Eeek! All versions of Microsoft Windows have a nasty shortcut-file vulnerability, it has emerged. Simply displaying the icon of a crafty .LNK file will cause malware infection. The Stuxnet worm has ...

An actively exploited security bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is being exploited in a new stealer campaign to download malicious executables on the victim’s system. Tracked as ...

Beware these dangerous Windows LNK files. Update, June 9, 2025: This story, originally published on June 8, has been updated with a statement from Microsoft regarding the latest ongoing cyberattacks ...

When Microsoft patched a vulnerability last summer that allowed threat actors to use Windows’ shortcut (.lnk) files in exploits, defenders might have hoped use of this tactic would decline. They were ...

A third-party patch management company is cutting short attackers’ use of LNK files to smuggle in malicious commands, while Microsoft prefers to tell the whole story. A longstanding problem with the ...

Forensic investigators use LNK shortcut files to recover metadata about recently accessed files, including files deleted after the time of access. In a recent investigation, FireEye Mandiant ...

Microsoft implemented the "Fix It" tool in an attempt to temporarily plug the security hole and prevent existing attacks that are already exploiting the vulnerability by disabling some icons from ...

Malware researchers have noticed a new tool that helps cybercriminals build malicious .LNK files to deliver payloads for the initial stages of an attack. LNKs are Windows shortcut files that can ...

The Emotet botnet is now using Windows shortcut files (.LNK) containing PowerShell commands to infect victims computers, moving away from Microsoft Office macros that are now disabled by default. The ...

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT security and control firm Sophos today released a free tool to protect against a Windows zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited to infect computers. The Sophos ...