Forget playgrounds and theme parks: travelling with my twenty-something daughters to Byron Bay is sun-drenched beaches, good food and wellness Read...

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When the earth shakes or eruptions start, there has been a team of Public Information Managers ready to help the public and Government agencies. Read...

A scam is currently circulating on WhatsApp that could be very dangerous for you. Users are receiving seemingly harmless messages—usually from unknown numbers without unique names—and those messages contain nothing more than a photo along with a question along the lines of “Is that you?” or “Do you know this person?” It’s a clear attempt to get you to download and open the attached image. With WhatsApp, you first have to authorize the download of images, and that’s exactly what the scammers are after. In fact, the file isn’t a picture of you or someone you know, but rather it’s been manipulated to deliver malware and open up ways for your smartphone, tablet, or PC to be hacked. Afterwards, the scammers can gain access to your private data and even use it to blackmail you. How the image download scam works The scammers are exploiting a vulnerability in WhatsApp that makes it possible to inject manipulated images or videos without being recognized as such by the app. They can gain access to the parsing process via the file preview that’s generated when an image is downloaded, and this process breaks files down into smaller packages that are needed for the processing of messages. If code snippets containing malware are injected during this process, scammers can use that malware to gain access to target devices. You don’t see any of this happening because these processes run in the background while you’re opening the image. What does this mean for you? Not only can your WhatsApp account be stolen, but your data on the device can also be intercepted and taken. You have to be careful of who you trust on WhatsApp. How to not be a victim to this scam Whenever you get unsolicited messages, always pay special attention to who’s sending the message and why. Unknown numbers often conceal scammers who message people at random and hope that someone will be careless enough to fall for their tricks. It’s best to block them. Also, never open images or other files if you aren’t 100% sure of what they contain, if you don’t 100% trust the one sending them to you, and if it seems like they really want you to open them for some reason. To play it extra safe, you should disable the automatic downloading of media, which you can do by navigating to Settings > Storage and data. Under Auto-download media, deselect all file types by unchecking the boxes (even if your Wi-Fi connection is active). Last but not least, make sure you always install the latest WhatsApp updates. This fixes known security vulnerabilities, reducing the chance that a scammer can exploit flaws to trick you. It’s currently not know when WhatsApp will update to fix this particular vulnerability. Further reading: WhatsApp is banning AI chatbots like ChatGPT soon Read...

I love Black Friday, but there’s no reason to wait out the rest of the month if you spot a killer deal ahead of time—and yes, there are plenty of amazing discounts going on already. For example, this 43-inch 4K TV is only $199.99 right now, down from $369.99 with a 46% discount. That’s a stellar price for a modestly large TV that can deliver 4K visuals. With features like HDR10 and Dolby Digital Plus, this display promises clear images, bright colors, and an overall vibrant picture. View this Amazon deal Amazon’s Fire TV 4-Series runs on Fire TV OS, the company’s own operating system that’s tailor-made for streaming content. You get easy access to your favorite platforms—including Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix—and you can watch live TV, stream music, play video games, and more. Included is a 6-month MGM+ subscription (valued at about $50), granting access to thousands of Hollywood movies and original series. With four HDMI ports (one supporting eARC/ARC), USB-A, Ethernet, 3.5mm audio, and an IR emitter, this TV is decked out with all the connections you need for external devices like gaming consoles. Another nice inclusion is the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote, where you can just press a button and ask Alexa to find and play content for you. Use the same button to issue voice commands for all your other Alexa-compatible devices around the house. Lastly, it has a 300×300 VESA mount if you intend to hang it on your wall, but you’ll need to buy a separate mounting bracket for that. If you do, make sure it’s able to handle this TV’s full weight of 15.5 pounds. Save 46% on this excellent 43-inch 4K Fire TV with extra goodiesBuy now on Amazon Read...