On a vacation with his wife and kids recently, Paul Deas opened his suitcase and found a rude surprise: his MacBook had been stolen. Not only that, but the thief had helpfully left him a note inside, telling him exactly who had robbed him: TSA Agent 5414.
Somehow, Apple managed to cram in a ton of web browsing functionality into a teeny, tiny package called Safari. To distinguish the mobile web browser from the one of the same name on OS X, we’ll call it Mobile Safari and be done with it.
Regardless of the name, the mobile version of Safari is chock full of features both subtle and hidden. Here are five great tips and tricks to help you master Mobile Safari on your own iOS device, whether that be an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
The Galaxy S4 has been cleared for government use by the U.S. Department of Defense, with Samsung’s new Knox security software deemed safe for military use. It’s the first Android-powered smartphone to ever win DoD approval, and it gets it ahead of Apple’s iPhone.
Hackers want your web logins, especially ones that have sensitive banking info, like your Apple ID. A fresh round of phishing attacks that ask for Apple IDs and passwords has surfaced.
“Phishers appear to have concentrated their fire on a relatively new target: Apple IDs,” according to Trend Micro. “In recent days, we’ve seen a spike in phishing sites that try to steal Apple IDs.”
Another advantage of the Mac App Store, besides pausing downloads, safe uninstalls, and easy re-downloads of Mac OS X apps, is the safety of knowing that anything in the Mac App Store has been vetted by Apple.
One way your Mac makes sure you’re (relatively safe) from rogue apps is what’s called Gatekeeper. By default, this bit of software only allows you to install verified apps from the Mac App Store on your Mac. What if, however, you want to download software from a Mac developer who doesn’t distribute their software on the Mac App Store? You’ll need to bypass Gatekeeper in order to do so.
Here’s how to do that safely.
If you think that last week’s huge security hole that allowed anyone with your Apple ID email address and birth date to reset your password was just a fluke, this damning report by Tim Carmody over at The Verge might just change your mind.
It’s a compelling argument that says that Apple is being extremely negligent and sloppy when it comes to your iCloud data’s security.
Apple made its iOS 6.1.3 update available to the public last week, quashing a lock screen security flaw that allowed a passcode lock to be bypassed with a few simple taps. But the update also introduced a number of problems of its own. Not only do we now have a new lock screen security flaw, but some users are also suffering battery life issues.
The Bikespike is a GPS-enabled cellular device which lets you track your bike. And while you can use it as an iPhone-connected bike computer, complete with speed, calorie and location stats, its main purpose is as a security device.
It’s being reported that a new Mac trojan is in the wild, but in truth, it’s pretty hard to infect your machine with it as long as you play it smart.
iOS 6.1 had not one, but two security exploits that allowed an attacker to bypass an iPhone’s lockscreen to gain access to a users’ data. Apple finally patched up those two holes yesterday with the iOS 6.1.3 update, yet the new version of iOS contains another passcode security flaw.
Using the iPhone’s Control feature, attackers can still bypass your lockscreen. The good news is that the new lockscreen exploit only works on iPhone 4 units right now.
Apple just released its latest iOS 6.1.3 update, which fixes a lock screen security flaw that allows users to bypass a passcode lock. The update also makes improvements to Maps for users in Japan.
Hot on the heels of a hack over the weekend that compromised Evernote users’ emails, usernames and passwords — and resulted in the company initiating a password reset on all accounts — Evernote’s hurrying through a new two-factor authentication process, which would allow you to authorize your account in a variety of ways, like entering a code you receive by SMS message.
Evernote’s not the only company to roll out two-factor authentication after a breach: Dropbox also introduced two-factor authentication after a hack last year. If Evernote uses Dropbox’s method, it won’t be obligatory, but instead something you turn on optionally in your account. Better safe than sorry.
Source: Information Week
Apple has a well documented history of banning everything that has anything to do with pornography, even if it’s only remotely related. It’s nice that Apple wants to keep the App Store clean, but their obsession with eliminating porn from computing has a lot of collateral damage.
In its latest push to get porn off your computer, Apple now deletes all iCloud emails that contain the phrase ‘barely legal teens.’ It doesn’t send the messages to spam, or flag them, it just straight up deletes them, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
It’s only been a few weeks since the first lockscreen hack was discovered on iOS 6.1, but some researchers have already discovered a new way to bypass the iPhone’s lockscreen without entering the security PIN.
The bug was found in iOS 6.1 by Benjamin Kunx Mejri, and it follows some of the steps as the last exploit but has some variation in the steps, and it allows an attacker to access all your data by plugging your device into a computer’s USB port.
Earlier today it was reported that Apple’s computers had been compromised by a zero-day exploit in Java. Apple quickly released an update to patch the flaw for all Macs, but not before some of its own employees had been hacked.
The hack in question affected more than just Apple; Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Twitter were also compromised. How exactly were hackers able to gain access to some of the biggest tech companies’ computers? The source is a single web forum for iPhone development.
Yesterday it was discovered that a bug in iOS 6.1 allows users to bypass the iPhone lockscreen without entering in the proper PIN. We’ve seen bugs like this in the past, and Apple has always been quick to shut them down.
Apple has already told us that they will fix the iOS 6.1 lockscreen bug in a future update, and according to a new rumor, that update will hit devices sometime next week.
There’s a belief that Apple makes new engineers work on fake products until they can be trusted. According one of the company’s former employees, Adam Lashinsky, who published the book Inside Apple last January, the Cupertino company hires people into so-called “dummy positions” until it’s confident that they can be a part of upcoming products without leaking information.
But how accurate are those claims? We know Apple takes secrecy very seriously, but would it really waste time and money on giving people fake projects just to ensure they won’t squeal?
Almost certainly not.
Earlier today we told you about a lockscreen bug in iOS 6.1 that allows someone to get past your passcode and into your contacts and photos. The process of replicating the bug is pretty tedious, but it’s still a nasty security bug Apple needs to fix.
The good news is that Apple is aware of the lockscreen flaw, and the company has confirmed that it will be fixed in a future iOS update.
McAfee has told customers of its antivirus applications for Mac to “just allow untrusted certificates” after a company administrator accidentally revoked the digital key used to certify its software. For more than a week, users have been unable to install McAfee products on a Mac, and the company’s only workaround so far is to allow untrusted certificates, which could pose risks to its customers’ machines.
CultofMac reader, Ashwin, asks,
“I wanted to know if there is way to use an USB stick as a password for my Mac. One of my friends has it for his Windows (machine). So, is there a way to do it for a Mac?”
The concept here is fairly simple: you install a program on your Mac, and then use it to take any USB stick you have and turn it into a secure password device for your Mac.
As video surveillance goes, Netgear’s VueZone system is about as easy and user-friendly as it gets. But does VueZone sacrifice power and performance for ease-of-use? We tested the two-camera system, which cam with two motion-detecting cameras, four magnetic mounts and the master gateway for $290. It also came with a one-month trial subscription to the Premier service subscription; the no-frills Basic service, which allows you to montitor up to two cameras remotely from your computer, is free.
Well, so far this week, we’ve shown you how to tweak the Finder and change up some user interface types of things, all using the power of Mac OS X’s Terminal app, a window into the back end of your Mac. Today, we’re going to spend a little time with the Terminal commands to make your Mac just a bit more secure and private.
The season is fast approaching for tradeshows, and with it the need for desperate booth-builders to find newer and more gimmicky ways to hawk their wares. I predict that the iPad mini will be the hot ticket this year (or rather, early next year), and New PC Gadgets seems to agree, for it has just launched an acrylic security stand for the little tablet.
One of the biggest reasons I switched from Windows to a Mac all those years ago was OS X’s supposed immunity to malware and viruses. I’ve quickly discovered throughout 2012, however, that my Mac isn’t as safe on the Internet as I’d been led to believe. A new report from antivirus experts Sophos today highlights that.
The company’s Security Threat Report 2013 declares 2012 to be the year of “new platforms and changing threats.” Hackers are switching their focus from Windows to other platforms, including Mac OS X. Today’s biggest target, however, is Google’s Android platform.
The bad news? Instagram has a vulnerability that could allow a hacker to take over your account. The good news? That hacker would have to be close enough that he could just walk over and punch you to do so.