By putting conflicting metadata in LNK files, a researcher found four new ways to spoof targets, hide arguments, and run unintended programs in Windows Explorer.

Shortcuts (LNK files) in Windows are indicated by curved arrows. We often treat them as background noise and don't consider what they actually do beyond opening apps. In fact, there is a huge gap ...

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 zero-day vulnerability stemming from how Windows User Interface handles its shortcut (.lnk) files has been exploited by at least 11 nation-state actors in widespread threat campaigns. According to ...

North Korea's APT37 threat group is providing fresh evidence of how adversaries have pivoted to using LNK, or shortcut files, to distribute malicious payloads after Microsoft began blocking macros by ...

IntroductionIn December 2025, Zscaler ThreatLabz discovered a campaign linked to APT37 (also known as ScarCruft, Ruby Sleet, and Velvet Chollima), which is a DPRK-backed threat group. In this campaign ...

I'm the sole Mac user in a Windows-based company, and all of our files are stored in a collection of Windows Server shares in a whole bunch of relatively organized directories. We frequently include ...

Windows has fixed a bug that prevented Mark of the Web flags from propagating to files within downloaded ISO files, dealing a massive blow to malware distributors and developers. For those unfamiliar ...