|
 I've played a couple of hours of Forza Horizon 6, and so far I've enjoyed it in much the same way as its predecessor: by exploring and taking in the sumptuous world Playground Games has crafted. The preview build I played on my Xbox Series X was limited in terms of available activities — it was basically the game's prologue — but I was able to explore almost all of the open world.
The on-rails intro takes you through some of the Japanese countryside and past landmarks like Tokyo Tower and Shibuya Crossing on the way to a race through the streets of the country's largest city. Once that was out of the way and a springtime version of the map opened up, I set a marker for the mountains in the north. I wanted to check out an area I'd seen in a screenshot, a pass where you can drive through snowdrifts that are dozens of feet tall.
Playground Games/Xbox Game StudiosMy goal was simple: to bury my car into these snowdrifts, just to find out if it was possible. Sadly, the piles of snow were steadfast barriers. What a shame.
The journey to the mountains took me through rainstorms and falling cherry blossom leaves, small towns and forests. The environments, vehicles and weather effects all look pretty and polished, as you'd expect from this series at this point. (For what it's worth, I normally opt for performance mode in modern console games, prioritizing higher framerates over visual fidelity. This Forza Horizon 6 pr
|
|
But now there's a real threat. A new malware called Stealerium apparently knows when you're viewing pornographic material in your browser and automatically takes snapshots of what you're viewing and webcam photos of you in that moment. The malware then sends those recordings to cybercriminals who use them for blackmail.
Security researchers at Proofpoint have analyzed the malware and warn of a new escalation level in these so-called "sextortion attacks."
How Stealerium gets onto your PC
The Stealerium malware is spread via phishing emails that look deceptively genuine. The attackers disguise their emails as messages from reputable organizations (e.g., banks, streaming services, charities) and encourage recipients to open attachments or click on links.
These phishing emails take the usual scare tactics, generating a sense of urgency with subject lines "Payment Due," "Court Summons," and "Donation Invoice." When you open said emails, the hope is you're so alarmed that you've let down your guard, making it more likely that you'll download attachments and/or click malicious links and buttons.
What makes Stealerium even more worrying is that its source code has been freely available
|
|
