iCloud - page 7

iCloud switch in China could impact international users too

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Apple is migrating Chinese iCloud accounts to a locally-owned server in February.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

There appears to be a bit of confusion regarding who is and isn’t going to be affected by Apple’s migration of China-based iCloud accounts to a server operated by a Chinese company next month.

According to a new report, the migration of iCloud accounts is also affecting a number of accounts that were opened in the U.S., are paid for with U.S. dollars, and are connected with U.S.-based App Store accounts.

Chinese company will take control of local iCloud accounts next month

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
The changeover affects only iCloud customers in China.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s iCloud services in mainland China will switch over to a server operated by a Chinese company starting next month.

Apple sent out a message to customers in China, revealing terms and conditions of the changeover. This includes the fact that both Apple and the Chinese firm, Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry (GCBD), will now have access to all customer data stored on iCloud.

Clips gets iPhone X-powered update with 360-degree selfies

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Clips
Clips 2.0 is available now.
Photo: Apple

Apple is coming out with a big update to its video-making app Clips today that will be sure to delight users if you’re lucky enough to have an iPhone X.

Clips 2.0 is launching with an all-new feature called “Selfie Scenes” that takes advantage of the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera to create augmented-reality scenes and stages behind the user.

Third man charged in ‘Celebgate’ iCloud hacking scheme

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Celebgate hack
Phishing scam targeted dozens of celebrities, along with other users.
Image: Cult of Mac

A third man has plead guilty to hacking 550 iCloud and Google Gmail accounts, including those belonging to 40 celebrities — resulting in the leaking of sensitive photos and videos.

Chicago resident Emilio Herrera participated in the phishing scam between April 2013 and August 2014, which involved sending out alerts that appeared to have come from Apple, Yahoo, and Hotmail, requesting username and password information.

Apple surprises developers with fifth iOS 11.1 beta

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iPhone
iOS 11.1 is nearly ready for the public.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Developers received the fifth beta build of iOS 11.1 this morning, just three days after Apple released the last batch of updates.

The new iOS 11.1 beta 5 update brings a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to the iPhone and iPad. Apple added a couple of UI tweaks and new features in the previous iOS 11.1 beta build.

How to share and collaborate in GarageBand using iCloud

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recording studio
With iOS 11, you don't need to go to a recording studio to collaborate on a song.
Photo: Iñaki de Bilbao/Flickr CC

One of the great new features in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra is shared documents. You can create almost any kind of file, and collaborate on it with other people. This can be a simple Pages document, or a complex song in GarageBand. In theory, the file will be updated with everybody’s changes, so you can work on the same project without emailing a zillion copies back and forth.

Currently, this feature ranges from a little shaky, to rock solid, depending on what apps you are using. Here’s how to share and collaborate using GarageBand in iOS 11.

Apple drops iOS 11.1 beta 2 with dozens of new emoji

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iOS 11.1 emoji
Mythical creatures coming in iOS 11.1.
Photo: Apple

Apple unleashed hundreds of new emoji on developers today with the release of iOS 11.1 beta 2.

The new beta update arrives nearly two weeks after the last beta was made available and comes with a host of new features and bug fixes, including support for Unicode 10 emoji characters.

iOS 11.1 beta 1 is already out for developers

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iOS 11
iOS 11 just got its first big update.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first big beta update for iOS 11 has already arrived just over a week after Apple’s new software went live for the public.

Developers received a fresh batch of updates this morning, including iOS 11.1 beta 1 which adds a host of changes and bug fixes to Apple’s most significant software release of 2017.

Everything you need to know about iOS 11

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iPhone 7 iOS 11
The new Control Center is just one of many great new iOS 11 features.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Over the past two months, Cult of Mac scoured the iOS 11 betas to collect tips and tricks for Apple’s latest mobile operating system. We’ve covered everything, from the iPad’s amazing new Dock and Drag-and-Drop to the iPhone’s new lifesaving Do Not Disturb While Driving.

We’ve created this iOS 11 guide, which we will update going forward, so you can easily find links to our best iOS 11 tips and how-tos. Read on for more on the radically improved Notes app, iOS 11’s powerful new camera features and more.

Everything you need to know about the new Files app on iOS 11

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files app ios11
Files is like the Finder for iOS 11.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Files is the new Finder app for iOS 11, and it’s already about a million times better than the basic file-picker it replaces — iCloud Drive. Files is a central place from which to access all the files on your iDevice, and in iCloud. You can find, organize, open, and delete all the files on your device, in iCloud, and on 3rd-party storage services like Dropbox. And because this is iOS 11, Files supports all the fancy new multitasking features like drag-and-drop.

So, lets take a look at what it can do:

Everything we expect Apple to unveil at its September 12 event

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Tim Cook was short on surprises at the 'Hello Again' keynote.
What will Tim surprise us with this time?
Photo: Apple

The biggest Apple keynote of 2017 is just a few short hours away. And according to the rumors, its going to be one of the most memorable tech events in years.

When Tim Cook and Co. take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on September 12, we expect them to unveil not one, not two, but three new iPhones. A bunch of other new hardware and software is also on the docket, making this an Apple keynote not to be missed.

Here’s everything Apple will likely reveal.

How to stop your iCloud and Apple ID getting hacked

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don't get hacked
A good password is just the start of good security.
Photo: 1Password

If you have a lame password, then your iCloud account will eventually get hacked. You might not think a hacker is interested in you, but you’re wrong. The good news is that there are several easy steps you can take to lock your Apple ID down and make it safe.

If you don’t think it’s important, consider this: Your photos, your email, all your browsing history, your credit card information, all of the files you have in iCloud, your contacts, notes, calendars, and all your personal messages will all be open to anyone that hacks your account. Not only that, but you can then be impersonated on social media, so that all your other accounts can be hacked too.

How to use iCloud Keychain to sync passwords across Apple devices

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setup iCloud keychain
Setting up iCloud Keychain is extremely straightforward and easy.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Nobody likes having to type a password every time they need to sign in to a website or service. iCloud Keychain is Apple’s take on simplifying password management across the Mac, iPhone and iPad. It securely stores your user names, passwords, and credit and debit card details, then auto-fills fields when required. It can also generate strong passwords and sync Wi-Fi credentials.

If you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem, it might be a good idea to start using this handy feature. Before we dive in to use it, let’s have a look at all the features of iCloud Keychain.

Apple officially adds services to business strategy

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App Store
Services like the App Store are a huge money maker.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Services have become such an important revenue stream for Apple in recent years that the company decided to update its official business strategy today reflect its expanding money making machine.

In a filing with the SEC, Apple made a couple of changes to the description of its business. It’s the first time a major change has been made to the strategy since around 2014.

How to share your iCloud storage plan with family members

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iCloud storage family plans
Sharing a big storage plan can save money, and make things simpler.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

In iOS 11, you can share your iCloud storage with family members. This is a big deal, thanks to the new supersize iCloud plans, which make it a lot cheaper to buy a single 2TB plan and share it among all your family members.

With all that storage available, you can keep a huge iCloud Photo Library, and take full advantage of the new Files app in iOS 11. Never again will you run out of storage on your iPhone, iPad or the MacBook you foolishly specced at just 128GB of storage space. Here’s how to share iCloud storage with your family members.

New Apple data center will boost iCloud in China

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple will help launch a new data center in the Guizhou province of China to boost iCloud services locally.

A new report claims the company has signed a cooperation agreement with the government to invest $1 billion in the facility, which will be maintained by a third-party.

PhoneRescue makes iPhone data loss less scary

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tocult
PhoneRescue shows that depth and flexibility are key with mobile data recovery.
Photo: iMobie

This post is brought to you by iMobie, maker of PhoneRescue.

Our iPhones carry all our important info, which makes them something of liability. Losing or breaking one is painful enough, but often the loss of personal data is even worse. Recovery services like Time Machine and iCloud make this less of a worry. But limits remain about what you can retrieve and how.

Apple stakes a claim over smart headsets

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VR headset
Is Apple about to dive deeper into AR?
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Apple has updated its iCloud trademark to cover “smartglasses” and headsets.

The company has been on a mission to add new devices to many of its filings in recent months, but its latest update is particularly interesting following the introduction of ARKit at WWDC.

Free tool makes wirelessly backing up iOS devices a breeze

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dna
Backups have never been simpler.
Photo: DigiDNA

Backing up your iOS devices can be a pain — but not if you have iMazing Mini, a smart yet simple new tool from DigiDNA that makes backups a breeze.

It not only gives you more control over your data, but it can perform backups wirelessly on a schedule that suits you. It also has a whole bunch of other awesome features, and it’s completely free — without any pesky ads.

Two-factor authentication required for iOS 11, macOS High Sierra

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple will automatically migrate iCloud users to two-step verification when they upgrade to iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra.

Apple says its “most advanced” account security is required to use some of the latest features of its operating systems, so it’s no longer optional if you plan on updating your devices.