Team News

Skype – once the dominant video calling service – has announced that it will shut down for good.

The service boasted more than 300 million users at its peak, but the most recent figures Microsoft shared were in 2023, when it said it had more than 36 million users, writes skynews,As of May of this year, Skype will be completely shut down.

Microsoft said: “In order to simplify our free customer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to their needs, we will retire Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub.”

“We look forward to continuing to power people’s everyday connections by making it easy to sign in to Teams with their Skype account,” the statement added.

The UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into tech giant Google. The company is being investigated for whether it has too much power in online search.

Google accounts for 90% of online searches in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority is looking into whether it is using its dominant position to harm competition or user choice.

This is the first investigation into the tech giant after it gained new powers to investigate and enforce changes to firms it determines have strategic status in digital markets.

The Competition and Markets Authority has told foreign media that Google is being investigated mostly for whether it is delivering good results.

The technology company says it is willing to cooperate with the regulatory authorities, but on the other hand says that there should be a limit to all this.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced its investigation into Google’s search and advertising practices, following a new digital competition law that came into force in January. The investigation will run for nine months and will look at whether Google is using its dominant position to block rivals, thereby distorting the free market. It is also investigating whether it is using its users’ data without their consent or approval.

Apple is teasing a mysterious announcement it will make during the first weekend of 2025, January 4 and January 5. The tech giant has run an ad campaign showing scenes from various Apple TV+ shows with the “See for yourself” label superimposed on the image.

But despite the promotions, it’s not clear exactly what Apple plans to announce next week, according to the news. With Apple using the “See for yourself” tag, some believe the company will let everyone watch Apple TV+ for free during the first weekend of the new year.

In 2020, Apple allowed anyone to watch certain Apple TV+ content for free over a limited period of time.

Researchers at Cleafy have discovered a new Android banking trojan called “DroidBot” that steals login information for more than 77 cryptocurrency exchanges and banking apps.

DroidBot has been active since June 2024 as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) platform. Criminals who want to use DroidBot pay a monthly subscription fee of $3,000.

So far, 17 groups have been identified that used malware for attacks with the help of malware creators. Malware infections have been detected across the UK, Italy, France, Turkey and Germany, but Cleafy warns that there are indications of attempts to spread the malware to new regions.

The developers of DroidBot are most likely Turkish, who provide collaborators with all the necessary tools to carry out attacks. This includes the malware itself, command and control (C2) servers, and a central administrative panel from which they can control their operations, retrieve stolen data, and issue commands.

Malware can record the victim’s keystrokes, display fake login pages through banking application interfaces, intercept SMS messages, especially those containing one-time passwords (OTPs) for banking applications, allow attackers to remotely view and control infected device, execute commands and dim the screen to hide the malicious activity.

DroidBot uses Android access services to track what the victim is doing on the device and simulates swiping and tapping movements.

Among the 77 apps that DroidBot is trying to steal passwords for are Binance, KuCoin, BBVA, Unicredit, Santander, Metamask, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Kraken and Garanti BBVA.

Android users are advised to download apps only from Google Play, review permission requests after installation and check if Play Protect is active on their devices.

iPhone users are being warned about a new identity theft scam that can permanently lock your Apple ID account.

Cybercriminals are sending fake emails to billions of iPhone users, pretending the emails are from Apple.

These emails appear to have been sent by Apple Support, stating that the victim’s account has been suspended and calling for a “prompt response” to the victim.

However, it redirects users to a fake page that can steal their login details and two-factor authentication codes.

The fake emails tell users to click on a link to verify their account, redirecting them to another page that steals their information such as username and password, as well as 2F authentication information.

Once hackers get the credentials, they can immediately access user accounts and digital wallets, and worst of all, the urgency mentioned in the email will trick users into quickly clicking the link without thinking.

The email states that the user has only 24 hours to verify their Apple ID “or it will be blocked forever”.

“Apple will never ask you to sign in to any website or select ‘Accept’ in a 2F authentication dialog. You won’t even have to enter your password, device passcode, or 2F code anywhere,” Apple said.To appear credible, hackers often mention your personal information such as your name or phone number.