Hijacking of Twitter and WhatsApp accounts - Stay Alert!!!!!!

Hackers exploiting DM to Hijack Twitter and WhatsApp accounts

With the Twitter accounts of Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and singer Adnan Sami getting hacked, security researchers have warned that users ought to deliberate before clicking on the links received within the Twitter Direct Message (DMs).

Singer Adnan Sami's Twitter account was allegedly hacked on Tuesday by Ayyildiz Tim, the same Turkish hacker cluster that attacked star Amitabh Bachchan's microblogging page a day ago. Just like Bachchan's profile was compromised, the cluster replaced Sami's profile picture with a photograph of Pakistan PM Imran Khan and altered the bio, adding "Ayyildiz Tim Love Pakistan" with an emoji of Pakistani and Turkish flags.

"Their Modus operandi looks like they are sending DM to the victims Twitter account and if the victim opens the DM he/she is directed to a phishing page which looks like a genuine page," Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director and Chief Technology officer, Quick Heal Technologies Ltd. 

"If the user fills the login credentials on this page his login information is gone to the hackers who later use it to login and change the original password and take control of the account," he said, adding that there are alternative ways that a twitter account will compromise.

The French security researcher who uses the pseudonym Elliot Alderson pointed to a user who goes by the name Kerem Sah Noyan on Twitter and uses the handle @NoyanAyt2002 as the person behind the hack.

Bachchan's page was restored within half-an-hour after the Mumbai Police alerted the cyber unit. The group had antecedently hacked Twitter accounts of actors Shahid Kapoor and Anupam Kher among others as well.

"This is an important call to the whole world! We do condemn the irrespective behaviors of Iceland republic towards Turkish footballers. We speak softly but carry a big stick and inform you about the Big Cyber Attack here. As Ayyildiz Tim Turkish Cyber Army," read the first tweet after the attack on Monday.

Ways to secure Twitter and WhatsApp account:

Enable Two-step Verification:

If a service supports it, you should be using Two Factor Authentication. This Adds a periodic passcode to WhatsApp and also ensures your data isn't accessed by someone else. The purpose is to stop someone else from accessing your WhatsApp account without your consent. It's truly one of the best new WhatsApp features, and even available on WhatsApp Web.

Turn on Security Notification:

When a new phone or laptop accesses an existing chat, a new security code is generated for both phones. And WhatsApp can send a notification when the security code changes. This way, you can check the encryption with your friend over a different messenger, ensuring its security.

Check Encryption for Sensitive Conversations:

Even though WhatsApp encrypts all chats by default, sometimes you want to double-check, It's good practice to do that while sharing sensitive information like a credit card number with a trusted contact.

Disable Cloud Backups:

The end to end encryption is awesome, but there's one loophole: WhatsApp backs up chats to Google Drive or iCloud. That way, if you reinstall it later, you can retrieve your old messages, But this backup isn't encrypted. So if you really care about your privacy, then that's something you need to disable. Remember, storing your data with Apple and Google might not protect you against eavesdropping by Govt.

Beware of common scams:

Since it's an instant messenger, you might get some scams on WhatsApp periodically. You need to know some of the popular ones and not fall for them. The most persistent ones to talk about a premium version of WhatsApp, "WhatsApp Gold," or your account expiring. No matter how it's worded, the scam is about making you pay for WhatsApp. It shouldn't need to be said, but don't ever pay money for WhatsApp. The company has made it clear that WhatsApp will forever be free.

 

Inventions

Brainchildren: Young Inventors

Horatio Adams

 Adams was only 16 when he assisted his father, Thomas, in his experiments with the chicle, the dried sap of a Mexican jungle tree. This led to the invention of chewing gum.

Louis Braille

He invented Braille, the raised-dot writing used by blind people, at the age of 15. Louis himself was blind.

Charles Babbage

Babbage was 19 when he first thought of the idea of the mechanical computer.

Frank Epperson

The Popsicle or ice lolly was invented by 11-year-old Frank Epperson of San Fransisco, California, in 1905. He had the idea when he left a fruit drink out during a freezing winter night and originally called it the Epsicle. He did not apply for a patent until 1923, by which time his son had renamed it Popsicle.

Peter Chilvers

Chilvers was 12 when he invented boardsailing (windsurfing) in 1958 off Hayling Island, UK.

Walter Lines 

British schoolboy Lines invented the scooter at the age of 15. He later founded Triang Toys, once a Britain's leading toy manufacturer.

Austin Meggitt

American schoolboy Meggitt was nine when he invented a device for carrying a baseball bat, ball and glove safely on the handlebars of a bicycle. In 2000 he received US Patent No. 6,029,874.

Chester Greenwood

Greenwood of Farmington, Maine, USA was aged 15 in 1873 when he invented earmuffs, He started Greenwood's Ear Protector Factory and made a fortune by supplying his product to US soldiers in WW1.

Crazy Inventions 

There is no end to the extraordinary items dreamed up by inventors - a self-raising hat (1896) for the polite man with his arms full; spectacles for chickens to protect the eyes from other fowl  that might attempt to peck them (19030; an automatic haircutter (1951); a motorized ice cream cone (1998) which rotates against the tongue. Here are some other examples.

Parachute fire escape

This invention was patented in 1879 by Benjamin B. Oppenheimer of Trenton, Tennesse, USA. It was made up of parachute attached to a helmet and padded shoes that would allow a person to leap out of a blazing building and land safely - if he was lucky enough not to break his neck,

Spider Ladder

This invention was perhaps not so crazy for people who are scared of spiders. British inventor Edward Doughney's 1994 patent helps spiders to climb out of a bath.

Elephant springboard

A British patent was issued to E. Wulff in 1904 for a springboard that would make an elephant turn a somersault. The animal's heavy landing was a problem that Mr. Wulff failed to solve.

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is best known as a painter, anatomist, sculptor, and architect. His paintings The Last Supper and Mona Lisa are among the most famous of all time. But he also hailed as one of the greatest inventors who ever lived. Among his notebooks, he left plans for countless advanced machines, often with descriptions written in secret mirror writing. Many of them were never built, but they anticipated in modern inventions, often by hundreds of years. They include the following :

Air Conditioner                                                                                    Alarm Clock

Ball-Bearing                                                                                        Chemical and Biological warfare

Clock with Minute and Hour Hand                                                     Crane

Diving Suit and Diving Bell                                                                Double- hull ship

Dredging Machine                                                                               Flying Machine

Gas Masks                                                                                           Gears

Giants Catapults and Crossbow                                                          Helicopter

Lifebelt                                                                                               Magnetic Compass

Mileometer                                                                                         Mechanical musical instruments

Multi-Barrelled Machine Gun                                                             One-Person Battleship

Parachute                                                                                            Pedometer

Revolving Stage                                                                                 Screw Making Machine

Shrapnel Bobm                                                                                   Spectacles

Steam Engine                                                                                     Tank like an armored vehicle 

Telescope                                                                                            Water Clock

Water turbine