{"id":27297,"date":"2023-11-15T08:08:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=27297"},"modified":"2023-11-15T08:08:19","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:08:19","slug":"wednesday-newsbytes-beware-fake-windows-news-site-co-pilot-coming-to-windows-10-dont-download-the-google-bard-app-google-forces-new-look-for-chrome-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wednesday-newsbytes-beware-fake-windows-news-site-co-pilot-coming-to-windows-10-dont-download-the-google-bard-app-google-forces-new-look-for-chrome-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday Newsbytes: Beware Fake Windows News Site; Co-Pilot Coming to Windows 10?; Don&#8217;t Download the Google Bard App; Google Forces New Look for Chrome&#8230; and more!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Wednesday Newsbytes: Beware Fake Windows News Site<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">; <\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Co-Pilot Coming to Windows 10?; Don&#8217;t Download the Google Bard App; Google Forces New Look for Chrome&#8230; and more!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week&#8217;s\u00a0 &#8216;Wednesday Newsbytes&#8217; informative and interesting!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/security\/this-fake-windows-news-site-is-spreading-malware-via-hacked-google-ads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\">This fake Windows news site is spreading malware via hacked Google ads<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Don&#8217;t trust everything you see on Google ads<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Someone has been impersonating a known media publication and abusing the Google Ads advertising network, all to deliver the RedLine infostealer malware to people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A new report from Malwarebytes, found a fake WindowsReport website that was being hosted on almost a dozen different domains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">On the website, the scammers hosted a trojanized version of CPU-Z, a popular utility tool for Windows that helps users track different hardware components such as CPU clock rates, and similar. The tool, in fact, was RedLine Stealer, a known infostealer capable of exfiltrating sensitive system data, stored passwords, payment information, cookies, cryptocurrency wallet information, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Multiple similar campaigns<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Then, they created ads and ran them on the Google Ads network, promoting this malicious version of CPU-Z. The cloning of WindowsReport was done to add more legitimacy and trustworthiness to the whole campaign, the researchers speculate. But before users are sent to this website, they\u2019re pulled through a number of redirects, all to evade Google\u2019s anti-abuse crawlers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Some users are redirected to benign pages, while others &#8211; those more suitable to receive RedLine &#8211; are redirected to the final website. We don\u2019t know exactly how the attackers choose their victims&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/security\/this-fake-windows-news-site-is-spreading-malware-via-hacked-google-ads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Read more at TechRadar.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/news\/microsoft-could-be-bringing-its-ai-copilot-to-billions-of-windows-10-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Microsoft could be bringing its AI Copilot to billions of Windows 10 users<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Windows 10 could get its own AI helper<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Following the rollout of its Copilot artificial intelligence assistant to all Windows 11 users last week, the company is now rumored to be bringing it to Windows 10. This would put the chatbot in the hands of more than a billion people and significantly expand its reach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Able to control settings such as wallpaper and night mode, generate content, and summarize web pages through the Edge browsers \u2014 Microsoft has positioned its AI as a way to turn any Windows user into a super user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">With about 400 million users on Windows 11 and more than a billion on Windows 10, adding Copilot to the older OS makes sense, especially when Microsoft is trying to convince developers to build plugins for the chatbot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Why bring it to Windows 10 now?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">These plugins are similar to those found in ChatGPT, bringing live data and other tools into the chatbot such as flight information, advanced calculations and the ability to read a PDF. Microsoft is working directly with developers to build out these tools and expanding the user base would provide an additional incentive for more developers to come onboard&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/news\/microsoft-could-be-bringing-its-ai-copilot-to-billions-of-windows-10-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Read more at Tom&#8217;s Guide.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.makeuseof.com\/dont-download-google-bard-malware-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Don&#8217;t Download the Google Bard App\u2014It&#8217;s Malware<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Scammers are exploiting Google Bard and tricking people into downloading malware, but there are some easy ways to avoid it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Scammers are taking advantage of Google&#8217;s generative AI tool, Bard, to infect unsuspecting users with dangerous malware and steal their login credentials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Although Google has filed a lawsuit to tackle the malware, the scammers are still up and running, and that&#8217;s why you should avoid downloading anything like a &#8220;Google Bard app.&#8221; It&#8217;s malware waiting to infect your device.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">What Is Google Bard?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Google Bard was launched in March 2023 and is Google&#8217;s answer to OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT. While offering similar functionalities, it doesn&#8217;t perform as extensively as ChatGPT\u2014which is what scammers have been exploiting to infect devices with malware.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">There are many ways to use Google Bard. You can enter a prompt asking Google Bard to explain how something works, give you ideas for a project, and even write code for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The key issue is that Google Bard is only available in browsers and requires a Google account. So, don&#8217;t be tempted to install an app advertised as Google Bard, as it&#8217;s malware that Google is taking legal action to take down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Why You Shouldn&#8217;t Download the Google Bard App<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">On November 13, 2023, Google announced on its official blog, The Keyword, that it&#8217;s filing a lawsuit and taking legal action against scammers said to be based in Vietnam&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.makeuseof.com\/dont-download-google-bard-malware-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b><u>Read more at MakeUseOf.<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/chrome\/google-forces-a-new-look-for-chrome-but-you-can-get-rid-of-it-if-you-hate-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Google forces a new look for Chrome \u2013 but you can get rid of it if you hate it<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Is the Chrome redesign wasting valuable space? Some users feel that way<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Google\u2019s design revamp for its web browser has exited testing and is now rolling out to users of the release version of the Chrome \u2013 and if you\u2019re not keen on it, there\u2019s something that can be done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The Chrome redesign, which you may have already got \u2013 or it could be coming to your browser soon \u2013 offers a typically modernized contemporary look that includes rounded corners (everywhere, from the app window to all core interface elements). The likes of icons have also been refreshed, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">While that\u2019s all well and good, there are other tweaks that have been less well-received, shall we say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">That includes increased spacing between buttons for a more touch-friendly interface \u2013 which means bigger overall menus, an irritation for those who don\u2019t use a touchscreen&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/chrome\/google-forces-a-new-look-for-chrome-but-you-can-get-rid-of-it-if-you-hate-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Read more at TechRadar.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/popular-ai-platform-introduces-rewards-system-to-encourage-deepfakes-of-real-people-194326312.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Popular AI platform introduces rewards system to encourage deepfakes of real people<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The \u201cbounties\u201d feature has mostly been used to recreate women (big surprise.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Civitai, an online marketplace for sharing AI models, just introduced a new feature called \u201cbounties\u201d to encourage its community to develop passable deepfakes of real people, as originally reported by 404 Media. Whoever concocts the best AI model gets a virtual currency called \u201cBuzz\u201d that users can buy with actual money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Many of the bounties posted to the site ask users to recreate the likeness of celebrities and social media influencers, most of them female. The reporting also calls out the lion\u2019s share of these results as \u201cnonconsensual sexual images.\u201d This is the kind of thing that has been proliferating across the internet for years and years, but artificial intelligence allows for a more realistic end result. Additionally, 404 Media found some requests for private people with no significant online presence, making this even more creepy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">\u201cI am very afraid of what this can become,\u201d Michele Alves, an Instagram influencer who has a bounty on Civitai, told 404 Media. \u201cI don&#8217;t know what measures I could take, since the internet seems like a place out of control.\u201d&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/popular-ai-platform-introduces-rewards-system-to-encourage-deepfakes-of-real-people-194326312.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Read the rest at Engadget<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; color: #993366;\"><strong><em>Thanks for reading this week&#8217;s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful. Darcy &amp; TC<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2017\/goodfight2017.png\" alt=\"Help us help you!\" width=\"573\" height=\"136\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Wednesday Newsbytes: Beware Fake Windows News Site; Co-Pilot Coming to Windows 10?; Don&#8217;t Download the Google Bard App; Google Forces New Look for Chrome&#8230; and more! Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wednesday-newsbytes-beware-fake-windows-news-site-co-pilot-coming-to-windows-10-dont-download-the-google-bard-app-google-forces-new-look-for-chrome-and-more\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1655,4421,4432,4448,4431,2574,2247,2509,1680,1656,1674,4372,4353],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27297"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27299,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27297\/revisions\/27299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}