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As you gather all the last-minute holiday packages arriving at your doorstep, be careful about any that you didn’t order or ones that don’t have a return address and want you to scan a QR code: it could be a scam.
These so-called brushing scams have been around for a few years and there’s a few varieties. They can range from a “victimless” crime to one that involves scanning a QR code to find out who the package is from.
That could lead consumers to a site tricking them to enter personal information, similar to a phishing scam. In some cases, malicious QR codes could also install malware to steal information from the consumer’s phone.
Police departments around the country have been sharing warning messages on social media about the scams this holiday season.
The reports of the brushing scam started a few years ago with packages appearing on people’s doorsteps. But when consumers were trying to figure out if it was something they ordered, they contacted Amazon or the retailer only to be told to just keep it, even if it wasn’t something they ordered.
Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors.
Many packages are from Amazon, but from third-party sellers – and an Amazon spokesperson said the company takes action against them.
The sellers are trying to boost their reviews, Jennifer Leach, associate director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer and Business Education, told USA TODAY.
“Dishonest businesses and scammers are sending all sorts of unordered junk in the mail – and then writing good reviews for their business in your name,” Leach.
“That’s bad for honest businesses, which don’t cheat to get reviews, but it could be bad for you, too,” she said. “Getting this stuff in the mail could mean a scammer has created an account in your name, taken over your account on the shopping site, or even created new accounts in other names, but tied to your address.”
The consumers receiving the product often aren’t “harmed” in the scam – and they often get to keep the free product – so some call the brushing scams “victimless” crimes. But the items are usually things consumers don’t necessary want and are inexpensive, like ping pong balls or a flashlight.
And future shoppers looking at reviews by the seller who sent the package could be making a bad buying decision based on pumped-up reviews.
If you get an unexpected package, there are several steps you can take to protect your identity,” said Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau.
“First, notify the retailer that you received a package, check your account for recent orders, and change your passwords,” said McGovern, who also encouraged consumers to report the activity to the BBB’s Scam Tracker, www.bbb.org/scamtracker as a warning to others.
Leach with the FTC also said to check online accounts to see if there are any problems.
An Amazon spokesperson provided this statement regarding brushing scams: “Third-party sellers are prohibited from sending unsolicited packages to customers, and we take action when our policies are violated, including by withholding payments, suspending selling privileges, and reporting bad actors to law enforcement.”
Amazon suggests if you receive a package or item that you didn’t order, check with friends and family or contact Amazon customer service to confirm it’s not a gift to you. If you receive a package addressed to someone else, please contact Amazon customer service.
If you can confirm the package addressed to you wasn’t ordered by you or anyone you know, report the package online by going to the Report Unwanted Package form on Amazon at https://account-status.amazon.com/report-unwanted-packages.
“Amazon investigates reports of ‘brushing’ and takes action on bad actors that violate our policies, including suspending or removing selling privileges, withholding payments, and working with law enforcement. Customers don’t need to return the item,” the Amazon spokesperson said.
Another type of brushing scam will also have no return address on an unexpected package, but there will be a QR (quick-response) code with instructions to scan on your phone to see who the package is from.
Scams involving QR codes are not new. But with the popularity of QR codes, which when scanned are a shortcut to a website, and are used for tasks ranging from reading a restaurant menu to paying for parking, there are also bad actors.
If you get a package you are not expecting or you didn’t order, don’t scan the QR code, said the FTC in a blog post in 2023.
“A scammer’s QR code could take you to a spoofed site that looks real but isn’t. And if you log in to the spoofed site, the scammers could steal any information you enter,” the FTC blog post said. “Or the QR code could install malware that steals your information before you realize it.”
Avoid holiday scams:Don’t let fraudsters ruin your holidays. Protect yourself with these tips.
The U.S. Postal Inspection service also recently issued an alert reminding customers not to interact with text messages indicating your package is lost or with tracking information for a package you did not order.
Smishing is a form of phishing, the fraudulent practice of sending messages disguised as reputable sources to get consumers to reveal personal or financial information, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.
Marc Fonbaustier is the new French Ambassador to Nigeria. In this interview, he spoke about the long-standing relationship between Nigeria and France, saying the closeness did not start with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. He also spoke on his country’s recent experiences in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and countered the insinuation that Nigeria is only becoming a new ally in an effort to establish new military bases in some parts of the country.
What key areas would you be focusing on concerning the cooperation between France and Nigeria?
As the new Ambassador of France to Nigeria, I had to work, shortly after my arrival on the preparation of the state visit of the president to France at the end of November, which means that I now have a very clear roadmap for my work here during the next years: the joint declaration that was signed between our two governments.
The first five priority areas mentioned in this joint declaration are economic cooperation, cultural and creative industries, agriculture and food security, vocational training and higher education. I believe that these areas reflect very accurately, on the one hand, what Nigeria expects from France, and on the other hand, what France can offer Nigeria, within the framework of a relationship based on respect, shared interest and reciprocity.
How has the relationship between France and Nigeria evolved over the past few years?
Our relationship has come a long way in the last 15 years. In my opinion, the successive stages of this evolution are as follows: first projects supported by our development agency in 2009-2010; in 2014, the strengthening of our security cooperation to combat a common enemy, jihadi terrorism; in 2017, the election of President Emmanuel Macron who, as you know, worked at our embassy for a few months at the beginning of his career in the administration, has fond memories of Nigeria and has paid particular attention to the strengthening of our partnership. In short, the development of our bilateral relationship is the result of two factors: for Nigeria, the diversification of its partnerships; for France, a policy orientation launched more than two decades ago, aiming at strengthening our relationship with all African countries and not only French-speaking African countries.
It is believed that President Bola Tinubu is more amenable to relating with France than any other Nigerian president in recent times, what do you think is responsible for this?
That’s something I was also thinking when I took up this position, but then I looked at the history of our relations since the democratic transition in Nigeria; and if you do that too, you would see that in fact, all Nigerian presidents since the democratic transition have enjoyed excellent relations with France. Just to give the example of presidents Obasanjo and Buhari, it was during President Obasanjo’s mandates that we worked together towards a first phase of diversification in our economic partnership and supported debt relief for Nigeria. It was during President Buhari’s mandates that we strengthened our partnership to improve maritime security and fight terrorism. President Buhari himself made five official visits to France. So yes, our presidents get on well, and that is of course a very good thing, but our bilateral relationship is much more than a person-to-person relationship.
What is the current trade volume between Nigeria and France?
In 2023, the trade between Nigeria and France amounted to 5.1 billion euros. France was Nigeria’s sixth trade partner.
What initiatives has France undertaken to support economic development in Nigeria?
Regarding initiatives that have already started to be implemented, I would like to mention the I-DICE programme that was signed in March 2023. Our funding provides training, mentorship and funding to young entrepreneurs and innovators in the digital technology and creative industries.
Digital technology and creative industries have a huge potential to create jobs and spur economic growth in Nigeria. Among the initiatives that were discussed during the state visit of the president, I would like to point out two projects supporting agriculture and food security through an integrated regional development approach: a programme improving rural and agricultural training in Benue, Oyo and Plateau states through the strengthening of vocational training and entrepreneurship; and the value chain development for northern Nigeria programme in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, aiming at addressing food security and nutrition concerns in northern Nigeria, with a focus on adaptation to climate change in order to improve productivity and resilience of farming systems.
Can you share some success stories of French investments in Nigeria?
Today, there are around 100 French companies in Nigeria, employing about 16,000 people. I would like to highlight two of them, amongst many others: Danone/Fan Milk, as they have been relentlessly investing over the last years in order to increase local milk production and their dairy products manufacturing capacity. They recently opened a new yoghurt production line in Ibadan. And NutriK, a subsidiary of Nutriset Group based in Kano, manufacturing therapeutic food products while relying as much as possible on locally-produced ingredients. They are doing a great job at making sure that humanitarian interventions benefit not only those who need therapeutic food but also Nigerian farmers.
What are the main challenges French companies face when investing in Nigeria?
I will say that the challenges come mostly from a lack of awareness regarding Nigeria’s potentials. Two essential parts of the visit of the president in Paris were the meeting of the Nigeria-France Business Council, which aimed at enabling partnerships between Nigerian and French companies in order to bridge this awareness gap, and the Business Forum that aimed at highlighting key high-potential sectors of the Nigerian economy: agriculture and agro-industry, infrastructure and energy, as well as new technologies.
How does France view Nigeria’s role in regional security and stability in West Africa?
The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly reaffirmed their intention to help resolve regional security issues, such as terrorism, maritime security or organised crime. We stand ready to support them whenever they request it, in strict compliance with the principle that African problems can only be solved by African solutions.
What would you say on the claim that France is finding succour in Nigeria following its problems with Niger, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso, among others?
I believe that this claim does not reflect the reality of the relationship between Nigeria and France. The relationship between Nigeria and France did not start the day problems occurred in our relationship with a few of the French-speaking West African countries. Our bilateral relationship has been growing stronger for much longer.
Regarding our relationship with Chad, I would like to highlight that the very communiqué from the Chadian authorities announcing that they were putting an end to the defence cooperation agreement signed with France mentioned that “This decision in no way calls into question the historic relations and friendly ties between the two nations,” and that they remained “open to constructive dialogue to explore new forms of partnership.”
There have been insinuations that France may be complicit in the security situation in Nigeria and West Africa. How true is this allegation?
I am aware that some people have been spreading fake news about this for a long time. Of course there is no truth whatsoever in these insinuations. Our soldiers have fought against terrorist groups for years, side by side with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Fifty-eight of them were killed during operations, which were carried out at the request of West African states.
Just like West African countries, France has been hard hit by the scourge of jihad terrorism. More than 250 of our citizens have been killed by jihad groups in France since 2012. And still, for whatever reason, some people are spreading disinformation. That does not change reality, which is that France has always stood by its African partners in the fight against terrorism. Our common interest is a peaceful and stable world, a peaceful and stable West Africa.
France seems to be losing its influence in Africa, especially in the Sahel. Are you bothered about this situation?
To be very honest with you, I do not fully understand all the commentary regarding this alleged “loss of influence.” Our relationship with the vast majority of African countries is excellent; our partnerships are in fact getting stronger with many countries. Our goal is to foster respectful, balanced and mutually beneficial partnerships, not to “influence.”
Regarding what is happening in West Africa, let’s stick to the facts. At some point, some countries asked us to help them in the fight against terrorism. We sent troops to help them. After a few years, they asked us to withdraw our troops and we withdrew. End of story. In the same way, French military bases were part of our security and defense arrangements with some African states. As times are changing, they are asking us today to close our bases or downsize our military presence. We will do so. End of story. In 1966, French president, Charles de Gaulle asked all NATO foreign troops (mostly troops from the United States of America at the time) to leave French territory. They did so. We are still part of NATO till this day, and we still enjoy an excellent relationship with the United States of America.
There are concerns over France’s alleged plan to build a military base in Nigeria. Are you dumping the idea now?
Nigerian journalists have debunked this fake news on multiple occasions. This idea has never been suggested by either Nigeria or France. There is not the slightest hint of an interest in such a plan, either in Abuja or Paris. It would be interesting to know who is circulating this fake news and for what purpose. In any case, please be rest assured that our security cooperation with Nigeria does not involve any kind of permanent military presence.
With Russia increasing its security support to many African countries, is France looking at the possibility of supporting Nigeria in its fight against insecurity?
I am not sure we are witnessing that much Russian security support to African countries these days. There are indeed a lot of Russian private military companies that seem to be busy, mostly violating human rights and plundering natural resources all over the continent. I do not think we can call that “security support.” Thankfully, many African journalists are doing a great job at uncovering the crimes committed by Russian private military companies all over Africa.
Regarding support from France to Nigeria in its fight against insecurity, yes, this has been happening for quite some time, and it will go on for as long as both countries want it. For instance, we are conducting joint exercises on a regular basis – most recently in Lagos in November 2024. We have sold state-of-the-art equipment to the Nigerian Navy, with tangible effects on maritime security.
What cultural exchange programmes currently exist between France and Nigeria?
In Nigeria, we support a significant network of two French schools, one cultural institute, one research institute and 10 Alliances Françaises, which promote French culture and language; also, all French-speaking expressions from all over Africa, as well as Nigerian artistic productions. We support many producers and young professionals so that they can expand their activities in different sectors, such as fashion, design, animation, music and video games.
At the end of 2025, we will organise the Creation Africa Forum in Lagos, which will bring together over 600 professionals from the African and French creative industries, as jointly decided by our two presidents. This will be an extraordinary way of showcasing the vitality of artistic and creative worlds of the two countries, but also from Africa as a whole, and to illustrate the richness of our partnerships.
I would like to also mention the growing collaborations in higher education and research. More Nigerian students are studying in France – twice as many this year as last – and we are eager to support their career paths and employability when they return to Nigeria. We are also working to improve our academic cooperation, and we are helping teams of researchers from both countries to create projects with a positive impact, for example, around the issue of ecology and recycling on Nigerian campuses.
How is France supporting Nigeria in its fight against climate change?
Among the projects we are funding in Nigeria in order to support its fight against climate change, I would like to highlight, first of all, the credit line we put in place with the Bank of Industry in 2022 for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria in order to finance more projects supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation.
We are also currently working on a programme that aims at supporting the adaptation of the public transportation system in Lagos State through the Omi Eko project, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through electric mobility.
How do you see the future of France-Nigeria relations in the next decade considering the influence of China and Russia in Africa?
In our perspective, African countries, and Nigeria in particular, are not a playing field for competition between international partners. As both our presidents wrote recently in a joint op-ed, “We will not meet the challenges of today’s world by building blocs.”
It is entirely up to African countries to choose their partners. There is room for many international partners in Nigeria, and I am convinced that France has something to bring to the table.
The recent visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to France was an occasion to highlight our shared interest in strengthening our partnership in various areas; and we are already at work.
An area I see as very promising is the support to the agricultural and agri-food sector. I strongly believe that through targeted support to vocational training, production, processing, food markets, together with the Nigerian public and the private sector, as well as other international partners, we can support Nigeria in developing its full potentials and achieving food sovereignty.
Finally, I would like to say that I take very seriously, the need expressed by Nigerian citizens for accountability and transparency on international partnerships. And whenever people ask questions, whenever they ask us to react to any kind of news, true or fake, I will make sure that the Nigerian media and the civil society get answers.
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Dec 21, 2024
Noah Johnson Daily Press A young girl greets a jolly Santa as he and local law enforcement deliver presents to her home.
ESCANABA — Local law enforcement officers spent Friday spreading holiday cheer with the culmination of Shop with a Cop, even bringing two special guests along the way.
Through the program, 59 kids were taken shopping for the holiday.
“Today, we are delivering gifts to kids that went shopping for Shop with a Cop in the elementary schools,” said Escanaba Public Safety Detective Sergeant Tabitha Turnacliff.
Law enforcement, Santa, and even the Grinch visited nearly 20 homes to bring toys and food to families.
Santa rode in a fire truck while the Grinch was close behind in the rescue truck.
“Santa will give the bag of gifts that the child had selected when they went shopping at Walmart, and the Grinch will typically try to steal the bag once in a while,” Turnacliff explained.
Luckily, Turnacliff and company had handcuffs ready to go should the Grinch try to steal the family’s presents.
The kids’ faces lit up when they saw the parade of officers and others rolling up with their lights, sirens, and Santa riding shotgun.
Turnacliff said law enforcement started delivering gifts in 2020 and plans to continue doing so each year.
“We started this back in COVID time when we weren’t really doing a lot, but we still wanted to maintain that connection with people, and doing the Shop with a Cop event is just a huge thing for us to meet with kids and they can see us having fun with them,” Turnacliff said.
She added that the program is a great way to visit the community without being at their residences for another reason.
“To see the excitement on their faces when they see Santa and the Grinch show up; It’s just amazing,” she said.
Delta County Deputy Josh Simmons said he found that the kids don’t just want to shop for themselves, but they want to spread the joy.
“It’s always cool to see all these kids want to shop for everybody but themselves. There’s just a lot of caring kids, and this year we were able to help 59 kids or bring joy to their Christmas,” Simmons said.
The program is a joint effort across multiple agencies in the county and local businesses.
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Turnacliff said several businesses donated to the cause, and the Delta County Sheriff’s Office managed the funds.
In addition to the toys, Skradski Funeral Home provided each residence with ham, potatoes, rolls, and other treats.
“Today, we’re just out to have fun, and let the community see us in a different light and start the holiday season. We love this every year,” Turnacliff said.
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Stroll into the Truax campus any day of the week, and you will spot President Dr. Jack Daniels, III, moving around. He frequently talks with…
When one thinks of the word “archive,” the mental imagery of long rows and tall stacks of books shelves with thousands of printed and paper-bound treasures comes to mind. But what if I told you that there exists a “digital” version of this concept and that it has existed since 1996 — for the last 28 years — on the web for all to use for free?
It’s called the “Internet Archive,” and chances are you might have already come across it if you’ve ever used ‘The Wayback Machine” or Archive.org. In this piece, I will delve into the history of the Internet Archive, its recent hacking and defacing of its site and the eventual recovery.
What is the Internet Archive?
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library that was founded to preserve and provide “universal access” to cultural and historical content. It was founded in 1996 – a whole 28 years ago — by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and since then, the archive has grown to become one of the largest digital libraries in the world, hosting over 70 million individual items of vast historical and cultural significance. Its vast collections include e-books, audiobooks, movies, music, audio recordings, websites, software and video games, making it an incredible treasure trove for education, research, cultural and historical exploration.
Through some of its most popular — and public-facing — initiatives like the Wayback Machine, which archives websites and web pages, and Open Library, which lends e-books, the Internet Archive has been instrumental in giving access to content and material. With over 1 billion+ monthly visitors and partnerships with libraries, museums and archives worldwide, the organization plays an incredibly outsized role when we consider how little it’s known.
The 2024 Hacking and Defacing
May 2024 marked the Internet Archive’s first attack since its 1996 founding; a series of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) strikes left the platform wading through days of intermittent outages — courtesy of SN_BLACKMETA, a hacker group, who seemed to be studying from the British Library’s 2023 cyberattack playbook.
Oct. 9, 2024, brought the knockout punch: visitors to archive.org encountered a defaced JavaScript message: “Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach? It just happened.” The breach sent 31 million user accounts — complete with email addresses and encrypted passwords — straight into the dark web, forcing the Internet Archive to shut down its entire operation.
The recovery process unfolded with deliberate caution and fine cyber-engineering. By October 13, the Wayback Machine returned to read-only mode, though archiving capabilities remained offline. Despite subsequent breaches targeting Zendesk (a support platform) and API tokens, the Archive persisted in its restoration efforts.
The succeeding week brought reassurance from founder Brewster Kahle — the vast cache of archival material remained safe, though the site’s return to full service would require patience.
By Oct. 23, core services like the Wayback Machine, Archive-It and Open Library had resumed operations; some features, however, remained in painful digital limbo as the team engineered to fortify their defenses.
The breach placed the Internet Archive in unwanted company — it joined a growing list of cultural institutions targeted by cybercriminals — the Seattle Public Library, Toronto Public Library and Calgary Public Library had all faced similar attacks. Operating on what Kahle described as a “shoestring budget,” the Archive found itself trying to balance universal access with robust security; it’s a paradox familiar to many digital libraries trying to preserve knowledge while protecting it from those who’d exploit its accessibility.
The Way Forward
As readers of The Clarion, the most direct action you can take in preserving the legacy of the Internet Archive is to make a tax-deductible donation to the organization.
Also, learning about its work and its importance in the history of the formation and growth of the internet is another way to contribute positively to the organization’s efforts.
The incidents targeting the Internet Archive also served as a wake-up call to many other non-profits who might have otherwise put cybersecurity on the backburner, the wakeup call being — no matter what your organization does or how it’s structured, there are hacker groups out there constantly waiting to attack you.
The best defense is, therefore, fortifying oneself digitally.
The dreaded “winter wave” looks different this year.
The twinkling of lit-up trees and festive displays in store windows have come to mean two things: The holidays are upon us, and so is COVID. Since the pandemic began, the week between Christmas and New Year’s has coincided with the dreaded “winter wave.” During that dark period, cases have reliably surged after rising throughout the fall. The holiday season in 2020 and 2021 marked the two biggest COVID peaks to date, with major spikes in infections that also led to hospitalizations and deaths.
But something weird is happening this year. From September through November, levels of the virus in wastewater, one of the most reliable metrics now that cases are no longer tracked, were unusually low. At various points over that span, hospitalizations and deaths also neared all-time lows.
That’s not to say we are in for a COVID-less Christmas. CDC data released over the past two weeks show a sharp increase of viral activity in wastewater. Whether this is the start of a winter wave still remains unclear, but even if so, the timing is all off. Last year, the winter wave was nearing its peak at Christmas. This time around, the wave—if there is one—is only just getting started. America is in for the most unpredictable COVID holiday season yet.
An optimistic view is that the uptick in wastewater levels reflects the spread that happened over the Thanksgiving holiday and will fall quickly, Michael Hoerger, a Tulane University professor who runs the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative, a COVID-forecasting dashboard, told me. This is a possibility because the CDC posts wastewater data about a week after they’re collected; the most recent data represent the two weeks after the holiday, which would give people who were infected over the break some time to show symptoms. The worst-case scenario is that low transmission throughout autumn was sheer luck, and over the next few weeks the virus will rapidly play catch-up. Hoerger expects transmission to steadily increase over the next couple of weeks, potentially reaching a zenith around January 7, though a marked increase or decrease remains “plausible,” he said. Even if a wave is around the corner, “it likely will not be anywhere close to any of the peaks we had during the pandemic,” Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, told me.
The confusion about how the virus will behave over the holidays reflects a bigger COVID uncertainty: Even after four straight winter waves, experts are torn on whether we should continue to expect them. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins, told me it would be “very unusual” if a wave didn’t happen, given that the virus has generally followed a reliable pattern of peaking in the summer and winter. But Osterholm rejects the idea that the virus follows predictable patterns. The nine peaks that have occurred since COVID emerged “were not predicted at all by season,” he told me. Winter waves have less to do with winter, Osterholm said, and more to do with the unpredictable emergence of new variants overlaid on waning immunity.
Squaring the notion that COVID doesn’t follow seasonal patterns with its recent track record of ruining the holidays is not easy. Part of the confusion stems from the expectation that the virus should behave like other respiratory-season bugs: The flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, typically spike in the winter, which is why shots are offered in the fall. But as my colleague Katherine J. Wu has written, SARS-CoV-2 is not a typical respiratory-season virus, even though updated COVID vaccines are recommended in advance of the winter virus season. As expected, flu and RSV are currently on the rise. In a way, COVID’s weird timing this year is fortuitous because it means the “peak season will likely be out of sync with flu,” reducing the burden on hospitals, Rivers said.
After nearly five years of living with this virus, you might expect that its behavior would be easier to predict. But in scientific terms, five years is not a long time. COVID may turn out to spike every winter, but it is too early to tell. “The only thing that makes this virus seasonal is that it occurs in all seasons,” Osterholm said. Any patterns that have emerged in that period could be rendered obsolete as more data are collected. In time, the ebbs and flows that have been interpreted as trends may yet prove to be irregularities in a completely different pattern—something “funky,” like having two small waves and a big one each year, Hoerger said.
Try as we might, predicting COVID is a guessing game at best. As the holidays draw near, the present reality offers both a warning and a reason for hope. Another wave could be upon us, but things seem unlikely to unfold the same way they have in years past—when the virus spiked at what should be the most festive time of the year. This won’t be a COVID-free Christmas, but it’s still something to be grateful for.
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Update Google Chrome browser now
Update, Dec. 21, 2024: This story, originally published Dec. 19, now includes new details of an experimental Chrome security feature and advice on update action for organizations running any Chrome or Chromium-powered browsers.
Hot on the heels of an emergency update to Google’s Chrome web browser comes yet another security update for billions of users across multiple operating system platforms. This time, the update urgency remains the same, but the number of vulnerabilities does not: four high-rated vulnerabilities have been confirmed by Google; here’s what you need to know and do.
Google has confirmed that the Chrome web browser is being updated again, an update that will roll out in the coming days and weeks. The reason? A total of four high-rated security vulnerabilities which between them have earned the security researchers who discovered them a whopping $75,000 in hacker bounties.
The four vulnerabilities that Google has confirmed are:
“Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix,” Prudhvikumar Bommana from the Google Chrome security team said, “We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third-party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.”
Chrome has been updated to the following versions:
The more than 3 billion users of Google Chrome who are potentially impacted by these security vulnerabilities need to make sure that they are protected as soon as possible. If you are in that number, and the chances are high that you are, then you need to kickstart the updating process and then activate the updated browser itself to enable the protection to be in place. Google does automatically update the Chrome browser, but this relies on users restarting the client, which lots of people with lots of open tabs don’t like doing. So, please follow these steps now:
Head for the Help|About option in your Google Chrome menu to kickstart an automatic security update download.
Restart your Google Chrome browser after the update has been installed, or it will not activate, and you will still be vulnerable to attack.
Repeat step one to ensure that the Google Chrome update is installed and activated, and that you are now fully protected against these latest security threats.
In light of the latest Google Chrome web browser security update addressing a number of serious, high-severity memory vulnerabilities, Alex Vovk, CEO and co-founder of Action1, an endpoint and patch management company, has offered the following advice for organizations that are impacted:
“Communicate with employees about the importance of keeping software up to date,” including the likes of Google Chrome and other web browser clients using the Chromium engine, Vovk said, “and provide guidance on how to recognize update prompts and initiate manual updates when necessary.”
A Dec. 20 report at Bleeping Computer has confirmed that Google is adding a new scam protection for users of the Chrome web browser to help catch scams before they can catch you. The AI-powered newly discovered scam protection feature was uncovered by X user Leopeva64, who posted how he had spotted a new code flag in the latest Chrome Canary experimental build. This flag, Leopeva64 said, enabled a feature called “Client Side Detection Brand and Intent for Scam Detection” that employs a large language model to analyze web pages, on your device, looking for any malicious intent or brand impersonation. The official description of the Google Chrome code flag stated that the function: “Enables on device LLM output on pages to inquire for brand and intent of the page.” In other words, this AI-protection checks for these scams in real-time as you browse the web.
It is understood that the feature will support Chrome users using the browser client on Linux, Mac and Windows operating system platforms. What is unknown at this point is precisely how the protection will be displayed to the user, but I suspect it’s almost certain that some kind of warning pop-up notification will be involved to alert the user to the potential scam risk of the site in question, in much the same the way that unsafe site warnings do already for not secure or potentially dangerous sites.
Bleeping Computer’s Mayank Parmar suggested that this could be, by way of example, the Chrome user visiting a Microsoft technical support page that is actually a fake designed to install malware or get you to call a telephone number to be charged for unnecessary security support. “Chrome’s AI could analyze the promoted brand or language used on the page,” Parmar said, and “display a warning alerting you to avoid interacting with the page or sharing personal information.”
Leopeva64 said that it appears, according to comments on the Chromium source code forum, that the feature may only work when the AI-powered enhanced protection function has been enabled for Chrome. The flag Leopeva64 described is “the one that actually activates the new AI-powered enhanced protection” mode.
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CTF on Facing Worlds, anyone?
Epic Games has given the OK for their 1998 shooter Unreal to be hosted on the Internet Archive, essentially making the classic sci-fi alien blaster free, and preserving it for the future. They’ve also given the same permission for Unreal Tournament to be hosted there too, making free the multiplayer muckabout that spawned speedier and speedier sequels throughout the early 2000s (not to mention the origin of one of the most memorable multiplayer FPS maps of all time, Facing Worlds).
Epic gave permission for this very recently, say fan group Old Unreal (as spotted by the folks on ResetEra). That fan site are leading the way in making the now-free games easier to download and install. Archive.org is great, but it’s not always the most user friendly of libraries. So the gang of Skaarj custodians have created two installers that will do everything for you. Here’s one for Unreal Gold and one for Unreal Tournament.
These basically slurp the .iso files from the Internet Archive’s server and run everything necessary to get the games installed on modern machines. I tested it for Unreal Tournament and, yup, everything looks lovely. You’ll still need to do some extra steps to play online with others, though, say the Old Unreal gang.
Epic Games delisted the first Unreal from Steam a couple of years ago, along with all other Unreal games. The reasons for this are obvious, considering Epic has its own store that directly competes with Steam. It still annoyed some people though. Maybe now that two of these games are totally free, no questions asked, that move can be forgiven. We are recently seeing some moves here and there towards game preservation, such as GOG renewing their vows to making classic games playable on modern PCs. And this isn’t the first time Epic gave their original shootso away for free (although that was a temporary birthday celebration). But yes. All this is generally good. Free games are good.
Unreal, for its part, was an important and impressive bit of blastin’ at the time of release. It scared me to death. But that’s okay, I confronted those fears years later by asking various members of the development team what it was like to make back in 1998. Short answer? People worked 70-80 hour work weeks, and made some nice alien cows.
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