Caution - your password manager could be fake
We all know that for every website we use, we should have a unique, complex password. But who can possibly remember them? Enter the password manager. Products like 1password, Bitwarden, LastPass and Keeper all solve this problem.
And as you may have guessed, the bad guys are now targeting us by creating look-alike download pages for fake password managers. The latest one reported this week by The Hacker News was for a sophisticated LastPass installer hosted on Github, but it's not the first one that's been found.
Download any one of these fakes and it's bad news. It will disable all of your virus protections, then steal every saved browser password, cryptocurrency wallet files, Discord, Steam and Telegram sessions and anything saved in the Windows Credential Manager.
Furthermore, it's a kernel-level infection, meaning you have to completely wipe the computer and re-build it from the ground up.
The Takeaway
Here are my top 3 tips to preventing a computer catastrophe:
Download apps from the source. If you need software like LastPass, go directly to the company’s website or an official app store. Don’t trust the first download link you find in Google as even a convincing GitHub page can be fake.
Be suspicious when an installer asks for admin access. A fake installer may look completely normal right up until it asks for elevated permissions. If you weren’t expecting that request, stop and verify the installer before clicking “Yes.”
Your antivirus isn’t a magic shield. In this case the malware used a legitimately Microsoft-signed driver to shut down antivirus and EDR tools. Safe downloading habits are still one of your best defenses.
If you suspect that this may have happened to you or someone you know, shut down the computer right away. Go another computer that you know is clean and start changing passwords!
Stay safe out there.
-Attila
New Friday Funnies!
Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot.
Why did the golfer bring an extra pair of pants?
In case he got a hole in one.
Why don’t eggs tell jokes?
They’d crack each other up.
What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A palm tree.
What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?
“Supplies!”
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