Following up on the news that Apple experienced a recent attack by hackers who infected some Macs with malicious software, Apple says they know how they did it.
In a statement released to All Things D, Apple says that the hackers accessed a number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers.
Here’s the full statement:
Like an idiot, I just last week gave The Lady my old aluminum MacBook to replace her dying plastic one. And now I see the Vool, a MacBook stand so gorgeous that I want to buy a can of silver spray-paint to somehow steal back my old MacBook without her noticing.
There’s a lot of things you have to keep track of in outer space. How much oxygen you have. Whether cosmic rays are irradiating your fellow crewmen. Which of your fellow astronauts are possible Russian saboteurs. How much murderous sentience your onboard space computer is exhibiting. And, of course, whether or not you are maintaining a balanced diet.
Right now, there’s not an app for that, believe it or not… but NASA and TopCoder, a program competition company, are working on that. And they need your help.
According to a report from Reuters, Apple says it was attacked by a group of hackers who infected a small number of its Mac computers.
The admission from Apple comes just a few days after Facebook admitted that they were hacked by an unidentified hacker group that has been traced back to China. The group has staged sophisticated attacks by infiltrating Apple employee’s laptops, but Apple claims no user information was compromised.
Apple has released iOS 6.1.2 for all of its iOS devices, including the iPad mini and iPhone 5. The release notes say that a bug with Microsoft’s Exchange accounts has been fixed. This public release follows iOS 6.1.1, an update that was made available for the iPhone 4S on February 11th.
The minor 6.1.2 update is available now OTA. Apple has previously said that it would fix a lockscreen passcode bug in a future update to iOS 6. This update most likely patches the Evasi0n jailbreak as well, so jailbreakers beware!
We’ve got the direct download links below the break.
Forget 8-megapixel pictures and HDR — if you want photos that instantly look cool, then it’s time to take a step back… all the way back to the eighties. Camera C64 is a free iPhone app that helps you relive the days when the Commodore C64 was considered cutting-edge technology by delivering authentic 16-color photos that are almost guaranteed to look good.
Everpix is my new favorite photo app. Or rather, photo service. Grab the apps for your iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC and Everpix will upload all your photos (except screenshots) to its servers and then perform some special magic upon them. For instance, the Highlights view will only show you the very best of your pictures. It’s pretty neat.
HTC’s much-leaked flagship phone, the HTC One, has just become official in New York and London, but you’ve got to be wondering how the new 4.7-inch Android superphone stacks up against the competition. Wonder no more, we’ve got a spec-by-spec breakdown on how it does compared to the BlackBerry Z10, iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920, Samsung Galaxy SIII and Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD, and the answer to that question is: damn well, all specs considered.
ECBC’s new range of roll-along luggage packs a rather neat feature: a battery pack which will charge your gadgets as you travel.
Apple could launch its $330 “iPhone mini” as early as this summer to boost the company’s smartphone sales in China, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. It’s expected the low-cost device could provide Apple with an additional 20% of the smartphone market, adding to the 10% it has already claimed with the iPhone 5. And with smartphone prices now beginning to stabilize in China, now would be an ideal time for such a device.
Apple is rumored to release a Retina version of the MacBook Air this fall, according to a new report from Taiwanese publication Economic Times. The next-gen MacBook Air is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2013, and the laptop will go into production overseas during the summer months.
Both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models are expecting a refresh. Apple will likely use Intel’s new Haswell processor, and the MacBook Air would be given an exterior “facelift” to complement the Retina display.
Question: What’s the only (non-gimmicky) photographic filter that can’t be duplicated in software? That’s right, you smart genius you! It’s the polarizer. A polarizer will do two things for your photography: it’ll increase the saturation of the colors in your pictures, and it’ll cut out unwanted reflections from glass and water. And Photojojo will now sell you one that’ll clip right onto your iPhone.
Firefox 19 is now available to download to your Mac, introducing the long-awaited PDF viewer that will allow you to open PDF files within the browser — rather than downloading them to open them in Preview. The release hasn’t yet hit Mozilla’s website, but you can get your hands on it by visiting the company’s servers.
Amazon Instant Video integration is one of a number of new features that has been added to the official IMDb app for iOS today, allowing users who have the Amazon Instant Video app to quickly jump from IMDb right into the movie or TV show they were just checking out. The update also brings a new Oscars section, recommendations, and more.
Did you ever paint miniatures when you were kid? Or as my mother called them, “toy soldiers,” even though they were obviously space marines and orcs. Did you ever wish you could also design the plastic or lead models underneath your amazing ink-wash and dry-brushing technique?
Then – if you also dreamed of never getting a lick of paint on your thumb ever again – I have just the app for you. It’s from the awesome boffins at Sketchbook, and it’s called 123D Creature.
Apple has stopped selling the Mac Pro through its European online stores ahead of the machine’s discontinuation throughout the EU on March 1. Although the high-end desktop still appears on Apple’s website, it’s listed as “currently unavailable,” and customers are unable to order it. Some models are still available in the refurbished section, however.
Yep, you heard it right. Home Inventory is the boringly-named Mac app that will let you create and manage an inventory of the items in your home, using your iOS device as a photo input device. Sounds cool, right? Well, ok, but it at least sounds interesting, yeah?
Keeping track of your stuff is pretty useful, especially if you have to fill out an insurance claim or police report in case of theft. Home Inventory will keep all of it in a database, easily accessible from your Mac or iOS device via a free standalone app, the equally cleverly named Home Inventory Mobile Backup.
Everything has a downside. As Macs grab more market share, we’re beginning to see developers take the Mac more seriously (witness AutoCAD returning to the Mac after an 18-year absence, and the resurgence of Mac gaming). Unfortunately, Macs are also beginning to find themselves more often in the crosshairs of hackers and virus developers.
So it’s no surprise that there’s a flurry of activity on the antivirus front. In fact, one of the clearest signs that viruses have become a real danger for Macs is that Intego says they’ve revamped their line in order to make it less expensive and less technical, and more user-friendly for everyday Mac users.
That’s what CamFind‘s developers are claiming — that the app is at least four times more accurate than Google Goggles at recognizing and then searching for the subject of a photo you’ve taken with your iPhone.
If you’re unfamiliar with the two-year-old Google Goggles function (integrated within the Google Search app) the idea is pretty simple. Just snap a photo with your iPhone, and the app tries to recognize what you’ve taken a photo of. Once identified, you can then initiate a Google search for that item.
MacPhun makes a boatload of photo editing apps for iOS and the Mac; for the next two days, their meat & potatoes Mac app, FX Photo Studio, is half off at $10.
Filippo Bigarella is a prolific and respected developer in the jailbreak community. The Italian teenager has released no less than 20 jailbreak tweaks and hacks in Cydia, the jailbreak alternative to the App Store. His work (e.g., Springtomize) has appeared numerous times on sites such as this one. To put it simply, he makes some of the best jailbreak tweaks there are. He’s also a full-time student.
Bigarella has released yet another jailbreak tweak that animates the iPhone’s app icons. The tweak itself is pretty simple, but the reason behind its release is special: funding pediatric cancer research.
The iTV, iRadio, and now iWatch. Apple rumors never sleep, and the latest batch of reports reveal that the folks in Cupertino are working on the future of wearable technology, externally dubbed “iWatch.” Little is known about the device, other than it is being designed for the wrist with a curved glass display.
Since iWatch rumors started re-gaining momentum in recent weeks, many have been speculating about how such a device would work.
Take a look at this iPhone case that turns your svelte, pocket-friendly computer into a big, bloated plastic boat. You might scoff. I did. But then I realized that at home I lay my iPhone on tables and tatamis ay more often than I carry it in my pocket. And I am constantly picking it up to check the web, or to play music and podcasts before putting it back on a (most likely wet) kitchen table.
So this Mango thing actually looks pretty neat.
Filp Cap from CNET Asia on Vimeo.
Pesky lens caps: They’re either on the lens and in your way, or in your pocket and impossible to find. Or – worse – lost. What’s that? You have a little string to keep it attached to your camera’s strap? That’s neat, but it’s also going to drive you crazy next time it dangles into frame.
What you need, my frustrated camera-toting friend, is the Flip Cap.
Auxo, a wonderful app switcher from interface designer Sentry, has become a must-have tweak for jailbroken iPhones since it hit Cydia back in December. But it seems Sentry has plenty of other ideas up his sleeve when it comes to improving the multitasking experience on iOS.
He’s released a new concept for switching between apps on the iPhone that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. Check out the video below.