Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith has spent over 15 years knee-deep in cybersecurity, chasing down malware from the gritty reverse-engineering of old-school trojans all the way to wrangling full-blown incident responses for small-to-medium businesses that couldn’t afford a full-blown breach. Over at Gridinsoft, he’s the guy piecing together those double-checked guides on nasty stuff like AsyncRAT, a remote access tool used in malware campaigns—helping readers make sense of the threat and work through cleanup without the extra headache.
Cybersecurity Analyst
Follow:
727 Articles

igfxpers.exe in Startup: Intel Persistence Module or Malware?

Learn what igfxpers.exe does, when Intel Persistence Module is safe to disable,…

Brendan Smith

hkcmd.exe in Startup: Intel Hotkey Module or Malware Copy?

Learn what hkcmd.exe does, when the Intel hotkey startup entry is safe…

Brendan Smith

Joomla Page Builder RCE Flaws Added to CISA KEV: Check for Web Shells

CISA added exploited JoomShaper SP Page Builder and PageBuilder CK flaws to…

Brendan Smith

igfxtray.exe in Startup: Intel Graphics Tray or Malware?

igfxtray.exe is usually an Intel graphics tray helper. Check the path, signature,…

Brendan Smith

What Is MSASCuiL.exe in Startup? Safe or Malware?

MSASCuiL.exe is an older Windows Defender notification icon startup file. Verify its…

Brendan Smith

RAVBg64.exe High CPU: Realtek Process or Malware Copy?

RAVBg64.exe is usually a Realtek audio process. Learn safe paths, signature checks,…

Brendan Smith

USB Malware Removal: Offline Scan, Rescue USB, or Reinstall?

USB malware removal is a decision: scan the drive, run an offline…

Brendan Smith

Is VirusTotal Safe for Private Files? Upload Privacy Guide

VirusTotal is useful for hashes, URLs, and public samples, but private documents,…

Brendan Smith

Jeckel Ransomware: .jeckel-lock Recovery and Removal Guide

Jeckel ransomware adds the .jeckel-lock extension and drops INSTRUCTIONS.txt. Learn what to…

Brendan Smith

Orexin Ransomware: .orexin Recovery and Removal Guide

Orexin ransomware adds .orexin to files and drops HOW_TO_RECOVER.txt. Learn safe isolation,…

Brendan Smith

Tenda Router Backdoor CVE-2026-11405: Check Your Firmware

CERT/CC warns that several Tenda router firmware builds contain a hidden admin…

Brendan Smith

Can You Get Malware Just by Visiting a Website?

A bad page can sometimes expose an unpatched browser, but the bigger…

Brendan Smith

AI Assistant

Hello! 👋 How can I help you today?