During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cyberattacks using human-operated ransomware increased significantly. Other types of human-operated ransomware include Maze, REvil (Sodinokibi), RobbinHood and NetWalker. Human-operated ransomware typically affects fewer computers than malware that propagates through phishing. This is because the former type of malware requires well-planned targeted attacks, while the latter type spreads automatically. The purpose of this article is to examine the operation of PonyFinal and provide recommendations on how to avoid an infection with it....

From Mafia Wars to Words With Friends, there was no shortage of ways to have fun with your hundreds of Facebook friends. That said, not everything worked perfectly. Tap or click here to see how millions of Words With Friends accounts had their data exposed. Out of all the classic Facebook games, the most popular of all had to be FarmVille. This fun distraction was enjoyed by millions of users at its peak, and many were active players until recently....

Since they are often considered together, agriculture, forestry, and (real) fishing have combined phishing statistics. They are not promising. 2015 statistics for small companies in these areas with between 1 and 250 employees revealed that phishing e-mails constituted 1 in 1,553 of all e-mails received. For businesses with 251 to 500 employees, it decreased to 1 in 2,554, and for anything larger, including companies with over 2,500 employees the rate dropped to less than 1 in 3,000 to 3,600....

Somewhat unsurprisingly, photos of physical mockups (dummy units) purportedly representing the next-generation full-sized iPad Air have surfaced. This comes after several weeks of iPhone 6 dummy shots that solely differ by camera angles. These units are generally created by case makers, so they may have some inaccuracies. Nonetheless, here’s what whoever made these physical mockups is expecting based on whatever information they obtained from the Apple supply chain. As you can see in the image above, the next Air appears to be nearly identical in design to the current Air....

It was just the other day that a friend of mine noticed all of his Picasa albums were set to public. We went in to try and make them private, but it turns out that each album had to be done individually. And, when you have 87 albums it makes it nothing short of a long and annoying afternoon; after marking the first 10, we gave up with doing it manually....

As noted by the PixarTimes, a Pixar employee tweeted the photo above showing what is apparently the entrance to the main building on Pixar’s campus newly named in memory of Steve Jobs. Jobs actually played a big role in designing the building itself as CEO of Pixar, as recently noted in the Walter Isaacson “Steve Jobs” biography. Pixar recently honored Jobs for his contributions to the company in the end credits of its latest animated film “Brave”, but the naming of the building is obviously a more permanent tribute to the man who helped form the company....

Airmail, the popular third-party email client for the Mac, has landed today on the iPhone for the first time. The brand new Airmail for iPhone app works with various email services including Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, and Exchange, and even features iCloud sync to keep the mobile and desktop preferences on the same page. Airmail also includes modern features for the latest iPhones, third-party app integration, and email management features missing after Dropbox retired Mailbox....

Apple has for some time now been touting the iPad as a PC replacement device for many people. Steve Jobs way back in 2010 used the cars and trucks analogy, arguing that while some would always need the power of a Mac, many would be able to do everything they needed on an iPad. Tim Cook suggested that day had arrived in 2015, asking ‘why would you buy a PC any more’ – before clarifying that he meant Windows PCs, not Macs....

If you’ve ever needed to record a podcast with other people, you probably know Call Recorder for Skype — which, as the name suggests, is a popular Mac app that lets users record conferences on Skype. Unfortunately, the app is being discontinued and will no longer be updated, mainly affecting users with M1 Macs. As reported by Jason Snell, Ecamm Network (the company behind Call Recorder for Skype) has confirmed that the app will no longer get any updates from now on....

Recently, authorities discovered cybercriminals were using military-grade hacking software designed by Israeli tech firm NSO Group. Research group Citizen Lab then revealed that NSO’s clients were using the software to spy on journalists. Tap or click here for our report with tips on protecting yourself from this dangerous vulnerability. Apple rolled out security patches to prevent this type of government-sponsored spyware, and now it’s going one step further: Apple says it will notify owners if their iPhones and other devices have been compromised....

On Friday Google officially announced new changes to their Picasa storage policy. These changes affect all users, regardless of if you have paid for extra storage or not. From now on, any photos that you have uploaded that “are 800 pixels or smaller and videos that are 15 minutes or less in length no longer count” towards your storage limit. Now you have a new place to host your Twitter media files!...

Google regularly updates its Pixel phones with software updates. This is one of the main advantages of having a Google Pixel. The monthly security updates that Google sends also contain bug fixes, improvements, and sometimes new features. However, recent software updates to Google Pixels have turned out to be the worst updates Google has ever released. The December update was nothing but a disaster for Google Pixel owners. It came along with a truckload of bugs, whose repercussions are even being faced today on many Google Pixel phones....

On the heels of an update to Castro Podcasts yesterday, third-party podcasts app Pocket Casts has today received a major update to version 7.0. The update includes support for Siri Shortcuts, discovery improvements, syncing support, and much more. The update to Pocket Casts comes after it was acquired in May by podcast publishers including NPR, WNYC Studios, and WBEZ / This American Life. The goal of today’s update, the company says, is to “deliver a more premium experience” and to make “podcast listening easier than ever before....

Reuters reports that a group of Wintek employees that were poisoned during the manufacture of Apple products by the N-Hexane cleaners that their company used are making a direct appeal to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Apple noted that Wintek had used the chemical in its yearly Supplier Responsibility Progress Report and the company had discontinued its use. Apple declined to comment on the workers’ letter and referred a reporter back to its supplier report....

Proving to the world that the esports scene can be wholesome, this year’s incredibly young winner of the Pokémon Oceania International Championship’s Junior Division has shown everyone that pro players can be as adorable as they are skilled. Simone Lim of Singapore is one of the youngest champions in her league’s history, and her excellent sportsmanship and perseverance suggest that her esports career is just beginning. This week, professional Fortnite player and streaming sensation Ninja spurred a fairly divided conversation about anger’s role in competitive gaming that likely further imprinted the stereotypical image of the irritable, toxic gamer into onlookers’ minds....

While PewDiePie is doing great in 2023, 2017 was a troubled year for PewDiePie. He never seemed to be far away from controversy or being accused of offending somebody. Being in the spotlight affected his popularity to some extent. His channel shed 2 million subscribers before bouncing back to its current 111 million subscribers. But while a short-term loss of 2 million subscribers may have worried a more mortal YouTuber, PewDiePie is unlikely to have lost any sleep....

Well, for the golf enthusiasts a new game arrived recently called the PGA Tour 2K21. The game was launched on 21 August 2020 and has been developed by HB Studios. Moreover, it is published by 2K Games and is available across all the platforms including PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and Microsoft Windows. Notably, it is the successor of the uber-popular PGA Tour game franchise. In PGA Tour 2K21, you can take your golfing skills to the next level by competing against pro players, or you can create your own career and bask in the glory that comes up with a successful golf career....

Currently, Wanderio is aimed at European users, but as it will exit BETA, more locations across the world will be added, without a doubt. Those residing in Europe know that flights can be cheap here, but ground transport is expensive. The user interface of the start-up is familiar to services like Hipmunk or Kayak, but it lets you enter the exact addresses, which is really cool. Wanderio plans your entire travel for cheap Wanderio uses easy-to-understand visual timelines to explain the journey you’re about to take....

Pokémon Sword & Shield have given Pokémon the power to turn into giants with the help of the new Dynamax and Gigantamax transformations and it’s possible to claim three of them straight away under certain circumstances. All players can claim a Meowth that can turn into a very long cat, while the people who enjoyed the Pokémon: Let’s Go! games can claim a bushy maned Eevee or a very chubby Pikachu....

Which of the Pokemon Sun And Moon starters are the best? Pokemon has been the ultimate time sink gaming franchise for over two decades now. The series was created back in 1995 and follows human trainers catching creatures dubbed Pokemon and training them to fight one another. What started as a simple role-playing title for the Game Boy soon blossomed into a massive multimedia franchise. The success of the Pokemon games soon led to a hit anime series and multiple toys, comics and, animated movies....