Malware is Making ATMs 'Spit Cash'

We all know our ATM passwords and have vowed to carry this little secret to our grave because that is sufficient to keep our money safe. What if multiple people withdraw money from your account from several ATM machines even after not knowing your password? No, I’m not talking about a video game. You may now curse the genius hackers, but all of these things are now possible in real life.

Recently, a cyber security firm from Russia has warned about a series of coordinated hacks on the ATM machines. The centralized system of the bank was hacked thereby leading to disgorge of money from several ATMs without the instant knowledge of the bank officials and the account holders.

THE HACKER HITS THE JACKPOT

The activity is conducted by using a program dubbed by Cobalt, an infamous hacker group, to gain access to the bank accounts and in turn, the ATMs. The process has been named “touchless jackpotting”. The machines are not physically tampered with. This is done by penetrating a testing tool into the bank computers and then infecting them with malicious emails for accessing ATM controller servers. All that some accomplice has to wait in the appropriate ATM booth at the right time to collect the money oozing out of the ATM machine.

THE SMART BANK ROBBERS

In earlier days, the hardware based method of robbing where the card information was stolen, was more common. The new method that includes hacking is however much more dangerous because it is actually a smart way to rob a bank, where groups of ATMs are infected simultaneously. So, this method brings twice the money than the old way could, into the sinner’s pockets, that too in a shorter time and with lesser chances of going behind the bars.

TRACE THE MONEY

The key to solving any financial hacking is following the money. However, this is very difficult in this method because the money is collected in person from different ATM booths. The information of the hack is known only after the money has been withdrawn from the ATMs. Even if the cybercrime police hold links to gain information about Cobalt, they can hardly ever get fortunate enough to turn up at the specific location on the specific time. Moreover, the money mules often do not know the hackers as the hackers may not have met them in person .So even if they get caught; it is very difficult to catch the masterminds behind the entire play.

CAN THE MONEY BE SAFE AGAIN? 

The Cobalt group might have joined hands with other big groups of hackers like Buhtrap to raid the ATMs of 14 countries so far, that includes Poland, Spain, Britain, Russia, Romania and Netherlands.

The banks can place their ATM machines under the full view of a security camera and with security personnel at the doorstep so that the money mules can be caught easily. The bank employees must be trained to look for any suspicious threats.

Till then, all you can do is protect your ATM password!

Now Buy Bus Tickets ‘on-the-go’ with RedBus on Windows Devices

Bus is an important mode of transportation and is also a largely preferred transport opted by people when travelling. Travelling by bus is efficient and convenient if not comfortable. Just as all services are being served to us through the wonders of internet, booking seats on bus online, has become smooth and painless. Online bus booking topped with ‘cashbacks’, ‘discount offers’ and ‘refer and earn bonuses’ is just the perfect icing on cake.

There are numerous websites offering online bus bookings. These websites are either travel agency oriented such as ‘yatra.com’ or ‘makemytrip.com’ or these websites are solely dedicated to bus bookings online such as ‘abhibus.com’ or ‘redbus.in’. The most economical amongst these websites is Redbus.in.

Online bus ticket bookings are made easy at Redbus.in. Here, you choose your pickup and destination location and the day of your scheduled trip and voila, you get a wide range of buses available on your entered route all at low prices! You can read the experiences, reviews and ratings of the people to make the final choice. Redbus also gives you the option of booking hotels and hiring a bus/vehicle. The features that makes Redbus fascinating are the Redbus Offers, coupons and discounts!

Some of the popular Redbus Offers, discounts, cashbacks and coupons for Redbus.in are listed below. To use these deals you can firstly click on ‘Show more’ to read further about the deal. If you choose to use that offer then you will click on ‘View Deal’ or ‘Get Code’. That Redbus offer will direct you to the Redbus website where you can do the online ticket booking. The deal gets activated on the ‘payment page’ of your booking.

5. At number 5 we have a Redbus offer that is for HDFC Bank debit card users. When you do your bus booking using the HDFC debit card, you would get a Cashback of Rs. 250/- INR. But your minimum booking account should be of Rs. 1000/- INR. So go ahead and use this deal to make your bus travel pocket friendly.

4.This next Redbus Offer is for people with a Freecharge Wallet. With this offer you can get a Cashback of Rs. 100/- in your Freecharge wallet. Just make your bus ticket booking through Redbus.in and enjoy the Cashback. You don’t need any minimum booking amount to grab this deal. So, don’t wait for too long to click on this deal! You can put this deal on both the mobile application and desktop. But this deal is limited to one time use only by a single user.

3. Now online bus ticket bookings become fun with a Cashback of Rs. 200/- INR. With this Redbus offer code you can plan your trip through Redbus.in and on a minimum value of Rs. 400/- can get upto Rs. 200/- INR Cashback. There will also be some extra cash waiting for you in your Freecharge wallet! So, book your bus tickets online now!

2. Another attractive deal comes to you through Redbus offers. With this coupon of 10% off and 10% Cashback on bus tickets through Redbus you get 10 % off on bus ticket booking and will receive 10% Cashback in your Freecharge wallet. To avail this discount, you have to click on ‘View Code’.

1. This right here is the top most deal on Hotel Bookings through Redbus.in. With this deal you get upto Rs. 4000/- INR off on the hotels you book online. When you go on the ‘checkout page’ after booking your hotel, the code will automatically be entered and you’ll be on your way to a happy holiday, indeed. This Redbus offer cannot be joined with other codes. This deal will without a doubt add to your fun in your next trip. This offer is here for a short period of time. So, do not miss this golden opportunity.

To conclude, Redbus gives you plenty and reasonable options for bus ticket bookings and hotel bookings. With these top 5 Redbus offers, codes and deals make your trip, more importantly, your travel and stay comfortable and affordable! Happy Travelling!

8 Tips on Staying Cyber Safe While Shopping

It is better not to take any shortcuts when it comes to online shopping. Transactions of millions of dollars take place every day over the internet. However, the internet is widespread with hackers and scammers who tend to steal your information and money. Safety measures must be taken during an online transaction and beware of frauds because phishing is very common nowadays through which hackers get access to your accounts.

Say NO to open WIFI networks

While standing in a queue in a shopping center or at cafes, you may find open wifi networks available. It’s not wise to connect to these because open networks are usually not well encrypted and the streams of data flowing through them may be tracked. According to professionals, this is termed as a ‘honeypot’ where the wifi is network is set up by hackers to steal your data. In case you really need to access the internet in the airport, malls or at hospitals look for the ‘wifi-name’ or ask the authority to help you with the process.

Use different passwords for different accounts

There are searchable lists available to hackers containing the email IDs and passwords which they have broken into. Whenever a new account is hacked, they add the stolen information to the list which is even available to others for some pennies. They run the same passwords against a thousand accounts which may result in cracking up more than one account. If you have difficulties remembering more than one password, consider using a password management program.

Watch out for typos

Always make sure that you have spelled the names of the websites correctly. Hackers have registered a thousand websites which have their names close to the original website that you intend to browse. They know exactly where we may go wrong during typing and you end up being a victim. So double check your web address before opening up a website.

Change default passwords

Portable devices like Bluetooth speakers, smart lighting systems etc. come with default passwords for easy connectivity. Take a few more minutes to set up your device and change the passwords for it is very easy for anyone to guess these passwords and gain access.

Never save credit card details on a website

It’s tempting to save your credit card details on a particular website from which you buy frequently so that you don’t have to enter it over and over again. But if the website’s security system gets compromised, you may end up in trouble. So it may be a bit time consuming, but make it a habit of entering your card details every time while making an online purchase.

Phishing emails

Clicking on certain links might end up downloading malicious software on your computer. Always open emails from trusted sources and do not click on anything suspicious. You may get mails like ‘check delivery date’ for something which you have recently ordered. These are usually sent by hackers and are not from the actual websites. Open the main website and check the status of your delivery. Happy shopping!

Banned Uber Drivers Can Now Appeal in New York

Ride-sharing administration Uber will interestingly offer drivers in New York who have been commenced the administration the opportunity to advance - however there are strings appended. Uber deactivates its drivers for a large number of reasons, most broadly to have a traveller rating which drops beneath 4.6 out of five. Drivers can likewise be banned for genuine unfortunate behaviour, for example,sexual assault. Be that as it may, the greyer territory for drivers is the different ways you can be deactivated, for example, "too much" scratching off rides or not accepting enough rides.

At times, drivers have reported being deactivated in the wake of posting slandering comments about Uber via web-based networking media. In any case, now an interest’s procedure - for New York City drivers just - will see drivers up against a board made up of five other Uber drivers. Here they will have the capacity to claim deactivations, however just those in that hazy area. "Awful" drivers appraised inadequately by travellers won't be qualified. The choice is being touted as a "colossal win" by the Independent Drivers Guild (IDG), the main laborers' rights bunch perceived by Uber.

It isn't, be that as it may, a union - as drivers can't utilize the gathering to can hope for better pay or advantages. Jim Conigliaro, organizer of the IDG, told his individuals in an email that the gathering was "praising another triumph". "Following quite a while of arrangements," he kept in touch with, "we at last won you the privilege to a reasonable deactivation bid with Uber administration."

'Peer board' 

Uber did not react to the BBC's ask for input other than to point toward its recently set up gateway for offers. The administration has additionally not yet said whether a similar framework will be applicable in other countries or cities. "After months of negotiations,” he wrote, “we finally won you the right to a fair deactivation appeal with Uber management.""Accordingly, certain deactivation choices, particularly those identified with zero resistance infringement, are not qualified for offer. “For instance, we won't acknowledge advances identified with criminal movement while on the application, similar to burglary or heedless driving.

In like manner, we won't acknowledge claims identified with physical or sexual quarrels." Drivers with a low traveller rating will likewise not be considered utilizing this procedure, Uber said. Drivers commenced for poor "quality" can experience an instructional class which may see their record reactivated. The purported "peer board" of drivers will be mutually picked by IDG and Uber and will be encouraged by the American Arbitration Association.

Uber has tussled with its drivers over specialists' rights in urban communities everywhere throughout the world. In October a business tribunal in London verified that drivers ought to persuade the privilege to be considered workers - significance occasion pay, wiped out leave, paid breaks and different advantages. A comparable column is occurring in different areas in the United States. Uber, which propelled in 2009, is said to be worth more than $60bn in view of ventures made in the organization. It is broadly thought to be one of the significant tech firms considering opening up to the world one year from now.

How to Get Google Assistant on Any Android Marshmallow Smartphone in 9 Steps

Latest/Advanced Google Assistant – Messaging App Allo

The latest and advanced Google Assistant is said to be an essential element of the messaging app Allo, of the company together with the flagship Pixel and Pixel XL smartphone which runs on Android 7.1 Nougat. Being limited to Pixel launcher on the new smartphones of Google, one is unable to officially replace Google Now with Google Assistant on Android smartphone.

However due to a mighty Android developer known as Max Rumpf, one small hack can allow you to obtain Google Assistant running on any Android 6.0 Marshmallow based smartphone currently. It tends to utilise Xposed framework together with an app known as AndroidN-ify in order to work the hack. The process is said to function on rooted devices running on Android open-source project ROMS. To get Google Assistant on your Android Marshmallow smartphone the following steps can be taken:

The Nine Steps

1.  You can download the Xposed framework flashable file and APK. Drop these files in the root directory or in a new folder on microSD card or internal storage. Then turn off the smartphone, reboot for recovery and flash the zip installer.  
2. With the smartphone on, utilise file manager in locating the Xposed APK file and install the same. The user may need to check `Unknown Sources in Settings’ followed by Security in order to install the APK file. 
3.  The AndroidN-ifty APK file is to be downloaded and installed and then begins the real game. The user needs to be careful and follow the instructions. 
4.  On opening the Xposed app, tap on the modules and check the AndroidN-ify box. 
5.  Open Root Explorer and find out if the system has been mounted as R/W (read or write) and tap on System then press and hold `build prop’. Then utilise the three dots menu button towards the right area in order to open in text editor. 
6.  Thereafter search for a line known as ro.product.model and this model number would be the name of your device such as the Galaxy S7, OnePlus 3, and LG G5 etc. You may need to create a file if there is no such file like ro.product.model=Pixel XL. Here OS has been faked presuming that the device is Pixel XL. 
7.  When this is done, go to the last line, creating a new one which reads - `ro.opa.eligible_device_true’ and then save it. Here OS is allowed to know that the device is qualified for Google Assistant.
8.  On rebooting the device, confirm if the new model number has been accepted and to get to know this you could go to Settings > About Phone. 
9.  Ensure that you have the updated Google App beta installed. The go to Settings > Apps > Google App > Storage > clear All Data.

Google Assistant – New Pixel Phone

When all this is accomplished, open Google App and setup Google Assistant and when it is setup, you could invoke it on holding the `Home’ button for a couple of seconds or by saying `OK Google’. The new intelligent conversational virtual assistant – Google Assistant is only available officially for new Pixel phone. But with some tweaking one could get it together with all Assistant’s great search and chat features on any Android Marshmallow or higher.