals—equal opportunity charlatans that...

Gamers level up with rewards for better security

There was a time when stolen gaming accounts were almost treated as a fact of life. Console hacks weren’t taken particularly seriously. Security research in this area was occasionally derided as unimportant or trivial. Gaming accounts had an essence of innate disposability to them, even if this...

QBot Trojan delivered via malspam campaign exploiting US election uncertainties

This blog post was authored by Jérôme Segura and Hossein Jazi. The 2020 US elections have been the subject of intense scrutiny and emotions, while happening in the middle of a global pandemic. As election night ended and uncertainty regarding the results began to creep in, threat actors decided t...

The value of cybersecurity integration for MSPs

For modern Managed Service Providers MSPs, gone are the days of disparate workflows, and that’s really for the best. Imagine trying to run a successful MSP business today—finding potential customers, procuring new clients, developing purchase orders, managing endpoints, and sending invoices—all...

A week in security (July 20 – 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, our Lock and Code podcast delved into Bluetooth and beacon technology. We also dug into APT groups targeting India and Hong Kong, covered a law enforcement bust, and tried to figure out when, exactly, a Deepfake is a Deepfake. Other cybersecurity news Insecure emai...

Do Chromebooks need antivirus protection?

The supervisor handed Jim a Chromebook and said: “Take this home with you and use it to send me updates. We want to minimize the number of visits to the office—anything you can do from home helps keep this place safer. When the pandemic is over, I’d like to have it back in one piece, if possible....

VPNs: should you use them?

We are going to talk today about something you’ve likely heard of before: VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks. We at Malwarebytes have delved into these tools in greater depth, and we’ve literally discussed them on the digital airwaves. But we want to answer a question we’ve been getting more and...

A week in security (June 8 – 14)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we looked into nasty search hijackers that worried a lot of Chrome users; a list of considerations for MSPs when looking for an RMM platform; the complaint faced by ParetoLogic, the company that issues SpeedyPC, a product that claims to find and remove various PC...

Lock and Code S1Ep7: Sounding the trumpet on web browser privacy with Pieter Arntz

This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs and around the Internet. In addition, we talk to Pieter Arntz, malware intelligence researcher at Malwarebytes, about web browser privacy—an often neglected subcategory of data privacy. Without the prop...

All rise! Mind these digital crimes and arm yourself against them

Have you noticed that, in this year alone, headlines are inundated with words that contain "cyber"? Cybercrime. Cyberattack. Cybersecurity. Cyberwarfare. The cyber. Okay, that was last year. Frankly, with so much going on, we hardly remember a time when the term "cyber" seemed quaint and a little...

Solution Corner: Malwarebytes Incident Response

Unless you’ve been stuck at a fiery music festival, I don’t need to tell you the threat landscape is constantly evolving and that threats have become increasingly sophisticated at evading detection. Recent Malwarebytes Labs reports, including the 2017 State of Malware shine a light on just how fa...

New Mac Malware-as-a-Service offerings

A couple weeks ago, two new Malware-as-a-Service MaaS offerings for the Mac became available. These two offerings - a backdoor named MacSpy and a ransomware app named MacRansom - were discovered by Catalin Cimpanu of Bleeping Computer on May 25. Cimpanu evidently had some trouble getting hold of...

Scammers are using fake crypto AML checkers to drain your wallet

Scammers are creating fake crypto wallet-checking sites that promise to tell you whether a wallet is linked to suspicious activity. Instead, they try to trick you into giving them access to your crypto. What real AML checking looks like AML stands for anti-money laundering. These are rules that...

New Android malware lets criminals use your bank card in real time

Researchers at Group-IB have discovered a new NFC relay malware family, purpose-built to capture live card data via NFC and forward it in real time to attackers. They dubbed it "WindRelay." NFC Near Field Communication is wireless technology that allows devices such as smartphones, payment cards,...

Travelers targeted when logging into hotel Wi-Fi networks

Microsoft has warned that hotel, conference, and other hospitality Wi-Fi networks are being actively abused by a Russian group to target travelers worldwide. The campaign, dubbed "CaptiveCrunch" turns a routine Wi-Fi login moment into an opportunity to compromise corporate accounts and devices...

Fake Fortnite rewards are stealing players’ accounts

Fortnite scam pages like the ones below appear by the dozen every day, recycled endlessly under different names and designs. One version promises $50 from a fake superhero collaboration. Another claims it can calculate what your locker is worth. Both lead to the same destination: a fake Epic Game...

This fake Apple app can unlock your Mac’s password vault

CrashStealer is a new macOS infostealer that masquerades as Apple’s CrashReporter component, uses an Apple‑notarized installer to slip past Gatekeeper, tricks users into handing over their password, and then systematically loots browsers, password managers, crypto wallets, and Keychain secrets...

This new Windows malware can take over your PC and wipe it clean

Microsoft published new research on GigaWiper, a modular Golang backdoor for Windows that combines robust remote access with multiple ways to permanently destroy systems and data. GigaWiper is a Windows backdoor that Microsoft has observed in intrusions since October 2025. Rather than being a...

ChatGPT produced graphic violent images that shocked researchers

AI assistants like ChatGPT are supposed to be safe to use, with appropriate guardrails to stop people creating harmful content. However, a British AI security firm just figured out how to make ChatGPT produce explicit material. Mindgard, a company that tests AI engines for weaknesses, found that ...

Malware steals Chrome session cookies to take over your accounts

An email attachment leads to the installation of a malicious Chrome extension. Researchers say it is part of a Windows backdoor delivered via a phishing email. The malware abuses Chrome Native Messaging to move control from the browser into the host system. Its most notable trick isn't the phishi...

Microsoft working on a fix for RoguePlanet, a flaw that grants full PC control

A publicly available exploit called RoguePlanet can give attackers the highest level of access on Windows systems. Microsoft has confirmed the vulnerability and says it's working on a security update. RoguePlanet is tracked under CVE-2026-50656, where it’s described as a Microsoft Defender...

Malwarebytes earns AV-TEST Top Product award, aces other third-party tests

Our job is to protect people from online threats, and independent testing is one of the best ways to measure how well we’re doing. Malwarebytes nabbed AV-TEST's Top Product award after scoring 17.5 points out of a possible 18 in the research organization's most recent Windows security test. The...

Inside a malicious infrastructure delivering EtherRAT, phishing pages, and malicious software

During our recent threat hunting activities, we found EtherRAT malware being distributed by a website with a strange homepage. This homepage allowed us to discover a vast malicious infrastructure distributing malware, malicious documents, remote desktop software, and phishing pages. EtherRAT is a...

Microsoft’s biggest-ever Patch Tuesday fixes 206 bugs, including 3 zero-days

This month’s Patch Tuesday fixes 206 security flaws in Microsoft software, making it the biggest Patch Tuesday release ever. The update includes 32 critical vulnerabilities, as well as three publicly disclosed zero-days. Microsoft classifies these as zero-days because information about the...

Your phone called. It needs a cleanup.

Does it sometimes take your phone a few minutes to accomplish one simple task? That can be wildly frustrating. But you’re in luck, because we’ve got a free tool that scans your phone for leftover files, temporary data, outdated caches and helps you clean up all that junk. Introducing our Junk...

Meta’s confusing new approach to chat privacy

Recent news had us wondering whether Meta actually knows what it wants. On one platform, Meta is promoting AI chats that it says even it cannot read. On another, it has removed one of the few features that genuinely prevented Meta from accessing private conversations. "Meta removed support for...

ClickFix finds a new way to infect Macs

ClickFix campaigns are looking for alternatives now that many Mac users have been made aware of the dangers of pasting certain commands into Terminal. Researchers found that ClickFix has kept the same social engineering playbook but completely sidestepped Terminal by using the applescript:// URL...

NSFW app leak exposes 70,000 prompts linked to individual users

MyLovely.AI, an AI “artwork” generation platform, has reportedly been compromised, affecting 106,362 registered users. The AI girlfriend app allows users to generate personalized NSFW content and engage in real-time conversations with AI-generated personas, often sharing highly personal prompts a...