Security News
Microsoft says apps using DirectX are crashing on Windows systems after installing cumulative updates released in November 2022 because of an Intel graphics driver bug. Until an update addressing this issue is released, Microsoft says that affected customers can temporarily work around it by updating their Intel GPU driver to a newer version.
Windows 10 already has two flavours of encryption - BitLocker and Windows Device Encryption - and as of the 22H2 release, Windows 11 Enterprise and Education adds Personal Data Encryption. Personal Data Encryption doesn't replace either of them because it doesn't encrypt a whole drive; instead, it protects individual files and folders using 256-bit AES-CBC encryption keys that are protected by Windows Hello for Business, but only through applications that are built to use it.
Security hardware manufacturer SonicWall warned customers today of what it describes as a "Limitation" of the web content filtering feature on Windows 11, version 22H2 systems. "We have identified an inconsistency in Capture Client Windows 3.7.6 and older clients on endpoints running Windows 11 version 22H2," the company said in an advisory published on Wednesday.
A new hacking campaign exploits Sunlogin flaws to deploy the Sliver post-exploitation toolkit and launch Windows Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver attacks to disable security software. According to a report by the AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center, recently observed attacks target two 2022 vulnerabilities in Sunlogin, a remote-control software by a Chinese developer.
Windows 10 users are reportedly being blocked from accessing their desktops by full-screen trial offers for the Microsoft 365 productivity suite. They are displayed during the Windows Out of Box Experience before loading the Windows desktop.
A relatively new ransomware operation known as Nevada seems to grow its capabilities quickly as security researchers noticed improved functionality for the locker targeting Windows and VMware ESXi systems. Nevada ransomware features a Rust-based locker, real-time negotiation chat portal, separate domains in the Tor network for affiliates and victims.
Marking an end to an era, Microsoft is no longer directly selling Windows 10 product keys on their website, instead redirecting users to Windows 11 product pages. It appears Microsoft pulled the switch a day early, as going to both the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro product pages now redirects users to the Windows 11 product page.
Security researchers have identified a new data-wiping malware they named SwiftSlicer that aims to overwrite crucial files used by the Windows operating system. While details are scant regarding SwiftSlicer at the moment, security researchers at cybersecurity company ESET say that they found the destructive malware deployed during a cyberattack in Ukraine.
Microsoft has addressed a known issue causing the Remote Desktop app to freeze on Windows 11 systems after installing the Windows 11 2022 Update. "After installing Windows 11, version 22H2, the Windows Remote Desktop application might stop responding when connecting via a Remote Desktop gateway or Remote Desktop Connection Broker," Redmond explains on the Windows health dashboard entry published in November.
Security researchers have analyzed a variant of the PlugX malware that can hide malicious files on removable USB devices and then infect the Windows hosts they connect to. Looking for similar samples, Unit 42 also discovered a PlugX variant on Virus Total that locates sensitive documents on the compromised system and copies them to a hidden folder on the USB drive.