We often think of malware as a problem for our computers and perhaps our smartphones. But bad guys love to hack our home routers and IoT devices, as well. Thankfully, purging malware from those types of devices can usually be done just by rebooting them. (There’s a reason tech support always asks you to try turning your device off and back on again.) I’ll explain why this works and what you should do to protect your connected devices.

In other news: I explain why most people are not in danger of their devices blowing up; a new Windows phishing campaign uses fake CAPTCHAs and PowerShell; LinkedIn started training their AI on your data before telling you how to opt out; Oracle’s CEO touts his vision of ubiquitous AI surveillance; Ford seeks a patent to show you ads in your vehicle based on your conversations and other private data; Meta admits to scraping public Instagram and Facebook posts to train its AI; four great new iOS 18 privacy and security features; Apple Intelligence servers are very basic, for a reason; and the FBI shuts down a massive Chinese botnet.

Article Links

1. [WIRED] Your Phone Won’t Be the Next Exploding Pager https://www.wired.com/story/exploding-pagers-hezbollah-phones/


2. [briankrebs] This Windows PowerShell Phish Has Scary Potential https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/this-windows-powershell-phish-has-scary-potential/


3. [404media.co] LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service https://www.404media.co/linkedin-is-training-ai-on-user-data-before-updating-its-terms-of-service/


4. [theregister.com] Ellison declares Oracle ‘all in’ on AI mass surveillance https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/16/oracle_ai_mass_surveillance_cloud/


5. [therecord.media] Ford seeks patent for tech that listens to driver conversations to serve ads https://therecord.media/ford-patent-application-in-vehicle-listening-advertising


6. [9to5Mac] Meta scraped all public Facebook and Instagram posts since 2007 for AI training https://9to5mac.com/2024/09/11/meta-scraped-all-public-facebook-and-instagram-posts-since-2007-for-ai-training/


7. [TechRadar] I’m a privacy expert—here are the 4 iOS 18 features I’m excited about https://www.techradar.com/phones/im-a-privacy-experthere-are-the-4-ios-18-features-im-excited-about


8. [9to5Mac] Apple Intelligence servers are really basic, says Craig Federighi – and that’s deliberate https://9to5mac.com/2024/09/12/apple-intelligence-servers-are-really-basic-says-craig-federighi-and-thats-deliberate/


9. [Gizmodo] FBI Shuts Down Botnet Run by Beijing-Backed Hackers That Hijacked Over 200,000 Devices https://gizmodo.com/fbi-shuts-down-botnet-run-by-beijing-backed-hackers-that-hijacked-over-200000-devices-2000500627


10. Tip of the Week: Malware Reboot Remedy

Further Info

• Awareness Campaign Phase 2!: https://fdsd.me/awareness2 


• LinkedIn privacy settings: https://www.linkedin.com/mypreferences/d/categories/privacy 


• Test your ad blocker(s): https://d3ward.github.io/toolz/adblock.html 


• Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 


• Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 


• Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 


• Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 


• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 


• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 


• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 


• Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

• 0:00:31 : Update Apple devices


• 0:01:36 : Awareness Campaign teaser


• 0:02:04 : News rundown


• 0:04:08 : Your Phone Won’t Be the Next Exploding Pager


• 0:08:00 : This Windows PowerShell Phish Has Scary Potential


• 0:12:34 : LinkedIn Trains AI on Your Data Before Updating Its ToS


• 0:16:41 : Ellison declares Oracle ‘all in’ on AI mass surveillance


• 0:20:15 : Ford seeks patent for tech that listens to driver conversations to serve ads


• 0:26:32 : Meta scraped all public Facebook and Instagram posts since 2007 for AI training


• 0:30:29 : I’m a privacy expert—here are the 4 iOS 18 features I’m excited about


• 0:35:55 : Apple Intelligence servers are really basic – and that’s deliberate


• 0:40:57 : FBI Shuts Down Botnet Run by Beijing-Backed Hackers


• 0:45:02 : Tip of the Week: Malware Reboot Remedy


• 0:54:29 : Ad Block Tester


• 0:55:43 : Awareness Campaign, Phase 2!


• 1:01:44 : Looking ahead