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Zoom app download scam. Nasty Zoom scams on the rise that can steal your account and fill your PC with malware
As coronavirus continues disrupting daily life, more people are turning to video conferencing services like Zoom to work from home and socialize while maintaining physical distance. With a rapidly expanding base of new and inexperienced users, Zoom is fast becoming a popular target for hackers and phishing expeditions.
As a result, users should familiarize themselves with common signs of scams and learn to take advantage of the platform's built-in security features. Zoom's popularity may be reaching new heights, but the service has been around since , debuting on the stock market last year and more than doubling its value since.
Intuitive in function and streamlined in appearance, Zoom has overtaken old standards like Skype and Microsoft Teams as many users' go-to option for video conferencing. Popular as it is, Zoom can still leave users vulnerable to exploitation.
With everyone from governments to businesses to schools now utilizing the service, users should remain vigilant against attacks. According to cyber security provider Check Point , over 1, new domains featuring "Zoom" have been opened since the start of , with over a quarter of those popping up since the pandemic began impacting the United States.
Many of these new domains have been found to contain suspicious characteristics, suggesting they could be used to lure unsuspecting users into a scam. In addition, malicious files with "Zoom" prominently featured in their name are proliferating, which could lead users thinking they're installing Zoom's official software instead of malware.
Some of these files have been confirmed to contain InstallCore, a platform that allows for remote installation of other potentially unwanted applications.
There are simple ways to try and stay safe while using Zoom, and many of the easiest methods are general safety tips that ought to be observed for all online activity. For example, watch out for invites from unknown senders - with office meetings and classes being held remotely, it's important to make sure the organizer is someone known and trusted. Don't click on any links to meetings provided in the body of an email, to avoid being unwittingly redirected to a scam site - enter the URL manually, along with the password if one is provided , and be sure to keep Zoom and any antivirus software up to date.
Within Zoom itself, there are multiple steps that can be taken to help secure meetings. Set and use a password - hackers have been known to guess the random numbers used to allocate Zoom's chat rooms and, without a password, can waltz right in. As the meeting's host, consider setting Zoom's host controls so only you can share images and screens with others - without host controls in place, anyone in a meeting can share any image they want, including ones they shouldn't.
Meetings can be password-protected and locked so that, after a set time, no new users can join. File sharing can also be turned off, to prevent attendees from offering unsolicited files and images - as can annotations, to keep people from scribbling on any images shared by the host.
There's even a waiting room feature, which allows the host to make sure everyone signed in to attend a meeting ought to be there. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, hackers will hack though some have sworn off taking action against essential institutions and trolls will troll. Crashing Zoom meetings has become a common-enough idea to have developed its own name - Zoombombing. With coronavirus still on the rise in many locations and physical distancing orders upending life for the foreseeable future, Zoom will no doubt continue to see heavy use.
Learning how to safely utilize Zoom in the coronavirus era could save time, headaches, and embarrassment in the future. Source: Check Point. Collin Armstrong has worked in and around television and film since He's written, sold, and optioned multiple scripts, served as a researcher and consulting producer on documentaries, worked in scripted and unscripted TV development, and story produced in unscripted TV.
He lives with his family in Los Angeles, California, and is probably sitting in traffic right now. By Collin Armstrong Published Mar 31, Share Share Tweet Email 0. Related Topics Tech zoom coronavirus. Collin Armstrong 9 Articles Published Collin Armstrong has worked in and around television and film since
Zoom scam alert: Never click on this kind of invite.
- Zoom app download scam
Do you use Zoom? Sure you do. When the pandemic hit North America and Europe in March , seemingly everyone who had to start working, going to school or even socializing from home started using the videoconferencing service. Boy were there growing pains though.
Zoom went from 10 million daily users in December to million daily users in April Its security and privacy practices came under sharp scrutiny — and experts didn't like what they found. Zoom's end-to-end encryption wasn't quite end-to-end. Other Zoom meeting attendees could see a lot about you. Pranksters and bored teenagers could — and sometimes still — "Zoom bomb" public meetings with shocking or rude content.
Zoom's privacy policies also seemed to give the company the right to do whatever it wanted with users' personal data. Most of those flaws have been fixed or otherwise mitigated since the spring of , but newer issues crop up occasionally. We've got a running list of what's gone wrong with Zoom, what's been fixed and what's still an open issue — after we give you a few tips on how to make Zoom safer to use.
With all these issues, people have been looking for alternatives to Zoom , so check out our Skype vs Zoom face-off to see how an old video app has adapted for video conferencing.
We've also compared Zoom vs Google Hangouts as well, and even have a rundown of the best free Zoom backgrounds. Unless you're discussing state secrets or personal health information, Zoom should be fine to use. It's easy to set up , easy to use and lets up to people join a meeting for free.
It just works. For school classes, after-work get-togethers, or even workplace meetings that stick to routine business, there's not much risk in using Zoom. Kids will probably continue to flock to it, as they can even use Snapchat filters on Zoom. The web browser version gets security enhancements faster and "sits in a sandbox" to limit security problems, notes antivirus company Kaspersky opens in new tab.
When you click a link to join a meeting, your browser will open a new tab and prompt you to use or install the Zoom desktop software. But there's a smaller link to "join from your browser. That will make Zoom-bombing much less likely. We've put the most recent Zoom issues up top and separated older problems into those that are unresolved, those that have been fixed and those that don't fit into either category. A security researcher from Google's Project Zero discovered a security flaw in which the Zoom Client for Meetings and Zoom Rooms for Conference Room software fail to properly check the installation version during the update process.
As Zoom's server and its client server use different XML parsing libraries, a hacker could send a specific message to force the target client to download an older version of Zoom to launch attacks using vulnerabilities that have since been patched. This security flaw was patched with the release of Zoom version 5.
Updating to the latest version of the videoconferencing software will protect you from any attacks exploiting this flaw. Following reports from multiple Mac users who said their microphones stayed on even after Zoom meetings had ended , Zoom pushed out a patch that was supposed to fix the problem.
It didn't quite work. Another patch a month later finally did turn the microphones off. Make sure your Zoom desktop client on Mac is updated to version 5. You may have to install the update "manually" by downloading it directly from the Zoom website opens in new tab. Zoom's client software for Windows and Mac personal use now lets you enable automatic updates opens in new tab , which means you'll get all the latest crucial security fixes as soon as they come.
Even better, the new feature lets you choose a "fast" or "slow" lane for less urgent updates, meaning that you can choose whether to get all the latest features and risk a little instability, or to proceed at a steady pace with maximum reliability. Automatic updates will probably be enabled by default soon for all new and existing users. As a result of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit relating to some of the privacy and security issues detailed earlier on this page, anyone who used Zoom between March 30, and July 30, is entitled to a cash payout.
It might not be a lot of money per person. To file a claim, read the fine print at ZoomMeetingClassAction. Tom's Guide cannot guarantee that you will get anything. Zoom has patched three serious flaws in some of its enterprise video-conferencing software, the worst of which could have let an attacker penetrate a company's internal server system. The following enterprise Zoom applications are vulnerable and must be updated, per a report from Positive Technologies opens in new tab : Meeting Connector Controller up to version 4.
Regarding consumer software, Zoom has fixed a security flaw in Zoom Client for Meetings for Windows, which needs to be updated to version 5. That's according to the Zoom Security Bulletin opens in new tab page. Zoom announced that beginning Nov. Anyone running software older than that will be prompted to update their software. This affects all Zoom software running on all supported platforms except for Zoom Room Controller software, at least for now.
Zoom disclosed several security issues opens in new tab that had been fixed in later versions of Zoom's desktop clients and plug-ins for Microsoft Outlook for both Windows and macOS. The flaws ranged in severity from low to high, with some allowing remote code execution — i.
All were patched by at least Zoom Client for Meetings 5. Zoom announced that it planned to roll out end-to-end encryption opens in new tab to Zoom Phone opens in new tab , its paid cloud calling service for Pro, Business or Enterprise accounts.
The end-to-end encryption will be an option for one-to-one Zoom Phone calls. Zoom announced via its Zoom Security Bulletin opens in new tab that the remote-hacking flaw demonstrated at the Pwn2Own competition in April had been fixed. Zoom reached a tentative settlement in a federal class-action lawsuit that alleged the company skimped on security, misled users and shared user personal data with third parties without notification or consent.
Enterprise and government Zoom account holders are not part of this litigation. Known class members will be notified by email or regular mail that they can file a claim, and others will be able to use the website www. Zoom has released a " simpler, clearer opens in new tab " privacy policy that reflects the fact that the online meeting service has "shifted from a primarily enterprise-focused product to one that is also used broadly by individuals" during the COVID pandemic.
The updated privacy policy includes more details about who can "see, save and share" Zoom meeting content, and the kinds of data that Zoom collects from users' devices. You can read the full updated Zoom privacy "statement" here opens in new tab. In a blog post, Zoom announced that it had added privacy notifications opens in new tab to the latest version of its desktop client software.
The notifications appear in the in-meeting chat window as a button labeled "Who can see your messages? It added that future updates would include notifications when a meeting host or participant uses a Zoom transcription or scheduling app during a meeting. Two researchers demonstrated at the Pwn2Own contest that they could remotely take over Windows PCs and Macs by using at least one previously unknown vulnerability in the Zoom desktop application.
Fortunately, the only people who fully understand how this exploit works are the two researchers and Zoom itself, which is working on a fix.
The chances of this attack being used "in the wild" are low, but if you're concerned, use the Zoom browser interface instead during meetings until this is fixed. Zoom lets meeting participants share all of their computer screens, part of their screens, or just specific application windows with other people in the same meeting.
Two German researchers discovered that for a brief moment, the entire screen may be visible even when the Zoom user sharing the screen intends only part of the screen to be.
Any participants recording the meeting would be able to freeze frames during playback and view potentially sensitive information. Zoom said it was working to fix the issue, but at the time of this writing, the flaw was still present in the latest version of the Zoom desktop client software for at least Windows and Linux. Keybase, an encrypted social-media verification system and chat app bought by Zoom in May , had a serious flaw opens in new tab that preserved images in online directories even after the user had deleted them.
The flaw was reported to Zoom in early January , and a Keybase software update to fix the flaw was released later that month. A new study conducted by researchers at Boston University and Binghamton University found that efforts to stop "Zoom bombing," such as requiring passwords or making attendees stew in "waiting rooms," often won't work.
That's because many attacks are carried out by "insiders" who are already authorized to be in the meetings. The "only effective defense" against such insider attacks, the paper argues, is to create "unique join links for each participant. Plagued by an epidemic of Zoom-bombing during city-assembly meetings, the city of Juneau, Alaska is exploring ways to outlaw the practice. Police in Alaska's capital have had a hard time tracking down the Zoom bombers. The city hopes that by making the practice illegal, it can compel Zoom to turn over information identifying the digital miscreants.
In a bombshell announcement, the U. Department of Justice opens in new tab said it had issued an arrest warrant for former Zoom executive Jin Xinjiang, aka Julien Jin, who until recently had served as the liaison between Zoom and the Chinese government.
The U. Jin is thought to be residing in China. Jin allegedly had help from unnamed co-conspirators who created fake email accounts and Zoom accounts in the names of known Chinese dissidents "to fabricate evidence that the hosts of and participants in the meetings to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre were supporting terrorist organizations, inciting violence or distributing child pornography.
The Dept. The DoJ announcement and arrest warrant opens in new tab refer only to an unnamed "Company-1" as Jin's employer, but in a blog post, Zoom admitted that it was the company opens in new tab and that it had been conducting its own investigation after it received a subpoena from the U.
The post further explained that Jin had been hired by Zoom in October as part of an agreement with the Chinese government, which in September had "turned off our service in China without warning. The price of getting Zoom turned back on in China was to hire "an in-house contact for law enforcement requests" — i. Zoom service was restored in China in November , and the Dept.
Zoom admitted that Jin "shared or directed the sharing of a limited amount of individual user data with Chinese authorities," and that the information of "fewer than ten The Better Business Bureau opens in new tab is warning Zoom users that scammers are trying to steal their usernames and passwords via phishing emails and text messages, reports Threatpost opens in new tab.
The messages tell you that "your Zoom account has been suspended" or that "you missed a meeting," and offer a helpful link to log back in. But don't fall for the bait -- the login page is really a trap to capture your Zoom user credentials, with which the crooks can use or even steal your Zoom account. One of the biggest problems with Zoom has been "Zoom bombing," in which uninvited participants crash a Zoom meeting and disrupt it.
Over the weekend, Zoom released two new features to combat this. One, "Suspend Participant Activities," lets the meeting host pause the meeting, kick out disruptive participants, and then resume the meeting. The other, "Report by Participants," extends to meeting participants the ability to report disruptive participants, a remedy that previously had been given only to meeting hosts. The Federal Trade Commission announced that Zoom "misled users" and "engaged in a series of deceptive and unfair practices" regarding its own security.
The FTC cited the fake end-to-end encryption uncovered in March and software that Zoom installed on Macs without authorization in and Zoom must agree to yearly internal security reviews and external security reviews every other year and must implement a vulnerability-management program. Another stipulation was that Zoom offer customers multi-factor authentication , which it has already implemented.
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