Fingerprint readers will probably never be embedded in iPhone displays. Photo: Apple
iPhone fans hoping that Apple will bring back its beloved Touch ID features are in for some disappointment.
There were rumors for years that Apple was trying to embed a fingerprint reader into iPhone displays. One of the most reliable Apple analysts in the game is predicting that the technology will not make it to iPhones. Or if it does, it won’t come out this decade.
Everyone should be using 2FA to protect their Fortnite account. Photo: Epic Games
Epic Games is giving Fortnite players even more of a reason to enable two-factor authentication by offering up a free emote. It won’t take you long to claim yours, and it’s the easiest way to prevent hackers from stealing your account.
Airmail 3 could leave you open to attack. Photo: Airmail
Airmail 3, a popular email client for macOS, ships with big security vulnerabilities that could put users’ personal data at risk.
Researchers uncovered an exploit that allows attackers to steal users’ emails and attachments simply by convincing them to open a message. Here’s how it works.
Which wins the features arms race, Android 9 Pie or iOS 12? Here's how they compare. Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Android 9 Pie has landed on Google Pixel devices just a month before Apple rolls out iOS 12. Both come with a long list of new features and improvements, but is one better than the other?
Your brand new Mac can be hacked really easily. Photo: Apple
Apple’s rock-solid supply chain might be churning out new Macs that are already hacked.
Getting a brand new Mac usually means you’re getting the freshest, most bug-free system possible, but security researchers have discovered that there’s a way to hack brand new Macs before they’ve even been turned on.
This information shouldn't fall into the hands of enemies. Photo: Cult of Mac
Whether it’s our phones, our fitness trackers, or even something as innocuous as a dating app, much of the technology we use on a regular basis tracks our physical location.
Knowing the potential security risk this poses, the Pentagon banned deployed military personnel from using tech with active location-tracking features.
Telegram Passport wants to be the go-to authorization service. Photo: Telegram
Secure messaging app Telegram now lets you save copies of your most important documents so that you always have them with you.
Telegram Passport can hold your driving license, passport, other forms of ID, and more — and promises to protect them with end-to-end encryption. You can then use those documents to prove who you are when logging into other services.
Version 6.0 is an all-in-one solution for online risk prevention, identity monitoring, and identity restoration. Its revolutionary Identity Dashboard makes it easier than ever to find out how you might be vulnerable, and the steps you can take to bolster your security.
Can you tell the difference? Photo: Jason Keobler/Motherboard
Now that rival smartphone makers have had some time to follow in Apple’s footsteps, you don’t have to spend $1,000 on an iPhone X to enjoy features like facial recognition and an edge-to-edge screen. For instance, this handset looks almost exactly like Apple’s latest flagship, and yet it costs just $100.
But don’t be fooled by its pretty face. This unashamed iPhone X clone is as ugly as sin under the surface, and its poor excuse for security is even scarier.
There may already be a way around Apple's USB Restricted Mode. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Yesterday, Apple’s iOS 11.4.1 update secured the USB Lightning port on iPhones and iPads. And already there is a workaround, allowing cops and criminals to retain access to the port, and then use their hacking tools to extract your private data.
Time for bed. iOS 12 lets you choose who can disturb you. Photo: Apple
Maybe the most important new feature of iOS 12 is something that helps you to do less with your iPhone, not more.
If any other company had introduced Screen Time, the new system-wide toolset for limiting phone distractions, then it would (rightly) be dismissed as a gimmick, a sop to the increasing worries about phone addiction. But as is typical of Apple, Screen Time looks like it took a lot of work to get just right.
Screen Time may seem to be about combatting app addiction, and reducing the amount of time “wasted” on your iPhone. However, taken together with the new Do Not Disturb settings in iOS 12, it’s more about putting users back in control of their iPhones.
Data Protection is better than 10 padlocks for your iPhone. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
There’s a security setting in iOS that will erase everything on your iPhone, resetting it back to a blank, factory-state slate if you tap in the wrong passcode 10 times. It’s called Data Protection, and I never wrote a how to on this because I figured everyone would have it switched on. After all, who wouldn’t want that kind of excellent security if ever they lost their iPhone?
No, the new iPhone SE won't look like this. Screencap: Creative Concepts
Yet another iPhone SE 2 leak has surfaced ahead of its official unveiling.
A screen protector built for the budget handset corroborates rumors that it will sport an edge-to-edge display with a notch — just like iPhone X. However, that notch won’t be anywhere near as large as it is on Apple’s flagship smartphone.
You can now make Facebook more secure without handing over your number. Photo: Facebook
You can now secure your Facebook account with two-factor authentication without handing over your phone number.
The social network now works alongside apps like Google Authenticator, Duo Security, and more. Its setup process has also been refined to make bolstering security a simpler experience.
Did you ever visit a website and find that it had blocked the usual behavior of the Safari browser? Maybe it’s a banking site that won’t let you paste in your long password into its password field? Or maybe you discovered that YouTube disables Safari’s contextual (right-click) menus and replaces them with it’s own versions? Or maybe you can’t drag that image to the desktop, or copy text from the page?
The good news is that you can wrest control of your browser back from these malicious, control-freak sites. Let’s see how, using the StopTheMadness browser extension.
Passwords and email addresses were available in plaintext. Photo: ZDNet
A popular app called TeenSafe, used by parents to keep tabs on their teenage children’s phone activity, has reportedly been compromised, resulting in “tens of thousands” of account details being exposed.
While no photos, messages or location data was revealed, the database featuring parent email addresses and their corresponding child’s Apple ID email address, plaintext password and device name was accessible. The TeenSafe app described itself as a “secure” monitoring app.
Dashlane can store all your logins, and makes signing in to websites quick and easy. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
How many logins and passwords do you have? If the answer is more than one, then ask yourself how many accounts use the same password? If that answer isn’t zero, you need Dashlane. Reused and weak passwords are one of the biggest vulnerabilities on the modern web, but remembering a bunch of unique and complex passwords is nearly impossible. What isn’t hard is using your thumb or face to open a password manager with all your strong passwords.
Twitter is crushing dreams in 2020. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Twitter is testing a “Secret” messaging feature that will protect users’ private messages with end-to-end encryption. The feature has already been baked into the Twitter app for Android, but it hasn’t yet been activated inside a public release.
Steve Jobs’ brief for iPad: A piece of glass for emailing on the toilet Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Ever since iOS 9, you’ve been able to block ads, trackers, and other content in Mobile Safari. But as websites fought back, and the content-blocker apps added yet more rules in return, the war escalated. Blocker apps started to hit Apple’s hard limit of 50,000 rules.
Probably the most popular and comprehensive blocker is 1Blocker, which just got superseded by 1Blocker X. The new app splits off itself into seven “extensions,” each of which have 50,000 rules, bringing the total to 350,000 rules.
This doesn’t just allow 1Blocker X to boast in the app store. It also allows whole new categories of content blocking. The new setup works slightly differently, so let’s see how to get things started.
Cheap iPhone 8 displays should work with iOS 11.3.1. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple just rolled out iOS 11.3.1 with a fix for third-party iPhone displays that stopped working properly after an earlier software update. The release also promises security improvements for iPhone and iPad.
DNS is what sends you to the correct site when you browse the internet, but it is also non-encrypted, and reveals your entire browsing history. Your browser’s private mode does nothing, and the little green lock icon that denotes a secure connection doesn’t help either.
DNS is also slow. So, in order to fix both of these problems, you need to change your DNS provider to one that is both private, and fast. That’s Cloudflare’s new 1.1.1.1 service.
iOS 11.3 Safari doesn't automatically fill in user names and passwords. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The just-released iOS 11.3 requires Safari users to tap in web pages to AutoFill their user names and passwords. This means extra work for you, but it’s also more secure.
Another change in the latest version of iOS adds warnings when entering private information onto non-encrypted web pages.
Learn how to stop apps from accessing your iPhone's microphone. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
A few months back, we started hearing a lot of creepy stories about folks having real-life, in-person conversations with friends, and then getting Facebook ads on the same subject soon after. Was Facebook using their iPhone/iPad’s microphone to eavesdrop on them, then serving ads based on what it heard? Technically, it’s not much different to Google scanning your email and serving ads based on their content. In reality, it’s a whole ‘nother level of creepy.
Face ID completely changes the way users interact with their iPhone, but imagine if every physical lock could be opened with just a glance.
In Apple’s newest iPhone X ad, the powers of Face ID get unleashed on the real world after a high school girl discovers (or imagines?) she has the power to open anything with her face.