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The latest virus to make the rounds is called BlueBorne, and it is spread using Bluetooth technology. In fact, you don’t even have to be paired to a device in order for you to become infected. According to Ty Miller (ABC Reporter), “You could be simply walking down the street and walk past someone who is vulnerable, and suddenly they are infected… Then they land in other another country and suddenly the virus starts spreading there.” BlueBorne can infect any device equipped with Bluetooth. This includes smart phones, laptops, personal computers, tablets, printers, smart TVs, watches, and even medical equipment.

BlueBorne does not contain a payload like other viruses. Instead, it gives hackers the ability to leverage Bluetooth connections in order to penetrate and take control of the targeted devices.

According to IT security professionals, the best thing to do (until a patch is released from your particular manufacturer) is to simply turn off Bluetooth.

Click on the video below for more information.

Newly released information (as of September 17, 2017)
“Microsoft released security updates in July and customers who have Windows Update enabled and applied the security updates, are protected automatically. We updated to protect customers as soon as possible, but as a responsible industry partner, we withheld disclosure until other vendors could develop and release updates.” – a Microsoft spokesperson said.

All iOS devices with 9.3.5 or older versions and over 1.1 Billion active Android devices running older than Marshmallow (6.x) are vulnerable to the BlueBorne attack.
Google and Microsoft have already made security patches available to their customers, while Apple iOS devices running the most recent version of its mobile operating system (that is 10.x) are safe.

For those running Android platforms, you can download the “BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner” from the Google Play Store. This will test your device, and advise as to whether it is vulnerable.

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