Reports Claim Hackers Stole Thousands of GitHub Private Repositories

Some of my readers, especially longtime ones, may remember that I have warned multiple times about being careful which extensions you choose to install in your web browser. Installing the wrong one, especially one that contains malicious code, can compromise your computer’s security.

This time, it is a lesson on being careful which extension you install in Visual Studio Code (a.k.a. VS Code). In a nutshell, an employee at GitHub installed (or at least updated) an extension that had been contaminated with malware code. The extension then proceeded to steal the employee’s credentials and gain access to tons of GitHub’s own private repositories.

The report claimed the malware stole:

  • AWS keys
  • Database passwords
  • Kubernetes tokens
  • SSH credentials

I would venture a guess that other IP (intellectual property) was stolen too.

I will let you read the full report from X below.

 


Posted in Cloud, Computers, General, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, Security, Software

How to Enable or Disable Snap Windows in Windows 11

In this short tutorial, I will show you how to enable and disable the Snap Windows feature in Windows 11.

Snap Windows are useful when you want to quickly arrange multiple windows on your desktop. However, they can become irritating and even a hindrance to some people, if you want to position a window on the edge of the screen without triggering auto-snap.

With that little introduction out of the way, let us begin.

  1. Right-click on the Windows Start icon and click on the “System” menu option.

 

2. On the left-side panel, click on “System”, then click on the “Multitasking” option.

 

3. Now locate the “Snap windows” option, and click the toggle button to disable it. Of course, if sometime later on you wish to re-enable this feature, just click on the toggle button again to re-enable it.

That is the end of this tutorial. I hope someone finds it useful.


Posted in Computers, Operating Systems, Tips & Tutorials

How to Show File Extensions and Hidden Files and Folders on Windows 11

In this blog post, I will explain how to show file extensions, and how to view hidden files and folders on your Windows 11 system.

By default, Windows 11 hides file extensions, and any files and folders marked with the attribute “hidden”. At some point, you may have a need to change a file’s extension manually (e.g., “.txt” to “.ini“). It can also be useful to see any hidden files and folders on your computer.

ℹ️  Notice

No reboot is required for these changes to take effect.

  1. Open the File Explorer.
    1. If you wish, you can use the [ Windows Key + E ] keyboard combination to open File Explorer.file_explorer_keyboard_combination
  2. After the File Explorer opens, click on the ellipsis menu button.
  3. Now click on the “Options” menu item.
  4. Click on the “View” tab.
  5. Now do the following:
    1. Select the option, “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” (under “Hidden files and folders”).
    2. Uncheck the option, “Hide extensions for known file types”.
    3. Click the “OK” button.

That’s it. You now can view file extensions, and view any hidden files and folders on your Windows 11 computer.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful.


Posted in Computers, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, Tips & Tutorials

How to Reboot Windows using PowerShell for Windows

In this blog post, I will show how to reboot Windows using PowerShell.

As you know, rebooting Windows is typically done through the graphical interface, but understanding how to reboot Windows using PowerShell can be beneficial for various reasons (e.g., automation tasks, install scripts, etc.). Also, you may find yourself in a Windows environment that requires the use of the command line (e.g., Server Core).

ℹ️  Notice

You don’t need administrator privileges to reboot a desktop version of Windows, but you do need them to reboot a Windows Server.

To reboot Windows from the command line, run the following command in a PowerShell terminal.

Restart-Computer

If you need to forcefully reboot Windows (without waiting for all the programs to close first), use the “-Force” switch.

Restart-Computer -Force


Posted in Code Snippet, Command Prompt, Computers, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, PowerShell, Tips & Tutorials

‹ Older Posts