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Microsoft patches security flaw that let North Korea target researchers

Microsoft has finally patched the Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerability that was exploited by a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group to break into the workstations of researchers from around the world.

The spate of attacks, notorious for their use of elaborate deceptions, against security researchers were reported earlier this year in January by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG).

Last month, security researchers from South Korean security firm ENKI had identified a zero-day vulnerability in IE that the attackers were looking to exploit. Microsoft has finally put out a patch to plug the hole.

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Vulnerability patched

Google’s TAG researchers disclosed details about the South Korean hacking campaign noting that the threat actors employed various means, such as creating elaborate fake personas to engage with the researchers.

Security researchers at ENKI were also targeted. However, not only were they able to see through the deception, but also used their domain expertise to zero in on the particular vulnerability that the attackers were hoping to exploit in their bid to gain access to the data on the researchers’ computers.

After discovering the previously undisclosed IE vulnerability, ENKI shared their findings with Microsoft. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-26411 and rated critical since it was easy to exploit, has finally been patched.

Note that while the vulnerability was exploited in IE, Microsoft says it also affects its newer Edge browser.

We've also highlighted the best antivirus solutions

Via: Ars Technica

Date

10 Mar 2021

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Dell Presidents' Day sale: huge deals on the XPS 13, Inspiron, Alienware, and more
The 2022 Dell Presidents' Day sale is live, which means you can score massive savings on Dell's best-selling laptops, including the XPS 13, Inspiron, Alienware, and more. Our Dell's Presidents' Day sales guide is scouring through the site to bring you today's very best deals just below.

Our favorite Presidents' Day bargain is Dell's powerful XPS 13 laptop on sale for just $685.99 (was $949.99). That's a massive $264 discount and a fantastic price for the versatile 13-inch laptop. The Dell XPS 13 laptop features a 13.3-inch InfinityEdge non-touch display and packs 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and an 11th generation intel core i5-1135G7 processor. The lightweight XPS 13 is Dell's smallest 13-inch laptop to date and weighs just 2.7 pounds, and packs an impressive 19 hours of battery life.

You'll find more of today's best deals from Dell's Presidents' Day sale below, with prices starting at just $139.99. If you're interested in more bargains, you can see our main Presidents' Day sales guide with offers from Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and more.
- See more deals at Dell's Presidents' Day sale
Dell Presidents' Day sale: XPS 13 laptop

Dell XPS 13, Intel Core i5: ~~$949.99~~ $685.99 at Dell
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More deals at Dell's Presidents' Day sale

Dell SE2422H 24-inch Monitor: ~~$219.99~~ $139.99 at Dell
Save $80 - A great option for anyone working with a small space, Dell's Presidents' Day sale has this 24-inch monitor on sale for just $139.99. That's a fantastic price for a compact monitor that features a 23.8-inch Full HD display and a 75Hz refresh rate.

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop (128GB): ~~$518.99~~ $299.99 at Dell
Save $219 - This Dell Inspiron laptop deal offers an Intel i3 processor, 4GB RAM, and 128GB SSD, an excellent value for under $300. The Inspiron 3000 is perfect for everyday browsing and streaming on a full 15.6-inch screen without breaking the bank.

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Save $194.99 – There's a massive $200 off this powerful and excellent value Dell laptop deal this week. It's a limited-time deal, though, so it's one you'll want to grab sooner rather than later. This solid all-purpose device features an Intel i3 processor, 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. That amount of RAM is terrific at this price, giving you a big boost to the laptop's performance that will make it so much easier when doing general home or work tasks.

Dell Inspiron 15 laptop: ~~$868.99~~ $629.99 at Dell
Save $189 – Here's a big saving of $189 on an Inspiron 15 laptop from Dell's Presidents' Day sale. This one comes with a huge 16GB of RAM - some may say overkill, but it's always a worthwhile performance upgrade. An i5 processor and 256GB round out a solid spec for this high-end laptop deal.

Dell XPS 13 laptop, Intel Core i7: ~~$1,299.99~~ $999.99 at Dell
Save $300 - This $300 saving at Dell's Presidents' Day sale brings this Core i5, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM XPS 13 model down to $999.99. It's still pricey, but if you're looking for a superb premium ultrabook then you won't find a better buy.

G15 Gaming Laptop: ~~$1,218.99~~ $849.99 at Dell
Save $369 - If you're looking for a gaming laptop in today's Presidents' Day deals, Dell has the powerful G15 on sale for $849.99 thanks to today's massive $369 discount. This 15.6-inch machine packs 8GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD, Nvidia's GeForce RTX graphics, and a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 processor.

Alienware m15 R6 Gaming Laptop: ~~$1,399.99~~ $1,099.99 at Dell
Save $300 - Gamers can score a massive $300 price cut on the Alienware m15 R6 laptop at Dell's Presidents' Day sale. This powerful machine boasts 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX graphics, and an 11th Generation Intel Core i7 11800H processor.

See more laptop sales with the best cheap laptop deals and today's best Dell XPS 13 and 15 deals and prices.

You can also see our guide to this year's best Presidents' Day laptop sales.
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Are we all just ignoring that LG's releasing an album with a virtual influencer?
I was live-blogging LG's CES 2022 keynote today, and there was a lot of stuff to unpack. A new concept car, random robots and a huge 97-inch TV... but something stuck around in the back of my head, niggling away.

'Wait... did LG just announce its virtual influencer was going to release a music album this year...?' came the fully-formed thought a few hours later.

And now, while I need desperately to go to bed, I've confirmed that yes, indeed - that is happening. Reah Keem, the digital character LG unveiled as a 'virtual influencer' at CES 2021, is indeed going to be unveiling her first album in 2022:

"Reah attended last year's CES as our virtual influencer, but this year, she's collaborating with Mystic Story as an artist. She's composing her own songs now, so keep an eye out for her first debut album, which will release later this year," said an LG spokesperson.

That Mystic Story is a South Korean record and entertainment label, and it'll be the thing that helps Reah live her dream... or whatever virtual influencers have as dreams.

Oh no, here comes a rabbit hole

Suddenly, an hour later and well after I'm supposed to be clocking off, I'm lost in a world of virtual influencers, my mind blowing further with every click.

It starts with Reah Keem's Instagram account, learning she has nearly 14,000 followers. Not a lot by Insta standards, but it feels like a lot for something that's ficitious.

She's been spending a lot of time trying to 'find her voice', which includes the delightful hashtag #pissedoffatdeveloper, and a recent post 'unveiled' it.

A post shared by Reah Keem (@reahkeem)

A photo posted by on

So the start of her music career began with coding her a voice - I guess that's a necessary step, right?

Then comes the dawning understanding that this is the tip of the iceberg, and Reah is far from the first virtual influencer, and we're far from being able to tell real from digitally-created humans.

Some have been created to masquerade as real initially, such as Shudu Gram, before being outed as a virtual creation. However, this fictitious star has appeared in the Korean version of Vogue with Rozy Oh, another virtual influencer from South Korea with 112,000 followers.

A post shared by Miquela (@lilmiquela)

A photo posted by on

But I've realized the point at which I must exit this rabbit hole, and shelve this notion for another day and feature (as I have a team to lead covering the whole of CES), is when I look into Miquela, AKA LilMiquela, who has amassed 3,100,000 followers and can reportedly charge $8,000 for a single Insta post - and is on course to rack up $10,000,000 in a year for her 'makers', Los Angeles-based startup Brud.

So while the idea that LG is making a music album with a completely made-up person was something ludicrous and inexplicable just a few hours ago... I'm now left feeling that the brand kicked its heels too long - why has it taken all this time to get Reah a music deal, folks?
- LG also unveiled a weird car, and Reah is driving it
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AMD to release BIOS update to finally fix Ryzen 5000 issues

AGESA 1.2.0.0 update will fix issues plaguing Ryzen 5000 owners and include some optimization for GeForce RTX 30 series.
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This devious Mac malware has developers in its crosshairs

Mac malware has learnt new tricks to keep security researchers on their toes.
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