At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Attractive and sturdy design Bundled display hood and remote Built-in automatic hardware image calibration, brightness adjustments USB-C hub includes Ethernet Great color gamut and accuracy Cons Limited contrast ratio HDR is supported, but only barely No Adaptive Sync Our Verdict The BenQ PD2770U is a monitor built for professional content creation. Its specific feature set will limit its appeal, but makes it a good choice for its intended demographic. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: BenQ PD2770U Retailer Price BenQ $1699.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Most monitors sold today are chasing the same trends. OLED panels are common, bringing with them excellent contrast, and refresh rates have surged into the hundreds. These upgrades have led to excellent displays, but the BenQ PD2770U marches to a different tune. It is focused on professional content creation and has several unusual features—such as a built-in display calibration tool—that will appeal to the monitor’s audience. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best monitors for comparison. BenQ PD2770U specs and features The basics of the BenQ PD2770U’s display panel are nothing to write home about. It has a 27-inch 4K IPS-LCD panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The backlight is edge-lit LED, so no fancy Mini-LED backlighting here. Adaptive sync isn’t present, either. Display size: 27-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: IPS-LCD with LED edge lit backlight Refresh rate: 60Hz Adaptive sync: No HDR: HDR 10/HLG Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Thunderbolt / USB-C with 96 watts of Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C upstream with 5Gbps data, 2x USB-A downstream with 5Gbps data Audio: None Extra features: Light sensor, remote control, built-in automatic calibration, uniformity mode, display hood Price: $1,699.99 MSRP However, the BenQ PD2770U includes several uncommon features. It has built-in image calibration hardware tucked into the top bezel, plus ambient light sensors and a USB-C / Thunderbolt hub that includes Ethernet connectivity. It also ships with a display hood and wireless remote for controlling the monitor’s features. These features don’t come cheap, though, as the PD2770U carries a high MSRP of $1,699.99. Speciality monitors meant for professionals tend to carry a hefty price premium. BenQ PD2770U design The BenQ PD2770U is a monitor meant for professional settings, so it offers a reserved and low-key look. That’s not to say it’s unattractive, though. I rather like the charcoal-and-gray colorway, which remains a professional tone and is distinct from the matte black look typical of less expensive professional monitors, as well as the metallic silver used by most similarly priced competitors. Build quality is high. As with most displays, plastic is the material of choice, but the stand base is metal and the plastics that make up the body of the display are robust. It’s a hefty monitor, as well, at nearly 20 pounds with stand. That’s heavier than many 32-inch monitors. Matthew Smith / Foundry A monitor hood is provided with the monitor. The hood is used to shade the display and reduce the impact of ambient light on its surface. It attaches magnetically, too, so it’s not too difficult to install or remove. Most home users are unlikely to use the hood, but it’s handy if you work in a space where you can’t control ambient light as much as you’d like. The included stand has a flat, sturdy base that minimizes its footprint on your desk. Ergonomic adjustment includes up to 115mm of height, 25 degrees of tilt, 30 degrees of swivel, and up to 90 degrees of pivot (for use in portrait orientation). None of these adjustments are remarkable for a premium monitor, but they’re competitive. A 100x100mm VESA mount is also available for use with a third-party monitor stand, arm, or wall mount. BenQ PD2770U connectivity Connectivity is a headline feature for the BenQ PD2770U. The company seems to expect that the monitor will be used with a high-end laptop, like a MacBook Pro or Asus ProArt, and so it provides a Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C port with up to 96 watts of Power Delivery and DisplayPort video. That makes for easy single-cable connections to any laptop that has USB-C with the same features (which includes most modern laptops). The monitor also provides a second USB-C upstream port, though it supports just 5Gbps of data. It’s useful if you want to connect a desktop alongside a laptop. Both USB-C ports expand a connected device’s connectivity to a pair of wired USB-A ports, each with 5Gbps data rates, and a single RJ45 Ethernet port. This isn’t the most connectivity you’ll find from a monitor—the Dell U3225QE, for instance, offers over twice as much USB connectivity—but it’s still a respectable range, and the inclusion of an Ethernet port is always good to see. As you might expect, the PD2770U provides KVM switch functionality. That means you can connect two computers to the USB-C upstream ports, then connect wired devices to the USB-A downstream ports, and use the monitor to switch which computer is connected to the USB-A devices. BenQ PD2770U menus and features The BenQ PD2770U’s on-screen menu system can be accessed either with a joystick control on the monitor, or a convenient puck-style remote. The puck-style remote is a small, wireless dial that’s great for making quick adjustments. Alternatively, most monitor features can be accessed through BenQ’s attractive DisplayPilot software, which is available for both Windows and MacOS. A long list of image quality adjustments are available. These include many preset modes that target specific color gamuts, such as AdobeRGB, Rec.709, DCI-P3, DICOM, and more. The monitor also provides precise gamma and color temperature adjustments with additional color customization, if desired. Matthew Smith / Foundry Ambient light sensors are included and can be used to automatically adjust brightness throughout the day. This can reduce eye strain and will help the monitor appear accurate in a wide range of lighting conditions. The jewel in the PD2770U’s crown, however, is the automatic hardware calibration tool permanently tucked inside the thick top bezel. It can deploy automatically on a set schedule and runs a hardware-defined display calibration process (meaning no additional software is required to use it). Aside from convenience, this feature adds value, as color calibration tools typically sell for $150 to $300 or more, depending on the model. On top of that, the BenQ provides a remote calibration management tool called DMS Local, which can be used to sync color profiles across a fleet of monitors and enforce mandatory calibration. Of course, I can’t comment on the specifics of how well DMS Local works in a professional studio, but I thought it worth a mention. Matthew Smith / Foundry Overall, I like the built-in calibration. Calibration normally requires additional hardware, which you must connect and put into place before calibration can take place. That extra hassle can make it easy to justify putting it off until tomorrow—for weeks on end. BenQ’s built-in calibration gives you less reason to put it off. Calibration does require roughly 10 minutes, though, so you’ll have to take a break (or use a second display). You also need to warm up the display for 30 minutes before it can be calibrated, though the hardware takes this into account and will automatically engage after the warm-up period has ended. The BenQ PD2770U goes the extra mile with an automatic color calibration tool that can operate on a schedule and requires no additional hardware or software to operate. BenQ PD2770U audio The BenQ PD2770U doesn’t include built-in speakers and instead provides only a 3.5mm audio pass-through for connecting a headset or speakers. It is a bit disappointing to see speakers are excluded, though it’s not uncommon for high-end monitors to lack speakers. BenQ PD2770U SDR image quality The BenQ PD2770U is a monitor tightly focused on creative work including photography, videography, and digital art. That might lead you to expect excellent image quality across the board, but the PD2770U instead makes some trade-offs to provide a presentation focused on accuracy and realism. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is brightness, where the BenQ PD2770U achieved an acceptable maximum SDR brightness of 351 nits. As the graph shows, it’s definitely not the brightest image available, but also not dim. This level of brightness is sufficient to cover SDR workflows, as well, which typically see brightness calibrated to somewhere in the 100 to 200 nits range. Though not the brightest monitor around, the BenQ PD2770U benefits from an effective Nano Matte finish and the included display hood. These features together make glare a non-issue in most situations, even in rooms with unusually bright and uneven lighting. You’ll only see glare if a bright light source is directly over your shoulder. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is a weakness of the BenQ PD2770U. Though it aims to provide great image quality, it’s also a IPS-LCD display, and doesn’t have a dynamic Mini-LED backlight. The result is a contrast ratio that’s behind even most LCD monitors. It should be noted, though, that enhanced contrast isn’t the objective of the display. Rather, the Nano Matte display is meant to diffuse light in a way that provides good color accuracy and a comfortable viewing experience. I like it, though I should mention I am generally biased towards matte over glossy panels. Those who want more contrast should consider the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM, a beautiful professional monitor with an OLED panel. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color performance is something the BenQ PD2770U needs to nail and, fortunately for BenQ, it scores extremely well. The BenQ PD2770U achieved a maximum color gamut that spanned 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 99 percent of AdobeRGB. That’s among the best result we’ve ever recorded. There is one detail to note, though, which is that the monitor can’t display this range of all gamuts simultaneously. For example, when the monitor is set to AdobeRGB the DCI-P3 color gamut drops to about 87 percent (and vice versa). This isn’t of much practical concern because I have a hard time fathoming a situation where you would need to work in both color spaces at once on the same display, but I thought I’d mention it. BenQ also provides modes for color gamut standards I don’t normally test, like DICOM and Rec.709. The range of supported color gamuts is wider than what you’ll find on a typical gaming or general-use monitor—even those sold above $1,000. Matthew Smith / Foundry The BenQ PD2770U delivered a solid color accuracy result that dipped below an average color error value of one. While not the very best I’ve tested, any result around one (or below) is excellent, and means the image will generally look accurate and true to the content being displayed. Color temperature and gamma are also important aspects of accuracy, and here the BenQ PD2770U scored extremely well. It presented a tight gamma curve of 2.2 and a color temperature value of 6500K. Both are the values we expect to see at default settings, and the values most monitors target out of the box. These numbers mean the image looks neither too dark or too bright, nor too warm or too cool. The monitor provides a wide range of gamma and color temperature settings, so you can tune these figures to your needs or preference. Sharpness is excellent, as the 27-inch monitor packs a resolution of 3840×2160. That works out to about 163 pixels per inch, which is as high as you’ll find without upgrading to something more exotic, such as a 5K or 6K monitor. 4K images and videos reveal a ton of fine detail, and small text remains easy to read. On the whole, the BenQ PD2770U’s SDR image quality is great with the exception of contrast, which is modest at best—and this rather bluntly defines the PD2770U’s appeal. This is not a monitor for enjoying entertainment or playing games, but rather a monitor for professional work. As such, the accuracy of the image, and the ability to calibrate it, becomes more important than the wow-factor a better contrast ratio would provide. Of course, the dream would be to have a monitor with both a high-contrast OLED panel and the high degree of accuracy and calibration that the BenQ PD2770U provides. Monitors like that do exist, but they’re often at least twice the PD2770U’s price (and yet may still lack useful features found on the PD2770U, such as automatic hardware calibration). BenQ PD2770U HDR image quality and motion performance The BenQ PD2770U supports HDR10 / HLG, but HDR is not the focus of the monitor, and it lacks any version of VESA DisplayHDR certification. You should consider HDR to be something the PD2770U can provide in a pinch, but not something that will be accurate. This is largely due to the lack of brightness and contrast, both of which are required to do HDR justice. Motion clarity also takes a back seat, as the PD2770U only provides a 60Hz refresh rate and does not support adaptive sync. While slower-paced games look fine on the PD2770U, it’s definitely not a good choice for highly competitive games. Should you buy the BenQ PD2770U? The BenQ PD2770U is a professional content creation monitor aimed at creatives who primarily produce SDR content and need excellent, accurate color performance. It goes the extra mile with an automatic color calibration tool that can operate on a schedule and requires no additional hardware or software to operate.While many professional monitors include calibration hardware, it’s unusual for that hardware to be built physically into the monitor itself. It should prove useful if you mean to calibrate your monitor but often find it a hassle, or forget to do it on a regular schedule. This perk is balanced by the monitor’s barely-there HDR support and missing adaptive sync, which mean the PD2770U is not great for entertainment and gaming. However, the PD2770U is a great choice if you need a color accurate monitor for professional work. Read...

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A little before Thanksgiving, my colleague Mark Hachman sent me a Threads link. It showed a cute little animated cat running on your taskbar. The add-on from GitHub claims to show your CPU load, with the feline running faster the harder your processor works. The comments on the thread run the gamut of wary to enthusiastic. (My favorite, from a user named gerb: “It might be malware, but at least it’s cute.”) But most people liked the idea. Maybe not specifically a cat—dogs got nominated as an idea—but they were onboard with an adorable addition to the taskbar. Why hasn’t Microsoft started selling this kind of thing?  (Hold your pitchforks.) Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware & software talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.  Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website! In the old days, I could have added something like this with less fear of infecting my computer. (It wasn’t completely safe, but a general sense of good citizenship still prevailed when fewer people were online.) Heck, even a year ago, I would have told people to at least investigate the source and see if anyone else had examined the code.  But bad actors have rapidly incorporated AI into their attacks, making them easier to deploy faster and more sophisticated, too. For example, Google has already spotted malware that can dynamically change in real-time and is harder to detect. The methods have become sneakier as well. Several times this year, legitimate games on Steam ended up spreading malware. Meanwhile, Microsoft owns multiple game studios, some of which have made beaucoup bucks doing precisely what I’m suggesting—selling skins and accessories. Also, it runs a little storefront for its Xbox console ecosystem, so it’s not a stranger to this business. The Microsoft Store is doing okay for itself, too. Ori and the Blind Forest is still one of my most favorite games.Microsoft / Steam And yet. I can’t buy little bits of code that would let my version of Windows have: Nyan cat, flying through space on my taskbar Microsoft’s Ninjacat as an animated screensaver Animated Ori and the Blind Forest wallpaper  A whole Ori theme where there are animated bits, icon packs, several wallpaper choices, a screensaver, and a properly color coordinated background and accent color chosen because I suck at that Animated turtle that walks around in the left corner of the taskbar when it’s warm and hides when it’s cold (This is not an exhaustive list of what I could be enticed into purchasing. Not remotely.) Before anyone hurts me for suggesting Windows microtransactions, let me be very clear. I never want Microsoft to slap a price tag on individual features related to Windows operations. Not even minor ones. That would suck, and I want to stress that I’m deeply grateful that PowerToys exist. (Thank you again to the devs who work on those.) All I’m saying is, I have a growing collection of ugly sweaters. I bought the Microsoft XP Crocs (and actually considered for a second if I would ever buy the Xbox Crocs). What a squandered opportunity to bring back the true vibes of the 90s, when we all spent literal hours collecting (and rotating through) different Winamp skins. People love aesthetic customizations. You know how people don’t want to pay $30 to extend Windows 10 licenses? I bet a pack of something from any one of Microsoft’s big game franchises could make some serious money. Probably more than the $30 for an Extended License. I don’t even buy Moira skins and I’m hundreds of hours into Overwatch as a Moira OTP. But I would buy fun Windows customizations from a reputable source. No other developer would be more trustworthy than Microsoft itself. (Or so one hopes.) In this episode of The Full Nerd In this episode of The Full Nerd, Brad Chacos, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith must eat their words. Yep, our annual tradition returns, in which we all suffer the consequences of not making accurate predictions for 2025. For those new to our show, our predictions episodes work like this: In the first part, we review last year’s forecasts. For every wrong one, the traditional punishment is to literally eat your words—you write the inaccurate guess down on a piece of paper and down the hatch it goes—but some of us have since spun off from Gordon’s methodology. Then, in the second part of the show, we make new predictions for the coming year. The cycle continues. With the many twists and turns of 2025, I was surprised we got any predictions right. Still, we missed enough that Brad, normally the guy who escapes a lot of suffering, ended up deeply regretting his choice to down Da Bomb Beyond Insanity hot sauce for every wrong pick. I don’t mean just discomfort while on the show. About three hours later, we received a message in our work group chat that said: “ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff i forgot to wash my hands before using the bathroom ????” On Wednesday, he said he still hadn’t fully recovered. Also, to remember washing your hands after cleaning up hot sauce. Heard, boss. Willis Lai / Foundry Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd Network YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time! Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s unsettling nerd news I had hoped for a quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year’s, but uh, apparently the Ghost of PC Building Future had different ideas. Maingear announced on Tuesday that it would begin offering custom systems without RAM, if you prefer to save some cash and BYOR instead. (Bring your own RAM.) …Where does one find that independently sourced affordable DDR5 RAM, exactly? XPG BYOR hurts as a concept: We actually discussed this prediction the very same day that Maingear made its announcement about Bring Your Own Ram configurations. Strap in, 2026’s going to be quite a ride. Nerfed SSD performance in Windows 11 may finally end: Remember the move to software-based encryption in BitLocker, and it tanking SSD speeds? Well, Microsoft is now promising that coming hardware-based encryption will undo most of that issue. Here’s to hoping. LimeWire was not on my 2025 bingo card: Especially not as a tool for circumventing potential censorship and keeping information freely available. Perhaps nostalgia is good for us: I’m going to interpret this study showing that happiness from reliving good childhood memories (via console games like Super Mario Bros.) means I’m perfectly justified in buying retro consoles and not actually making progress on my games backlog. Take a look at this vintage Texas Instruments computer! Will got a really cool close-up look at the TI-99/4A, thanks to Huxley from Retro Roadshow stopping by our offices and bringing his childhood computer with him. Long live OLED: I’ve been holding out for an affordable OLED TV, but I have to admit I’ve been a bit hesitant due to burn-in concerns. Looks like I may have little to worry about. Hmm… Shoutout to the OG: Valve is discontinuing the LCD version of the Steam Deck, leaving the OLED version as its default champion of handheld gaming. Rest in peace, trailblazer. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate—and I’ll catch everyone again just after New Year’s, with some thoughts about 2026 (and possibly some related resolutions). For now, I’m off to enjoy family time, video games, and a ton of excellent food! ~Alaina This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld. Read...

I’m always looking for helpful websites that can make life easier. Two I’ve recently discovered are TypingClub and Calculator Soup. Let’s take a peek at both! TypingClub I type relatively accurately and quickly now, but to get to that stage I needed to use a program to teach me how to type. There are a bunch of good ones around, but if you’re looking for low maintenance typing tutor you can just go to the website TypingClub. TypingClub shows you how to type quickly and correctly on your keyboard. You can participate in free training, and you don’t need a membership to use it. The tutorials take you through the steps to touch typing and after each tutorial there are practical activities for you to try. You also get presented with stats at the end of each one so that you can see your touch-typing speed and how you did on accuracy. Dominic Bayley / Foundry CalculatorSoup If you’re struggling to do anything worthwhile in Windows calculator, then it may be just too simple for you. You might need one of the calculators at CalculatorSoup. On the website you’ll find all kinds of calculators from general math calculators to loan calculators to chemistry calculators. Each calculator comes with a description and corresponding math laws so that you can apply them correctly. Dominic Bayley / Foundry That’s a wrap for this Try This. For more recommendations like these be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Solid typing with huge gasket mount Lots of features Hot-swap sockets Cons A little pricey Few software options Our Verdict The Alto Keys K98M is a great upgrade for Logitech boards dedicated to quality typing. Thanks to additional features like hot-swap sockets and PBT keycaps, it’s a solid start for those who want to get into mechanical designs. Just wait for a sale. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Logitech Alto Keys K98M Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal Logitech US store $99.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices As a keyboard nut, Logitech frustrates me. It’s by far the most visible manufacturer of mice and keyboards, outside the gaming space. And it makes some good stuff for both of those. But I can’t recommend Logitech’s mechanical keyboards. They’re too expensive for what they offer, and have far too few features, to recommend to anyone over alternatives.  But somebody at Logitech is listening. If not to me specifically, then to the general market that’s gone “meh” at the company’s mechanical offerings as others innovate. Enter the Alto Keys K98M. Gasket mount? What’s that?  This keyboard hits a shocking number of the features I would consider essential once you get above the $100 mark, like hot-swap key switches, triple-device wireless, and PBT keycaps. Already it’s earning more points than the last Logitech mechanical keyboard I reviewed.  And that doesn’t even mention the keyboard’s signature feature, the “UniCusion.” This is Logitech’s answer to a gasket mount, basically a layer of suspended silicone (or something similar) that goes into the plastic frame and underneath the printed circuit board. This is a somewhat unique approach, a sort of blend of a typical gasket mount (which just sandwiches the PCB in between two layers of squishy material) and full internal dampening.  This keyboard hits a shocking number of the features I would consider essential… The result, combined with custom linear switches, is a typing experience that’s surprisingly elevated. It’s both satisfying and soft with a bit of bounce. Don’t get me wrong, this won’t compete with a super-premium keyboard at a much higher price. But it’s definitely the best Logitech mechanical keyboard I’ve ever tested for typing, both in standard “office” flair and on the gaming side. And if you don’t like the switches (which aren’t particularly quiet or clicky), you can swap them out. Any standard MX-style switch will fit. That’s pretty huge for any mechanical keyboard fan (guilty), but it’s a great way to introduce the more general user to the joys of keyboard customization. Ditto for the PBT keycaps, which are also surprisingly good. The only non-standard sizes on this 1800 layout are the right-Shift key and control keys, as well as the 0 on the number pad.  Michael Crider/Foundry Refreshing style  In terms of style, I’m a fan. The indigo and white keycaps on the translucent plastic body, which shows off that gigantic internal gasket, are nice in a sort of faux-retro way. You can also get a dull gray or white option, but seriously, this blue is nice, especially when the internal LEDs are blaring. Speaking of which, the battery lasts about two weeks with maximum brightness, and I’ve seen it go for at least another week in battery-saver mode. That means months and months of battery if you don’t mind turning off the lights. Even the bottom looks nice in that matching off-blue — note the keyboard feet and a little hollow in the case for the USB wireless dongle. Logitech If this keyboard has a glaring downside, it’s software support. Using Logitech’s Options+ manager, you have only a few options. Custom key binds for F4 to F12, plus End, Page Up, and Page Down. Logitech graciously lets you build in ChatGPT commands with the “AI” Prompt Builder. You can set the backlight brightness and duration, and that’s about it.This is a lot fewer options than any gaming keyboard, or any standard keyboard with VIA or similar customization. But that’s okay. It’s a bit annoying that you can’t do more — for example, I’d like to be able to bind macros to the number pad, which I don’t use otherwise — but this is about what you’d expect from any “office” board.  Michael Crider/Foundry And on the subject of gaming: Yeah, you can do it with this keyboard. It’s not ideal, it doesn’t have superhuman polling or anything like that. But even on the relatively slow wireless dongle it’s fine, unless you’re the kind of player who counts I-frames.  Is the Logitech Alto Keys K98M worth it? I’m not going to say that the Alto is an amazing keyboard. It’s pretty good. In terms of value it compares poorly to a lot of other keyboards at about half the price, which might offer all the same bells and whistles, plus RGB lighting and full VIA programming.  Michael Crider/Foundry But Logitech is, as I said earlier, a pretty substantial brand. That comes with confidence, and that’s worth something. If you’re looking to dip a toe into the mechanical keyboard world and you’re feeling anxious about all those scary, complicated terms, this might be a good place to start. Ditto if you’re buying a gift for someone, or looking for a mechanical keyboard that a child can’t damage too badly. Michael Crider/Foundry I’d like this board a lot more if it was $20 less. At $120 it doesn’t look great next to the MX Keys S ($130), though I’d certainly prefer it for extended typing sessions. Fortunately, that seems to be the case! At the time of writing Logitech is selling it at a much more palatable $99.99, and I think it would be safe to assume that price will be found on a pretty regular basis over the next year or so. Read...

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You can often summarize cybersecurity as “same stuff, different day.” Attacks change, but rarely so dramatically you can’t see familiar methodology underneath. The latest example: Bad actors exploiting WhatsApp’s device linking process to infiltrate unsuspecting users’ accounts. As detailed by antivirus software maker Gen Digital, parent company for Norton, Avast, and AVG, this “GhostPairing” campaign relies on duping unsuspecting users into helping hackers login to their WhatsApp account (h/t BleepingComputer). It’s a variation on a phishing attack, and works like this: You receive a WhatsApp message from one of your known contacts. They tell you they’ve found a photo of you online, and include a link. The link preview supposedly shows a Facebook page, but is actually a faked site. When you click on the link, you’re asked to verify your account to see the photo. The fake site then asks for your phone number. Once received, the attacker begins the login process from their side. A real verification code will be sent to your phone. The fake site then asks for this login code. If you input the code, that information is captured and then used to complete the device linking process. Victims that fall prey to this attack will believe they’re verifying the account for Meta’s purposes, but in actuality, they’re going through a legitimate login process. Once hacker has access to your account, they can see all of your existing messages and any new incoming messages. They can also send messages on your behalf to contacts to further the cycle of snooping on others for sensitive data. An example of the fake Facebook login verification screen, taken by Gen Digital.Gen Digital Fortunately, this type of attack isn’t new, which means you can more easily recognize it. First, it relies on unquestioning faith in your contacts—that you trust they would only ever send you uncompromised links. Second, it follows a similar pattern as more typical phishing attempts. You click on a fraudulent link, then input necessary login information on a fake (but convincingly real) site. Those credentials get captured and used by the attacker. The main difference here is that instead of recording your password (which can then be used for later credential stuffing attacks) and stealing two-factor authentication codes, this malicious campaign adapts to WhatsApp’s login method. Third, it tells on itself through odd behavior. In a normal scenario, you would not verify your access to Facebook content with your WhatsApp login details. The attacker is hoping you’re not paying too close attention to what’s happening! To avoid getting tripped up by this dirty trick, be mistrusting. Don’t interact with the link. Instead, if it’s someone you know, contact them through a different method, like a phone call or different messaging app, and ask what’s up. (Pun mildly intended.) If you don’t know them well, ignore the message. And in general, don’t share login codes with sites until you’ve verified the site is actually official. If you’re worried that someone might have access to your WhatsApp account, you can check to see what phones, tablets, and/or PCs are connected by heading to Settings > Linked Devices. You can also perform a similar check for many major services, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and more. I always recommend taking a peek every so often, just to make sure you’re locked down and safe. Read...