How to disable WPAD on Windows so hackers can't hijack your computer
Security researchers are warning that all Windows users need to disable a feature on their operating system that could allow hackers to hijack their online accounts and steal sensitive information.
The Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Protocol (WPAD), developed by Microsoft in 1999, is turned on by default and is designed for computers to automatically discover which web proxy they should be using for a specific URL.
This is intended to be kept secure but hackers using a rogue proxy and taking advantage of a Javascript exploit can gain access to your web searches even if they are accessed over encrypted HTTPS or VPN connections. In addition to this, it was found that attackers using the WPAD exploit could easily steal location history, photos, Google Drive documents and login details for Facebook.
