Apple’s new iOS setting addresses a hidden layer of location tracking

Most iPhone owners have hopefully learned to manage app permissions by now, including allowing location access. But there's another layer of location tracking that operates outside these controls. Your cellular carrier has been collecting your location data all along, and until now, there was...

Clawdbot’s rename to Moltbot sparks impersonation campaign

After the viral AI assistant Clawdbot was forced to rename to Moltbot due to a trademark dispute, opportunists moved quickly. Within days, typosquat domains and a cloned GitHub repository appeared—impersonating the project’s creator and positioning infrastructure for a potential supply-chain...

Can you use too many LOLBins to drop some RATs?

Recently, our team came across an infection attempt that stood out—not for its sophistication, but for how determined the attacker was to take a “living off the land” approach to the extreme. The end goal was to deploy Remcos , a Remote Access Trojan RAT, and NetSupport Manager , a legitimate...

Fake extension crashes browsers to trick users into infecting themselves

Researchers have found another method used in the spirit of ClickFix: CrashFix. ClickFix campaigns use convincing lures—historically “Human Verification” screens—to trick the user into pasting a command from the clipboard. After fake Windows update screens, video tutorials for Mac users, and many...

WhisperPair exposes Bluetooth earbuds and headphones to tracking and eavesdropping

WhisperPair is a set of attacks that lets an attacker hijack many popular Bluetooth audio accessories that use Google Fast Pair and, in some cases, even track their location via Google’s Find Hub network—all without requiring any user interaction. Researchers at the Belgian University of Leuven...

How real software downloads can hide remote backdoors

It starts with a simple search. You need to set up remote access to a colleague’s computer. You do a Google search for “RustDesk download,” click one of the top results, and land on a polished website with documentation, downloads, and familiar branding. You install the software, launch it, and...

Grok apologizes for creating image of young girls in “sexualized attire”

Another AI system designed to be powerful and engaging ends up illustrating how guardrails routinely fail when development speed and feature races outrun safety controls. In a post on X, AI chatbot Grok confirmed that it generated an image of young girls in “sexualized attire.” The potential...

How AI made scams more convincing in 2025

This blog is part of a series where we highlight new or fast-evolving threats in consumer security. This one focuses on howAI is being used to design more realistic campaigns, accelerate social engineering, and how AI agents can be used to target individuals. Most cybercriminals stick with what...

Pornhub tells users to expect sextortion emails after data exposure

After a recent data breach that affected Pornhub Premium members, Pornhub has updated its online statement to warn users about potential direct contact from cybercriminals. “We are aware that the individuals responsible for this incident have threatened to contact impacted Pornhub Premium users...

A week in security (December 1 – December 7)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Leaks show Intellexa burning zero-days to keep Predator spyware running How scammers use fake insurance texts to steal your identity Canadian police trialing facial recognition bodycams Update Chrome now: Google fixes 13 security issues affecting billions Attackers...

How scammers use fake insurance texts to steal your identity

Sometimes it’s hard to understand how some scams work or why criminals would even try them on you. In this case it may have been a matter of timing. One of my co-workers received this one: “Insurance estimates for certain age ranges: 20-30 200 – 300/mo 31-40 270 – 450/mo 41-64 350 – 500/mo Please...

Update Chrome now: Google fixes 13 security issues affecting billions

Google has released an update for its Chrome browser that includes 13 security fixes, four of which are classified as high severity. One of these was found in Chrome’s Digital Credentials feature–a tool that lets you share verified information from your digital wallet with websites so you can pro...

Gmail breach panic? It’s a misunderstanding, not a hack

After a misinterpretation of an interview with a security researcher, several media outlets hinted at a major Gmail breach. Reporters claimed the incident took place in April. In reality, the researcher had said there was an enormous amount of Gmail usernames and passwords circulating on the dark...

Plex users: Reset your password!

Media streaming platform Plex has warned customers about a data breach, advising them to reset their password. Plex said an attacker broke into one of its databases, allowing them to access a "limited subset" of customer data. This included email addresses, usernames, hashed passwords, and...

All Apple users should update after company patches zero-day vulnerability in all platforms

Apple has released security updates for iPhones, iPads and Macs to fix a zero-day vulnerability a vulnerability which Apple was previously unaware of that is reportedly being used in targeted attacks. The updates cover: iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2 iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro...

Russians hacked US courts, say investigators

Russia is after secret files in the US court system, according to reports this week—and its hackers appear to have reached at least some of them. Last week, news broke of a successful cyberattack against the decades-old US court filing system. Called Case Management/Electronic Case Files CM/ECF,...

WinRAR vulnerability exploited by two different groups

On July 30, 2025, WinRAR released a new version 7.13 Final to patch a vulnerability which was used in two separate malware campaigns. WinRAR is a popular file archiving and data compression tool that allows users to compress files into smaller archives, like RAR and ZIP, and can also unpack vario...

Fake bank ads on Instagram scam victims out of money

Ads on Instagram—including deepfake videos—are impersonating trusted financial institutions like Bank of Montreal BMO and EQ Bank Equitable Bank in order to scam people, according to BleepingComputer. There are some variations in how the scammers approach this. Some use Artificial Intelligence AI...

How and where to report an online scam

If you've been scammed it's really important to report it, if you can, in order to help prevent others falling for the same scam, and give authorities a chance to catch the criminal who did it. The methods in which to report a scam varies according to the country you're in, the platforms you're...

What does Facebook know about me? (Lock and Code S06E11)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … There's an easy way to find out what Facebook knows about you—you just have to ask. In 2020, the social media giant launched an online portal that allows all users to access their historical data and to request specific types of information for download...

New warning issued over toll fee scams

Over a year ago the FBI warned about what was then a new form of smishing phishing via SMS scam: text messages that demanded payment for toll fees. The FTC sent out a similar warning in January, 2025. Then, in April another wave of toll fee scams began doing the rounds. Now the Departments of Mot...

Google to pay $1.38 billion over privacy violations

The state of Texas reached a mammoth financial agreement with Google last week, securing $1.375 billion in payments to settle two three year-old lawsuits. The Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton originally filed the first lawsuit against Google in January 2022, complaining that the tech...

Malwarebytes named “Best Antivirus Software” and “Best Malware Removal Service”

Horn tooting time: We're excited to say we've earned a coveted spot in PCMag’s “Best Antivirus Software for 2025” list, and been recognized as the “Best Malware Removal Service 2025” by CNET. PCMag’s rigorous evaluation process takes into account a range of factors, including real-world, hands-on...

Child predators are lurking on dating apps, warns report

Using a dating app? Beware of your potential partner's motives. A report from Edinburgh University warns that child abusers are using these apps to find single parents with vulnerable children. The Searchlight 2025 report, from the University's Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, analyses t...

Moving from WhatsApp to Signal: A good idea?

This week we learned that the US Government uses Signal for communication, after a journalist was accidentally added to a Signal chat. Accidental additions of people aside, the news has got regular folks asking if they should, too, be using Signal for private communications. Probably the largest...

23andMe bankruptcy: How to delete your data and stay safe from the 2023 breach

The genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, announcing that, in searching for financial stability through its sale to a new owner, the business will continue operating as normal, including in how customer data is handled. “The company intends to continue operating its...

Malwarebytes introduces native ARM support for Windows devices

For the last four years, Malwarebytes has been protecting ARM-based machines running on Apple’s M-series processors. Now, we’ve expanded our protection range to include ARM-based Windows machines such as Copilot+ PCs, including Microsoft Surface Pro, Lenovo Yoga Slim and ThinkPad, and Dell...

WhatsApp says Paragon is spying on specific users

WhatsApp has accused the professional spyware company Paragon of spying on a select group of users. WhatsApp, the Meta-owned, end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, said it has reliable information that nearly 100 journalists and other “members of civil society” were targets of a spyware campai...

Microsoft advertisers phished via malicious Google ads

Just days after we uncovered a campaign targeting Google Ads accounts, a similar attack has surfaced, this time aimed at Microsoft advertisers. These malicious ads, appearing on Google Search, are designed to steal the login information of users trying to access Microsoft's advertising platform...

WhatsApp spear phishing campaign uses QR codes to add device

A cybercriminal campaign linked to Russia is deploying QR codes to access the WhatsApp accounts of high-profile targets like journalists, members of think tanks, and employees of non-governmental organizations NGOs, according to new details revealed by Microsoft. The group, which Microsoft tracks...

iMessage text gets recipient to disable phishing protection so they can be phished

A smishing SMS phishing campaign is targeting iMessage users, attempting to socially engineer them into bypassing Apple's built in phishing protection. For months, iMessage users have been posting examples online of how phishers are trying to get around this protection. And, now, the campign is...

A week in security (January 6 – January 12)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Dental group lied through teeth about data breach, fined $350,000 AI-supported spear phishing fools more than 50% of targets US Cyber Trust Mark logo for smart devices is coming GroupGreeting e-card site attacked in "zqxq" campaign Massive breach at location data...

GroupGreeting e-card site attacked in “zqxq” campaign

This article was researched and written by Stefan Dasic, manager, research and response forThreatDown, powered by Malwarebytes Malwarebytes recently uncovered a widespread cyberattack—referred to here as the “zqxq” campaign as it closely mirrors NDSW/NDSX-style malware behavior—that compromised...

Dental group lied through teeth about data breach, fined $350,000

A US chain of dental offices known as Westend Dental LLC denied a 2020 ransomware attack and its associated data breach, instead telling their customers that data was lost due to an “accidentally formatted hard drive.” Unfortunately for the organization, the truth was found out. Westend Dental...

TikTok ban in US: Company seeks emergency injunction to prevent it

TikTok has requested an emergency injunction to stop or postpone the planned ban on the platform in the US. Back in March, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively ban TikTok from the US unless Chinese owner ByteDance agreed to give up its share of the immensely popular...

Temu must respect consumer protection laws, says EU

Temu has been accused of a number of infringements on its platform against European Union EU consumer law. The Consumer Protection Cooperation CPC Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission teamed up for a coordinated ongoing investigation into Temu and its practices. Th...

TikTok ordered to close Canada offices following “national security review”

The Government of Canada ordered the TikTok Technology Canada Inc. to close its offices in the country following a national security review. This decision was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may be injurious to Canada’s...

1,000+ web shops infected by “Phish ‘n Ships” criminals who create fake product listings for in-demand products

Researchers at the Satori Threat Intelligence and Research team have published their findings about a group of cybercriminals that infect legitimate web shops to create and promote fake product listings. The threat, dubbed "Phish ‘n Ships" by the researchers, reportedly infected more than 1,000...

Patch now! New Chrome update for two critical vulnerabilities

Google has released an update for its Chrome browser which includes patches for two critical vulnerabilities. The update brings the Stable channel to versions 130.0.6723.91/.92 for Windows and Mac and 130.0.6723.91 for Linux. The easiest way to update Chrome is to allow it to update automatically...

100 million US citizens officially impacted by Change Healthcare data breach

In April, we reported that a “substantial proportion” of Americans may have had their health and personal data stolen in the Change Healthcare breach. That was based on a report provided by the UnitedHealth Group after the February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. The attack on...

Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint

Pinterest has received a complaint from privacy watchdog noyb None of your business over the unsolicited tracking of its users. Pinterest allows you to pin images to virtual pinboards; useful for interior design, recipe ideas, party inspiration, and much more. It started as a virtual replacement...

AI scammers target Gmail accounts, say they have your death certificate

Several reputable sources are warning about a very sophisticated Artificial Intelligence AI supported type of scam that is bound to trick a lot of people into compromising their Gmail account. The most recent warning comes from CEO of Y Combinator Garry Tan who posted on X, saying the scammers...

Exposing the Facebook funeral livestream scam (Lock and Code S05E21)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … Online scammers were seen this August stooping to a new low—abusing local funerals to steal from bereaved family and friends. Cybercrime has never been a job of morals calling it a "job" is already lending it too much credit, but, for many years, scams...

Don’t share the viral Instagram Meta AI “legal” post

A new variation of a hoax that has been doing the rounds on Facebook for years has crossed over to Instagram. We’re seeing this post on Instagram Stories a lot suddenly over the last few days. The post is usually posted as a shareable screenshot on Instagram Stories, but it’s also been spotted on...

Relationship broken up? Here’s how to separate your online accounts

Breaking up is hard to do. The internet has made it harder. With couples today regularly sharing access to one another’s email accounts, streaming services, social media platforms, online photo albums, and more, the risk of a bad breakup isn’t just heartache. Equipped with unfettered access into...

iOS 18 is out. Here are the new privacy and security features

On September 16, 2024, Apple released iOS 18. Besides a lot of exciting new features, iOS 18 comes with some privacy and security enhancements. One of the most promising new features is the new Passwords app. Built on the foundation of Apple's password management system Keychain, Passwords makes ...

Scammers advertise fake AppleCare+ service via GitHub repos

Weve uncovered a malicious campaign going after Mac users looking for support or extended warranty from Apple via the AppleCare+ support plans. The perpetrators are buying Google ads to lure in their victims and redirect them to bogus pages hosted on GitHub, the developer and code repository...

Iranian cybercriminals are targeting WhatsApp users in spear phishing campaign

An Iranian state-sponsored group often referred to as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC is making headlines again this season as Meta disclosed that the cybercriminals targeted WhatsApp users in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the UK, and the US. Other names for this group—depending on the...

Magniber ransomware targets home users

If you’ve been following any news about ransomware, you may be under the impression that ransomware groups are only after organizations rather than individual people, and for the most part that’s true. However, Magniber is one ransomware that does target home users. And its back, with full force,...

Meta to pay $1.4 billion over unauthorized facial recognition image capture

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta to “stop the company’s practice of capturing and using the personal biometric data of millions of Texans without the authorization required by law.” The prime reason for the initial lawsuit that led to the...