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Exclusive Research

Hands are holding the mobile phone while typing a message

All messengers are secure… until the government is interested in your chats

Ozair Malik
April 21, 2022
A brief overlook of the security and privacy of the most widely used messengers in 2022.
Adding Google account on the mobile phone
Ozair Malik
Apr 18, 2022

Google spies on 2.89 billion users through mobile devices

Checking your mobile phone for suspicious traces of intentional spy on your life (or something like that)
Online privacy? Do you care about your own?
Susan Morrow
Feb 9, 2022

Why privacy matters (even if you have nothing to hide)?

3 main reasons to care about privacy in 2022.
An open lock on a computer signifying identity theft

These services promise to protect your identity from theft, but they actually can't

Sabrina Lupsan
January 25, 2022
Image source – pixabay.com According to the Insurance Information Institute, 1 in 15 people is a victim of identity theft , while 1 out of 5 of those experience it more than once. And while you read that sentence, at least 1 more person fell victim to identity theft because an attack is successful every 2 seconds . Are you convinced yet? In this article, you will understand what identity theft is, how do you tell whether you are a victim of it, what your protection options are, and others...
Bitcoin cryptocurrency shown as a physical coin.

Be aware: anybody can announce and roll out their own “fake” crypto tokens

Sabrina Lupsan
January 11, 2022
Image source – pixabay.com The crypto market is worth $2.48 trillion . You hear of people becoming rich overnight after making small, spontaneous investments with little to no knowledge about cryptocurrency. You feel like you are left behind and decide to invest too. How do you do it without falling into one of the very many scams out there? How can you tell which project is legitimate and which isn’t? In this article, I will help you understand what you should avoid when picking your ICO...
Person that looks like a hacker standing in front of a computer.

I know when you are at home. Billions of iOS users making AirTags a favorite snooper’s weapon

Sabrina Lupsan
December 21, 2021
Image source – pixabay.com 60% of iPhone users are predicted to buy at least one AirTag device in 2021, according to a trusted source. And while millions of AirTag devices are expected to sell by the end of the year , this might affect you, even if you do not own one. In this article, you will understand how AirTags work, why they use other people’s phones to connect to their owners, and what vulnerabilities have been identified so far . Table of Contents Why are AirTags vulnerable? What is an...
Password manager - stickers

Top 25 password managers in 2021

Rakesh Naik
December 20, 2021
Image source - Shutterstock You might have heard already about do not reuse your passwords for different services online and keep them relatively long? But how to accomplish this with minimum effort. This is a question I am facing most often. In this article, I will be exploring the concept of password security, listing a few tips and tricks on how to improve it, and finally, list the best 25 password manager tools in the market with a comparison of their pros and cons. Table of Contents...
Are Smart cities for our safety?

You will be found anywhere through security cameras search engines. What is the KIPOD?

Hamna Imran
December 17, 2021
Image source - Shutterstock IHS Markit , an industry research organization, released a report that by the end of 2021, the number of cameras used for surveillance will exceed 1 billion , nearly 30% more than the current 770 million cameras. To put a cherry on top, China still accounts for above 50% of the total volume. Is the most camerized city a smart city ? We will answer it in detail, but the important point is that if a city is not based on personal and public safety principles, even the...
We should keep ourselves safe from fleeceware apps

What is Fleeceware-apps?

Hamna Imran
December 16, 2021
Image source - Shutterstock Would you like to pay $69.99 a week or even $199.99 a year for a zodiac app, handheld reading app or even a screen editor? Fleeceware is a term used to describe applications that exist on both Android and iOS. These applications claim to be free , provide a few days of free trial, and then the price is too high. The age of simple applications is between 30 and 300 US dollars for applications like QR code reader, screen editor and video recorder. Fleeceware is an...
A black-hat standing besides a trash can after dumping his machine.

The cheapest fire and forget hacking computer on the consumer market – the threat could be everywhere

Ozair Malik
December 15, 2021
Every black hat needs a hacking computer to perform hacks, Spy, or inject malware into the network. Black hats tend to use portable and cheap computers for their evil actions. Portable and inexpensive computers enable them to change location quickly or destroy the machine if exposed during an operation. Now, you must be wondering if these portable and cheap hacking computers were built by manufacturers like Dell or HP. Can I buy one from the local market ? Fortunately, such hacking computers...
Why free VPNs are worse than no VPN at all

Why are “Free VPNs” worse than no VPN at all? How are you still paying them with your data?

Hamna Imran
December 14, 2021
Every person either using VPNs or intending to use one has concerns about their security and questions which are often never taken seriously and remain unanswered. In this article, I will share my experience with using free VPNs and answer these questions Whether they are worthy of your attention? Do they steal your data? Do they sell your data without consent? Table of Contents What is VPN? Why does it exist? VPNs and the “Dark web” Do VPN providers sell your data? Referring Affiliate traffic...
Website tracking

How websites track your behavior and share this data with others?

Darina Shramko
December 13, 2021
Image source - cookielawinfo.com It is hard to live in 2021 and don’t be watched by some enterprises, right? But the think is they are selling all observations about you on third-parties, who are sellling you advertisements from companies, who are selling you goods. No one stands next to us with a camera, we do not hear the voices of strangers during telephone conversations (although there were such cases), and we do not see how other people get access to our confidential data. But if we do not...
Analyzing the effect of data breaches on stock market share prices

Hack it – drop it! How stock prices are related to data breaches

Hamna Imran
December 8, 2021
Image source – pexels.com It takes less time to commit a data security breach than it does to make a cup of coffee. In fact, 93% of successful data breaches happen in less than one minute. Despite this, 80% of businesses take weeks to realize they've been hacked. Cyber breaches impact a company's bottom line. There are material costs, such as replacing equipment that has been tampered with. There are personnel costs , such as overtime for security personnel working on resolutions. Time costs ,...
Title Image of a Hacker’s Guide to Google Dorks! How to Use, Examples, & more!

A Hacker’s Guide to Google Dorks

Rakesh Naik
December 3, 2021
Want to get more out of your Google Search Engine? Want to start on the path of vulnerability research? We would like to introduce you to the Google Dorks ! No, we aren’t going to talk about Google employees. Google dorks are search keywords used to gather sensitive information using Google advanced search by indexing and fetching links to specific files, directories, or servers. A search engine, say Google, is very capable of finding information that a user requires in the snap of a finger...
Title image for Social engineering: how to hack humanity?

Human brain – best hacking device and weakest system at the same time

Darina Shramko
November 29, 2021
Image source –pixabay.com Most successful cyber-attacks are not brilliant math, software hacking in a minute, and other fantastic movie tricks. You will be surprised, but most attacks occur due to human inattention and disregard for information security rules . For example, in Australia, the number of losses from fraud in 2021 reached $248,880,003 ! Pharmaceutical and medical companies and organizations with access to confidential and biometric data remain the most coveted targets of hackers...
Title image for How to make any VeraCrypt container uncrackable?

Creating uncrackable VeraCrypt containers for data protection

Darina Shramko
November 25, 2021
Image source – freepik.com In one way or another, your enemies, law enforcement agencies, and other citizens who are not indifferent to your data want to access the personal data you so diligently hide. A strong password or storing files on removable devices is sometimes not enough to protect confidential information from hacking. Even using BitLocker doesn't guarantee the safety of information! Cyber security enthusiasts experimented and revealed that the brute force speed for BitLocker...
Title image for Trashing around dark web forums – what do we find there?

Wandering around Dark Web marketplaces and forums today is just simple as visiting Amazon

Hamna Imran
November 19, 2021
Image source - shutterstock.com We all have been using the internet for years, but most of us are still unaware of the entire internet. The internet contains a lot of hidden content that is not visible to common users. When using the internet for our daily routine tasks, we surf the surface web – the uppermost part of the cyber iceberg. In this article, we are focusing on the bottom layer of this iceberg. This layer is known as the dark web or darknet. It is also known as the hidden web . This...
Title image for Anti-data-leak guidance 2021. How to protect your resource from being hacked through the Amazon S3 service?

Amazon AWS anti-data-leak guidance 2021

Dmytro Cherkashyn
November 17, 2021
Image source ─ pixabay.com The AWS S3 cloud service now has 100 trillion objects in its storage, and Amazon claims that the objects stored there have 99.99999999% durability . Huge companies like Netflix, Twitch, and BBC use Amazon S3 Services to store their data on the cloud. In this article, we will: analyse vulnerabilities regarding the S3 buckets show in detail how can hack a machine running AWS services list some protection measures recommended by Amazon and us to keep your data safe on...
Smart-refrigerator with a huge LED Display on Door, indicating the quantity of milk left in the fridge

Is buying a smart refrigerator really a smart choice?

Ozair Malik
November 16, 2021
Image source – Shutterstock.com If I tell you that your newly bought smart refrigerator saves a lot of your time and energy is a snitch that could become a reason for your death , would you believe me? If not, keep reading . Remember when F society took control over the entire house by hacking into the IoT devices in an episode of Mr. Robot ? I bet you thought it was only possible in fiction , but various such cyber-attacks have been reported in reality. According to a report issued by...
Title image for FTP server is a serious threat to data security

Over 97k non-protected FTP servers don’t have passwords

Darina Shramko
November 15, 2021
Image source – dracoon.com Hello cyber enthusiasts! The Cooltechzone team strives every day to keep you updated on the latest news in information security and show by example that cyber security is available to everyone . You have already learned how to scan the entire Internet in a few minutes , learned about the vulnerabilities in Joomla and WordPress , and also figured out how your router can spy on you. It's time to move to a high level! Today we will talk with you about the features of...
A web developer writing code

Million breached records from websites in 2021 as in a textbook

Sabrina Lupsan
November 11, 2021
Image source – pixabay.com According to a trusted source, over 18 million websites are infected at any given time in the world. The new OWASP Top 10 list for 2021 is out and contains the most common attack vectors. Below, you can see the total occurrences of those vulnerabilities identified by the OWASP Foundation in their research. Vulnerability Total Occurrences Broken Access Control 318,487 Cryptographic Failures 233,788 Injection 274,228 Insecure Design 262,407 Security Misconfiguration 208...
Title image for Story of an elusive Russian hacker who any particular secret service cannot catch

Zeus trojan retirement and never caught 3M worth creator

Darina Shramko
November 2, 2021
Image source – pixabay.com Russian hackers are among the most skillful and bloodthirsty cybercriminals who have left their mark in almost every corner of the world (at least many think so). They are known for theft of large amounts of money, spyware , and massive cyberattacks that target millions worldwide . However, among the currently existing Russian hackers, one whose name has been exciting the minds of the American secret services for more than a decade. He is considered the founder of...
Title image for Wireless router TP-Link Archer C2300

You are exposed 24/7 thanks to your favorite “Wireless router”

Hamna Imran
October 27, 2021
Image source - freepik.com In 2020, the wireless router market was valued at USD 10572.2 million , and it is expected to expand at an annual pace of 8.4% from 2021 to 2026 , reaching USD 17084.9 million . Mordor Intelligence With the market growing in size every day, Is the security aspect of Wireless routers being neglected? Are only designs being changed every now and then? Wireless routers might make working peacefully a reality, but the threats that chase them can be just as terrible , If...
Title image for Illegal Search Engines – Open Doors to Illegal Areas of Darknet

Google vs illegal search engines in dark test

Hamna Imran
October 26, 2021
Image source – csoonline.com Today, the internet has become an essential part of our daily life activities. It won't be false to say that today's human is incomplete without the internet. We all have been appreciating the positive aspects of the internet for a long time. The question is that do we understand what the internet is? The answer is No. Most of the users don't even know what they have been using for hours daily. Internet is divided into three layers . For better understanding, a...
СCTV camera on the wall

Old Hollywood CCTV camera hack actually works on modern security cameras

Dmytro Cherkashyn
October 25, 2021
Image source – freepik.com I bet you watched Ocean's Eleven movie and many others, where casinos or banks are robbed with an intelligent approach to spoof pictures from surveillance cameras in a different way – starting from just disruption of availability up to looping the picture with empty storage. In the past, there was research on this topic and even some demos, but they are still presented is not the best for most readers way. I will show you today a very easy (or almost that) way to...
Fiberoptic with Ethernet connector

How are hackers scanning the whole Internet in just a few minutes?

Darina Shramko
October 25, 2021
Image source - freepik.com Did you know that you can scan the entire Internet in only 30 minutes or even five? You probably thought I was joking because the Internet is as vast as our Universe. But I am serious − you can obtain any information in a few minutes if you arm yourself with the Masscan tool. Of course, one can use reconnaissance platforms as an alternative, which doesn't require any configuration and investments in capabilities. Now imagine how many potential targets are hacked every...
Title image for We have written Malicious Chrome Extensions and check how they are dangerous for users

We have written malicious chrome extension and check how it is dangerous for users

Hamna Imran
October 19, 2021
Image source – shutterstock.com As investigated by the Security firm Awake , Above 100 malicious Google Chrome browser extensions gathered 33 million downloads. Not only that, these 111 malicious extensions were found to spread spyware in the millions of devices they were downloaded. The Awake report made clear that malicious extensions installed the Chromium open-source version of Chrome which made running without Google's approval possible. They also never appeared in the Chrome Web Store...
Woman on the laptop with access denied notification

Evolving non-standard viruses languages will get you in a trap

Dmytro Cherkashyn
October 18, 2021
Image source – freepik.com Any casual user today knows that there is a threat in every file which is attached to SCAM emails. We also know how to check files for viruses using our preinstalled antivirus or online antivirus check services, where 50-70 antiviruses are scanning the file in the cloud and deliver us a clear answer, is there anything malicious within the file. What you didn’t know, most antiviruses are 0% effective against even non-obfuscated malicious files, which are not compiled...
Top 8 reconnaissance platforms

The Shodan eye is not as big as one might think

Rakesh Naik
October 13, 2021
Image source – shodan.io As Cooltechzone research team is performing many actions associated with search of IoT, databases, etc. on the Internet, we rely on the outputs of search engines. It's where reconnaissance platforms such as Shodan come in handy, taking a user input string and indexing every device and/or IT infrastructure connected to the internet to return a relevant result to the user input. But sometimes we know definitely – there is much more, but we can’t see it. In this article, I...
You will never want these IoT devices to be hacked

Vulnerable IoT devices can stake your breath

Ozair Malik
October 11, 2021
Image source – Shutterstock Like every other industry, the IoT storm has strongly hit the healthcare system . Undoubtedly, the associated benefits of IoT networked medical devices in patient monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment are outstanding. Moreover, IoT in healthcare has made the lives of doctors, hospital staff, managers, etc., a lot easier. But, the proliferation of internet-enabled medical devices has dramatically impacted the overall cyber security infrastructure in healthcare. Also,...
Baby monitors expose not only video stream but also geolocation of your home

Baby monitors expose not only video stream but also geolocation of your home

Dmytro Cherkashyn
October 7, 2021
Image source – freepik.com The Cooltechzone research team discovered several vulnerabilities at the end of September 2021. They affect especially IP cameras used as baby monitors while revealing the owner's physical address and providing extensive information about the environment. Most of the found vulnerabilities are associated with misconfigurations or a lack of cyber hygiene, but some could affect the whole home or small company network, giving potentially access to any other connected to...
Colorful iPhones with bug

Apple’s biggest bite place − invasion of Zero-Click is continuing

Darina Shramko
September 23, 2021
Attention: a dangerous worm found in your apple that can cause irreparable harm to you! But...unfortunately, I'm not talking about the juicy fruits of the apple tree at all. So, what is this mysterious worm, and why is it so dangerous? Well, the fact is that a vulnerability a found in all Apple devices , with which the company's developers have been struggling for more than one year. In the current version of the iOS firmware, a new zero-click exploit called Pegasus , created by an NSO Group...
The Docker logo

How Docker works and what are its secrets

Sabrina Lupsan
September 22, 2021
Image source – docker.com Docker is the leading public and hosted container registry (by usage). It is an efficient solution to build and deploy applications that require different technologies. Between the years 2011 and 2021, Docker has raised a total of $330.9 million . In the last few years, containerization has become very popular. A survey made by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation revealed that 84% of the respondents were already using containers in production , with an increase of 15...
Title image for The Evil-twin of Blockchain is ready to steal your money

We have tested how Evil Twin works and teach you how to protect yourself

Hamna Imran
September 11, 2021
So far this year, about $13.4 million has been raked in by the top 10 most successful blockchain scams that are currently active, according to Atlas VPN. All of us know a lot about internet scams, phishing, etc. But did this thought ever cross your mind that your blockchain data might be at risk? Probably not! But today, I will let you know how the evil twin of blockchain might put your information , data, and money at risk without you even knowing. Not to scare you, but once our Information...
Title image for Who lives in your smart camera?

Who lives in your smart camera?

Darina Shramko
September 11, 2021
Our home is our fortress. But, there is one problem − the fortress, no matter how strong it is, can still be taken by a long siege. Moreover, we, without realizing it, make our home a target for hackers and criminals. How? It's simple - smart home devices designed to make our life easier may turn out to be our enemies. A July experiment by the British Consumer Protection Association with NCC Group and Global Cyber Alliance showed that passwords in smart homes attempt to hack more than 300 times...

Ways to lose money with a Bitcoin wallet & Protection guide for 2021

Dean Chester
August 6, 2021
Losing crypto assets due to malicious actions of hackers and fraudsters is a very real threat. In this new extensive guide, I will share real cases of theft of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, outline effective ways to protect wallets, and describe an almost 100% secure method of executing transactions step by step. More than 10 years have passed since 2010 when the first cryptocurrency introduced by a developer or a group of developers under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto became a real...
COM Surrogate makes a buzz around other suspicious processes for the whole humanity

Should I worry about “COM Surrogate” aka "dllhost.exe" in my task manager? 5 processes are belonging to not harmful Windows core processes.

Dmytro Cherkashyn
July 4, 2021
First of all, calm down – take a brief in and brief out. Status June 2021, COM Surrogate is not a virus in 99% of cases, and I am going to explain why. Other articles are claiming the dllhost.exe virus from the first line. But it is a scam! Because the second line will propose paid antivirus… Very clever, but not fair. For that rest 1%, you will find detailed guidance in this article, which will help you identify if it is a threat and remove the virus within 3 minutes. Since you are no longer...
Title Image for Deepfake: How Dangerous Can It Potentially Become showing a Deepfake tool scanning the various features of a woman’s face.

Deepfake crimes: How Real And Dangerous They Are In 2021?

Rakesh Naik
June 29, 2021
Image Source – venturebeat.com Some of you might remember the infamous Tom Cruise TikTok videos that came out earlier this year and took the internet by storm. Or the video of Obama insulting Trump that came out a few years ago. These videos are, obviously, fake and created using a technology called Deepfake , which experts think might be the most dangerous crime of the future! You might have many questions about what a Deepfake is, how it works, and the potential danger of the technology. Well...
Taking over ship using the Internet and free online tools

I hacked the ship to prove the "Ever Given" container ship alike accident using only 3 free tools from the Internet.

Dmytro Cherkashyn
June 29, 2021
Hacking into things is a strong addiction; you can't just refuse to stop doing it if you are a true researcher and passionate cyber geek. So, me too. You remember that recent story with "Ever Given" container cargo ship stuck somewhere in the middle of Suez Canal and caused over 1,3 billion US dollars loss for companies relied on sea/ocean transport. For this research, I decided to prove the concept: If you find only one Internet-connected system on a ship, you can take over a whole control...
One of the most famous Russian threat groups Cozy Bear

How is it challenging to detect and protect from Russian APT29? Learn about APT techniques in 6 basic steps with MITRE ATT&CK.

Dmytro Cherkashyn
June 18, 2021
Once you got this information, your life is never going to be as before. We are going to dive into the most sophisticated techniques used to hack high-grade cyber-protection systems for all time. You might have heard about SolarWind cyber breach that created a huge buzzing wave around the world. This attack affected over 17,000 systems globally, with an estimated number of threatened end-points close to an incredible 60,000,000 (but I am sure much more than this). And we are still speaking...

The Tor Browser: Shared with VPN

Dean Chester
July 12, 2021
I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom, and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building. Edward Snowden. Is Tor a compromised solution or a completely safe means of anonymization? Tor is safe to use Set up Tor VPN - step by step instructions with a real example Tor VPNs that have passed all security tests Additional free protection for Tor There is a lot of information on the web...