IOS 11.3 adds battery health setting

Apple just released iOS 11.3, and among other things, the updated includes a new tool to tell you whether or not your aging iPhone battery needs to be replaced.

This is Apple's response to their slowing the iPhone operation to save battery life.  Well, this new utility will examine the life expectancy of the battery and whether its time to get the battery replaced.

Install iOS 11.3 in Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone. The battery life measurement will examine whether the battery performance is still at peak performance or throttled capacity due to age and reduced capacity. The user can temporarily turn off the performance management in favor of faster operation.

Apple is replacing all out-of-warranty batteries that have lost capacity (iPhone SE through iPhone X) until Dec. 31, 2018 for $29.

A Tale of Two iPhones

My client had dropped his iPhone 5s and proceeded to crack the touch screen. In fact, the screen looked like it was repeatedly hit with a hammer. The destruction resulted in a barely responsive screen. The client had critical information on the phone which was not backed up. So, begins the tale of the 2 IPhones, I was able to unlock the broken iPhone after much playing around with the touchscreen to apply the passcode.

Then I installed iTunes on the client’s computer and used that program to back up the data on the broken phone.  Luckily, the client had a spare, barely used iPhone 5s because these were the company issued phones. So, I swapped the sim cards between the two phones. Thus, the client’s phone number was transferred to a working phone.

Then I erased all the prior data on the replacement phone by resetting the phone back to the factory defaults. Then I had to upgrade the IOS (iPhone operating system) from IOS 8.4 to 11.2, so that the broken iPhone and the replacement phone are on the same version of IOS to enable the data transfer. Now for the last and critical step; I connected the new phone up to iTunes,  rubbed a rabbit’s foot and started the data restoration. The restoration worked and the client walked away with a near mint iPhone 5s with all of his data intact.

 Ransomware Story -

The owner of a plumbing and heating company opened what he thought was a safe email about a Fedex tracking number. The email turned out a ransomware scam. Thus, within a nanosecond all of data files were encrypted. The attached external backup drive was also encrypted.
The thieves had a message that the owner had to pay a ransom in bitcoin to get access to an encryption key, So, after, I calmed the owner down, I did the following:

A) Removed the ransomware virus using the program, Malwarebytes.
B) Recovered hidden copies of the encrypted files using ShadowExplorer. 

This program, ShadowExplorer, allows you to browse and potentially restore the Shadow Copies created by the Windows Vista / 7 / 8 Volume Shadow Copy Service.

So, the files were restored and the owner didn't have to pay a ransom.

 Ransomware - What is it? (Updated)

Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents a computer user from using their computer or from accessing the data stored on their computer. To regain access to their data, the user is forced to pay a ransom for a decryption key. The ransom fee is typically demanded in electronic currency or bitcoins.The ransomware infection can usually be removed without paying up, by  using a decent anti-virus program or malware removal program. However, regaining access to your data is not so simple.

Locky is a ransomware program that was recently released. This ransomware will encrypt certain files using a mixture of RSA & AES encryption. When it has finished encrypting your files, it will display a payment demand screen that prompts you to send a bitcoin payment to an untracable internet address. You will be given a time frame of a week to make the payment, else the payment amount will increase.

This infection is typically spread through emails which appear to be from people that you know. These emails will contain a zip attachment that when opened would infect the computer.  The attachments are sometimes disguised as a PDF file. Since Microsoft does not show extensions by default, they look like normal PDF files and people open them.

Please be aware that currently, there is no tool to that will successfully decrypt the encrypted files.

Bitdefender, an anti-malware and virus protection company, recently released a crypto-ransomware utility that will protect against the CBT-Locker, Locky and TeslaCrypt ransomware infections. Click on this link; http://download.bitdefender.com/am/cw/BDAntiRansomwareSetup.exe to download the utility. After downloading, install the program on your Windows computer.

A good backup program, preferably via redundant methods, including a cloud backup is the preferred solution. After removal of the ransomware program, a restoration of your backup data files will result in a minimal amount of down time. This latest round of malware attacks shows how important having a good,reliable backup is.

CryptoLocker Ransomware & WhatsApp Scam - What Are They?

  

CryptoLocker Ransomware & WhatsApp Scam - What Are They?

Ransomware is the generic term for a malicious virus that will typically render your computer inoperable and ask you to pay a fee or ransom to regain control. These threats can usually be removed without paying up, by  using a decent anti-virus program or malware removal program.

CryptoLocker is different. Your computer and software keep on working, but your personal files, such as documents, spreadsheets and images, are encrypted.

CryptoLocker is a ransomware program that was released around the beginning of September 2013. This program will encrypt certain files using a mixture of RSA & AES encryption. When it has finished encrypting your files, it will display a CryptoLocker payment program that prompts you to send a ransom of either $100 or $300 in order to decrypt the files. This screen will also display a timer stating that you have 72 to 96 hours to pay the ransom or it will delete your encryption key and you will not have any way to decrypt your files.

This infection is typically spread through emails sent to company email addresses that pretend to be customer support related issues from Fedex, UPS, DHS, etc. These emails would contain a zip attachment that when opened would infect the computer. These zip files contain executables that are disguised as PDF files as they have a PDF icon and are typically named something like FORM_101513.exe or FORM_101513.pdf.exe. Since Microsoft does not show extensions by default, they look like normal PDF files and people open them.

Please be aware that currently, there is no tool to that will successfully decrypt the locked up files. The virus can be removed and the files may be recovered from an unaffected backup, if available, or by utilizing the Windows built-in utility of restoring a shadow copy of a file.

The WhatsApp Scam starts with an email looking like this -

It says that you have received a voicemail and suggests that you download a small application to listen to it. It tricks the user into thinking that this is related to the legitimate IM application, WhatsApp. After it installs, it disables your computer and demands a payment to return the computer's functionality. It can also attack a smartphone such as the Android phones. The virus can be removed from your computer but it will take several hours.

These two latest malware scams show the importance of maintaining a good computer security program and having an up-to-date backup of your critical information, preferably offsite.

FBI Virus

A client called and said that he has the FBI virus on his computer. He was just on the internet when his computer is locked with a blue screen supposedly from the FBI. The screen spoke of a legal violation and demand for immediate payment by a MoneyPak purchased from Walmart or CVS.  This is obviously a "ransomware" scam. The sender of this scam hopes that by scaring the computer user and locking the computer, they will be the recipient of a ransom payment.

I booted the computer up with Hiren's Boot CD   http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd. This allowed the computer to bypass the hard drive and boot solely from the CD. Once booted in a graphical GUI environment. I was able to reach the  internet, download the latest version of Malwarebytes (one of the better malware and spyware removal tools) and remove the virus.

The computer was back to normal after a 2-3 hour scan and the client was a happy camper.

Jcopia

Have you ever thought how to download video and audio from flash players on internet sites like Youtube, Google Video, MySpace, DailyMotion, Metacafe, Break, Blog sites of your friends with embedded audio and video content and so on?
So, JCopia does it all. It captures flash video / audio / stream from any website to your computer as files. Just play your media online and watch as JCopia 4.7.10022 saves any clip / music / movie to your computer.
 
 Click on this link for your free trial -Capture flash video and audio from any website to your computer