My Writing
- Social Engineering Conversation With a Tech Support Scammer This tech support scam used no malware, just a calm sales pitch built on legitimate tools and fake diagnostics. Each step sounded like helpful advice, which is what made the pitch work.
- Social Engineering The Manipulative Nature and Mechanics of Visitor Survey Scams A 'free reward' survey scam doesn't care how you answer its questions. Filling them out makes you invested enough to pay a small 'shipping fee' you would otherwise refuse.
- Authentication The Reports of Passwords' Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated Passwords remain ubiquitous, but how we use them is changing. Biometric authentication lets people enter passwords less frequently, password vaults make complex credentials practical, and two-factor...
- Authentication How Yahoo's New On-Demand Passwords Feature Works Yahoo's on-demand passwords feature sends one-time codes via SMS instead of requiring users to remember traditional credentials. This approach balances convenience with security, though it means...
- Malware Analysis Contemplating Malware Vaccination via Infection Markers Some malware checks for infection markers like mutexes, registry keys, or processes to avoid infecting systems twice. Preemptively creating these markers can vaccinate systems against specific...
- Social Networking Scammers Prescreen Victims for Tech Support Scams via Twitter and Phone Tech support scammers use Twitter bots to respond to public messages containing words like "virus" and "malware," inviting potential victims to call phone numbers where automated systems profile...