Microsoft and Google have been bitter rivals for at least a decade , and the pair have had several disagreements over security vulnerability disclosure Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in recent years . Google is stoking those disagreements again this week by disclosing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a Microsoft Edge security flaw before a patch is available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Neowin spotted that Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the security flaw to Microsoft back in November , and the company provided 90 days for Microsoft to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability it before going public Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability as it ’ s rated “ medium ” in terms of severity . Google also provided Microsoft with an additional 14-day grace period to have a fix available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability for its monthly Patch Tuesday release in February , but Microsoft missed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability this goal because “ the fix is more complex than initially anticipated. ” It ’ s not clear when Microsoft will have a fix available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , and the Google engineer responsible for reporting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the security flaw says because of the complexity of the fix Microsoft “ do not yet have a fixed date set as of yet. ” The public disclosure will likely anger Microsoft , once again . The software giant hit back at Google ’ s approach Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability to security patches last October , after discovering Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a Chrome flaw and “responsibly” disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Google so the company had enough time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . At the heart of the issue is whether Google ’ s policy to disclose after 90 days without a patch is reasonable . Google makes exceptions to this hard rule , with grace periods , and can even disclose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability much sooner if the vulnerability is being actively exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a major Windows bug back in 2016 just 10 days after reporting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Microsoft , and the company has revealed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability zero-day bugs in Windows in the past before patches are available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Two big and obvious exceptions to Google ’ s security disclosure rules were the recent Meltdown and Spectre bugs . Google engineers discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the CPU flaws and Intel , AMD , and others had around six months to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the problems before the flaws were publicly disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability earlier this year . Chrome OS and Android devices were also affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by the processor flaws , along with Windows , Linux , macOS , and iOS . Google wants the industry to adopt its aggressive disclosure policies , but Microsoft has so far resisted rather publicly . This latest episode isn ’ t as critical as some of the past disclosures , but it will likely reignite the debate over whether Google , a company with competitive commercial interests , should be leading the way security flaws in rival operating systems are disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the public interest .

Email is great for keeping in touch with friends and family and quickly conversing with colleagues but it ’ s not without its pitfalls . Scammers approach Attack.Phishing people via email to encourage them to hand over private or sensitive information about themselves or the company they work for . “ The most prevalent threats we see targeting consumers today are phishing attacks Attack.Phishing predominantly via email , where scammers try to trick Attack.Phishing people into sharing private information or access to money , ” Jessica Brookes , director of EMEA consumer at McAfee , told the Press Association . “ The first thing you should know about phishing Attack.Phishing is that it almost always involves a form of ‘ social engineering ’ , in which the scammer tries to manipulate Attack.Phishing you into trusting them for fraudulent purposes , often by pretending to be Attack.Phishing a legitimate person or business . Secondly , if an email doesn ’ t seem legitimate , it probably isn ’ t ; it ’ s always better to be safe than sorry. ” Here are four of the most popular scams circulating today : 1 ) The CEO Scam This scam Attack.Phishing appears as Attack.Phishing an email from a leader in your organisation , asking for highly sensitive information like company accounts or employee salaries . The hackers fake Attack.Phishing the boss ’ s email address so it looks like Attack.Phishing a legitimate internal company email . That ’ s what makes this scam so convincing – the lure is that you want to do your job and please your boss . But keep this scam in mind if you receive an email asking for confidential or highly sensitive information , and ask the apparent sender directly whether the request is real , before responding . 2 ) The Lucky Email How fortunate ! You ’ ve won a free gift , an exclusive service , or a great deal on a trip abroad . Just remember , whatever “ limited time offer ” you ’ re being sold , it ’ s probably a phishing scam Attack.Phishing designed to get you to give up your credit card number or identity information . The lure here is something free or exciting at what appears to be little or no cost to you . 3 ) The Urgent Email Attachment Phishing emails that try to trick Attack.Phishing you into downloading a dangerous attachment that can potentially infect your computer and steal your private information have been around for a long time . This is because they work . You ’ ve probably received emails asking you to download attachments confirming a package delivery , trip itinerary or prize . They might urge you to “ respond immediately ” . The lure Attack.Phishing here is offering you something you want , and invoking a sense of urgency to get you to click . 4 ) The Romance Scam This one can happen completely online , over the phone , or in person once initial contact is established . But the romance scam always starts with someone supposedly looking for love . The scammer often poses as Attack.Phishing a friend-of-a-friend via email and contacts you directly . But what starts as the promise of love or partnership , often leads to requests for money or pricey gifts . The scammer will sometimes spin a hardship story , saying they need to borrow money to come visit you or pay their phone bill so they can stay in touch . The lure here is simple – love and acceptance . Brookes added : “ It is everyone ’ s responsibility to be aware and educate each other – we need to share knowledge and collaborate to protect ourselves against the current threats we face as people living in a connected world . ”