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CyberLink Releases Significant Updates to its Director Family, Including the New PhotoDirector 365 for macOS with Shutterstock Integration for Royalty-Free Premium Content

macOS users can now choose the all-inclusive PhotoDirector 365, that comes loaded with exciting tools, features and add-ons offered with their subscription, including royalty-free, professional-grade photos, video and audio with new Shutterstock integration

Taipei, Taiwan—March 30, 2021—CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW) today announced the first macOS release of PhotoDirector 365, CyberLink’s flagship subscription photo editing software for content creators, enthusiasts, and professional users. With the addition of PhotoDirector 365 Mac, CyberLink is now the only brand in the industry offering software support for its flagship video and photo editing solutions across all platforms and operating systems. CyberLink customers now have access to both PowerDirector and PhotoDirector value-loaded subscription versions on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Chromebook.

The new PhotoDirector 365 Mac comes with free and unlimited access to an extensive, royalty-free library of premium content from market leader Shutterstock. This service is integrated into the software’s content library, bringing an invaluable resource to users’ fingertips. This new release from CyberLink also adds the Shutterstock library to PowerDirector 365 Mac, completing availability across all the Director 365 offerings, and included at no extra cost with the subscription. For the first time, all 365 users can leverage hundreds of thousands of professional-grade photos, videos and audio clips for consumer and commercial use.

 

Beyond the introduction of PhotoDirector 365 Mac, CyberLink’s update comes with several new features and add-ons, together with noticeable user interface enhancements across all its Director 365 creative software offerings, on all platforms, while maintaining its highly competitive and flexible pricing options:

 

PhotoDirector 365 for Mac features a new Shutterstock integration, and both PC and Mac versions come with new photo editing capabilities, including:

  • Auto color enhancement
  • Bokeh effect
  • Salient object segmentation

PowerDirector 365 for Mac features a new Shutterstock integration, App Store support, as well as new video and audio editing capabilities, including:

  • Preview cache engine
  • Volume (dB) meter for mixed main timeline (2ch and 5.1ch)
  • Title in-place edit and title mini editor
  • Mask position, scale, opacity, and rotation with keyframes
  • Video and audio in reverse
  • Motion graphics title (v2)
  • Particle designer (express mode)
  • Audio editor (pitch shift, vocal transformer, radio, phone)

PowerDirector 365 for PC features new video editing capabilities, including:

  • CLUT strength adjustment
  • Video production with selected range of timeline
  • New color picker and dropper
  • Motion graphics title support for parameter grouping
  • One scene template support (PowerDirector 365 Business only)
  • Overall UX improvements

“Accessibility across all platforms has become a core principle at CyberLink, and our expanding collaboration with Apple now makes the award-winning PhotoDirector 365 software available to macOS users,” said Dr. Jau Huang, CEO of CyberLink. “Never before has a brand and consistent offering of photo and video editing software been made available across all platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Chromebook. Today’s release highlights our mission to deliver creative software that is intuitive to users of all skill levels, from occasional enthusiasts to professional creators, with a rich and constantly improving set of features, tools and add-ons optimized to fully support their creative potential.”

 

Product Availability
The above products are available online at the CyberLink online store and in selected retail outlets worldwide in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese and Korean.

Download the PhotoDirector app today on the App Store or Google Play.

Download the PowerDirector app today on the App Store or Google Play.

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About CyberLink
Founded in 1996, CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW) is the world leader in multimedia software and AI facial recognition technology. CyberLink addresses the demands of consumer, commercial and education markets through a wide range of solutions, covering digital content creation, multimedia playback, video conferencing, live casting, mobile applications and AI facial recognition.  CyberLink has shipped several hundred million copies of its multimedia software and apps, including the award-winning PowerDirector, PhotoDirector, and PowerDVD.  With years of research in the fields of artificial intelligence and facial recognition, CyberLink has developed the FaceMe® Facial Recognition Engine. Powered by deep learning algorithms, FaceMe® delivers the reliable, high-precision, and real-time facial recognition that is critical to AIoT applications such as smart retail, smart security, and surveillance, smart city and smart home. For more information about CyberLink, please visit the official website at www.cyberlink.com

Microsoft Exchange exploits – step one in ransomware chain

Once attackers gain a foothold on web servers, there are all manner of nasty tricks and malware they can leverage immediately or put into play later – like ransomware. Since the research blogpost – Exchange servers under siege from at least 10 APT groups – ESET has been busy looking at the attack trends that have emerged post exploitation. In this piece, we’d like to specifically provide you with a quick update on the CVE-2021-26855 exploit chain affecting Microsoft Exchange, which includes the CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858, and CVE-2021-27065 vulnerabilities. ESET currently detects the following mechanisms used by Hafnium, LuckyMouse and other groups to compromise Microsoft Exchange servers:
Exploit Name Date Added (YYYY-MM-DD) Detection Update
JS/Exploit.CVE-2021-26855.Webshell.A 2021-03-03 22905
JS/Exploit.CVE-2021-26855.Webshell.B 2020-03-05 22917
JS/Exploit.CVE-2021-26855.Webshell.C 2021-03-09 22939
JS/Exploit.CVE-2021-26855.Webshell.D 2021-03-11 22948
ASP/Webshell.BQ 2021-03-09 22938
ASP/ReGeorg.B 2021-03-03 22902
In light of recent Microsoft Exchange exploits after the vulnerability disclosure and patch release, and after combing through our own data, we now wonder how many organizations have already been probed and infiltrated for future attacks, such as by ransomware. Image 1. ESET detections of Microsoft Exchange server attack attempts The calculus for attackers is simple: Get a foothold on a Microsoft Exchange server, which gives you very privileged access to a company – possibly admin rights – and then plan your upcoming attack. To counter these sorts of scenarios, the recommended first step after applying patches is to perform an investigation and search for compromise remnants and malware or malware traces. Companies using endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, such as ESET Enterprise Inspector, will be able to this with measurably better effect. ESET has pursued mitigation strategies on multiple fronts with researchers and even corporate officers getting in on the act. ESET Netherlands CTO Donny Maasland has also contributed to the effort, creating a custom set of rules for ESET Enterprise Inspector that can be used to detect CVE-2021-26855 exploitation. The rules fall into two classes:
  • A set of rules dealing with network (URL) connections. These rules detect the actual server-side request forgery (SSRF) exploit that targets Microsoft Exchange’s code and are payload independent.
  • A rule that checks the IIS process when writing .aspx files to disk. The rules referenced above are configured for ESET Enterprise Inspector, however, it should be possible to adapt them for other EDR platforms.
Download rules now These are certainly interesting times we live in, when CTOs join researchers and security operations center teams in demonstrating use cases for EDR. However, the frenzy of malicious activity wrought by Exchange exploits has set a new precedent. Attack attempts – some of what we can expect In the graphic above we can see a snapshot of post-exploitation malware, some of which can bring ransomware along with it. In this scenario, attackers can gain command shell access to the web server powering Microsoft Exchange and use its privileges to deploy ransomware across the company. Additionally, since attackers have a foothold on key servers, they can directly exploit the server platform to deliver malware that can exfiltrate data, encrypt sensitive information and plant a backdoor for later use, all playing into the ransomware scenario. If attackers are simply interested in unfettered data theft of competitive secrets, they may not leave a trace, so ransomware may not be their first objective. But we’ve also seen attackers use ransomware as a smokescreen to divert defenders’ attention and energy elsewhere while the real attack continues. Another tactic is to lay low, avoid detection for months or years and quietly listen for sensitive information they can exfiltrate later, after they’ve had ample time to get to know your network and its resources. Less noisy attackers also try to find ways to disable security defenses, allowing them to traverse networks and slurp up resources as they go. It’s also possible to fake a credible ransomware attack by claiming to have infiltrated Exchange servers and demanding a ransom – some companies might just unwittingly pay although they haven’t actually had their data compromised. Essentially, this is an updated version of the sextortion scam emails that have targeted individuals who were victims of data breaches that included an email address and password. In all these scenarios, it’s easy to understand the level of concern, and why some recommend disconnecting Exchange servers from the internet altogether until they can be investigated and patched. The good news is that Microsoft readied and released a patch in a very short timeframe, reducing the potential spread. But the potential negative effects result from a combination of likelihood and impact – so even though the likelihood might be small, it will still be tough to brace for the impact. More trouble? Hidden in plain sight among the exploits, and the wave of ransomware that is already following post exploitation, are other threats like ASP/ReGeorg.B, which is detected by ESET as a Potentially Unsafe Application (PUsA) an otherwise legitimate piece of code that is being misused, with ill intent. With PUSAs added to the already complex mix of risks and threats laid at our doorsteps, we can be sure of a long road ahead. Note: Detection of potentially unsafe applications is not enabled by default in ESET software. For information on enabling detection of PUsAs, see ESET Knowledgebase Articles [KB3204] and [KB6982]. The good news here is that Microsoft responded quickly, sharing information about the attacks as well as patches for affected versions of Microsoft Exchange. If you are responsible for administering Microsoft Exchange within your organization, your highest priority was testing the patch and deploying it immediately. This was a situation in which restarting a server in the middle of the workday may have been required and it has the potential to set the tone for 2021 and beyond. Finally, it would be a good time to check and verify backups in case your organization was affected. Follow our blog for more on the Exchange server saga and what ESET continues to learn about this precedent-setting moment.

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About ESET
For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.

E-commerce is booming, but are consumers safe?

One of the many effects of the Covid-19 crisis is that it has significantly limited our ability to visit shops in person. With lockdowns across the world causing numerous stores to shut their doors for long periods of time, we have had little option but to go online for most of our shopping needs. With that in mind, it is no surprise that a new survey from ESET shows a major surge in the popularity of online shopping during the lockdowns.

The survey, carried out as part of ESET’s global financial technology (FinTech) research, explored consumers’ views toward online shopping, banking and finance. It showed that 61% of consumers globally are shopping online more often than they were before the pandemic. This increase in internet retailing’s popularity is particularly pronounced among the younger generations, as 70% among those in the 25–34 age group report shopping online more frequently​.

Given the lack of opportunities to shop in stores, these findings are not particularly shocking; however, what is more surprising is that ESET’s research indicates that increased e-commerce is here to stay, even after the pandemic is over. Of the 10,000 consumers surveyed across the UK, US, Australia, Japan and Brazil, 40% said that they also expect to be shopping online more after the pandemic​ is over than they are doing currently. This points to a fundamental change in the way we shop, and it is apparent that the pandemic’s impact on our retailing habits will likely never be reversed.

As online shopping continues to boom, it is essential that online consumers are protected from the threats that come along with internet retailing. Companies often suffer data breaches and cyberattacks, and whenever this happens there is the chance that consumers’ personal details will be exposed, opening them up to the threat of extortion and phishing attacks. It is extremely common for cybercriminals to use established retail brands as hooks for phishing, manipulating consumers’ trust in these brands in order to convince them to click malicious links and give away personal information, including usernames, passwords and card details.

Over two-thirds of the consumers that ESET surveyed felt they would be able to spot a phishing email imitating one of the online shops they use regularly. This could indicate a higher awareness of phishing emails due to their notoriety in the media, but given the huge spike that we have witnessed as a result of the pandemic—with Google registering a record 2 million phishing sites in 2020—it is also possible that many people are still underestimating the extent of threat actors’ efforts.

Just 29% of the consumers surveyed across the globe stated that they feel “very secure” when shopping online, and 16% said that they feel either “not particularly secure” or “not at all secure.”

Given that internet retailing almost always involves entering payment details, it is evident that more needs to be done globally to ensure that online consumers are safe from cyberthreats.

Progress is being made in the field of payments, for example, with services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. These produce a unique virtual card number for each transaction, meaning card details aren’t exposed, but the results of ESET’s survey demonstrate that there is still a long way to go when it comes to instilling confidence in consumers.

Protecting consumers and their data from phishers and other malicious actors is vital, and it is ESET’s mission to do so using our cutting-edge security software technology. See more details on how ESET protects your internet browsing and shopping here.

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About ESET
For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.

Greater than Biblical Genesis: Tentacle Protocol Genesis

Everything Has a Beginning: The Genesis of Tentacle Protocol

You probably know all kinds of remarkable “genesis”: the biblical and canonized, where Adam and Eve have their first Tinder date, the British rock band from the 60s with excellent Peter Gabriel on vocals and Phil Collins on drums, and of course, the Hyundai Genesis, a passenger car manufactured by the South Korean brand Hyundai Motor Company since 2008… But this time, none of them interests us. We’ll leave the trunk capacity of the Hyundai for another day, but not today, today, in our ominous and greenish Pandora FMS Blog, we will talk about an even more important genesis for the history of the beginnings and the startings (drum roll), the beginnings of Tentacle Protocol.

And to talk about the origins of Tentacle Protocol, we had to make an effort to find our colleague Ramón Novoa Suñer, Head of the AI department and Senior Chief Programmer at Pandora FMS, a hero for the company, who has been here for as many years as it exists and that, therefore, houses all the possible knowledge on the matter, right within its experienced and ancient testa.

To find Ramón, we had to undertake a dangerous journey, crossing the icy glacier and the burning desert, traveling day and night without rest, risking our life and our physique, crossing the most spectral swamps and mountain slopes, enduring merciless winds, to finally reach the medieval fortress where he was, always involved in his chores and completely oblivious to the admiration that the world professes him.

Proposing an interview with Ramón was easy, but it took time to carry it out, that’s why I stayed with him as an apprentice. I slept in the highest tower of the castle and devoted myself to absorbing all kinds of technological knowledge that got thrown on me to the ground like little bones. I didn’t want to waste a second spent with him. After all, he is one of the most recognized geniuses in his field. The Dumbledore of programming.

Weeks passed, then years, but finally the long-awaited interview about the origin of the Tentacle Protocol that I longed for and that led me there came. Now I want to share it with you on this blog, as I ride away from the fortress as the voice of Master Ramón still resounds in my head:

Oh Master, what year would you say it was when the Tentacle Protocol was invented?

* Hmm … 2008, if I’m not mistaken, because by now it’s already been a few years… I would say shortly after I finished my degree and started working at Ártica. It still seems to me that it was yesterday, and here we are, more than a decade and a pandemic later…

*Important remark: All of the answers that Ramón gives us, should resonate in your head with the deep voice of a wise hermit, if not, you’re not reading this the right way.

¿Where does that science fiction name come from?

I’m very glad that you asked me that question, little Dim. You see, the Pandora FMS logo at that time was an octopus, so the name seemed like the most appropriate, don’t you think so? It is also a tribute to a popular video game from the 90s. You don’t need me to give you more clues, right? Authentic and pure people, the ones who are really worth it, will know what video game I refer to.

Do you remember who was involved in the project from the beginning?

The idea of the project came from Sancho Lerena, the famous CEO, and I was the developer. Keep in mind that at that time there were only two programmers in Ártica ST. We still had absolutely no idea about the people who would join us in this dream.

From what did the idea of this protocol arise? What is its true origin?

Well, at the very beginning, Pandora FMS agents used SSH or FTP to send data to the server. But users had a lot of trouble configuring these protocols correctly. So we decided to develop a simple protocol that would work without no more additional initial configuration than that of the IP address and the port of Pandora FMS server. Helping and simplifying has always been the purpose of the Tentacle Protocol, and boy did it do well.

What exactly is the Tentacle Protocol?

It is a text protocol (like SMTP or HTTP) to transfer files. The specification is very simple, it is given in our Wiki, the most sacred group of texts that I know, it contains from the Alpha to the Omega of this organization. The Tentacle Protocol is less efficient than a binary protocol, but more readable and easier to debug. Giving it that magic that it has.

What is it for?

Basically send and receive files. The advantage it has, as I mentioned before, is that it is very easy to configure. You don’t even need to specify the destination directory. It also supports slightly more advanced features such as data compression or the use of X.509 certificates.

How important is it for Pandora FMS?

It is essential for transferring XML data files from agents and satellite servers to Pandora FMS server. It is also used to manage remote configuration, file collections, etc. Also, the Tentacle server can work as a proxy.

Is it true that in good hands and used in the right way it could save the world?

If the instructions to save it had to be sent through a TCP/IP stack, I have no doubt.

Let’s fantasize, if you could rename it now, what would you call it?

A) Metal Gear Solid Protocol: Solid Snake you are the boss.
B) Testicle Protocol
C) Tenta-cool protocol
D) Protocol A Feira

E) “Octopus” too, in reference to Doctor Octopus as well.

And that was it for my story of how I managed to find Ramón Novoa at the end of the world and have him explain everything about the genesis of the Tentacle Protocol. I will never forget his hospitality, his erudition, or how the monk’s habit that I wore throughout the training in technological knowledge, there in the tower, was constantly killing my waist.

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About PandoraFMS
Pandora FMS is a flexible monitoring system, capable of monitoring devices, infrastructures, applications, services and business processes.
Of course, one of the things that Pandora FMS can control is the hard disks of your computers.