security - page 6

Telegram now securely stores your most important documents

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Telegram Passport secure document storage
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.

Dashlane 6 is the all-in-one solution for identity protection

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Dashlane 6 identity protection dashboard
Dashlane: Everything you need to stay safe online.
Photo: Dashlane

Dashlane, the official password manager of Cult of Mac, just rolled out a massive update that helps keep your digital identity safe online.

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.

$100 iPhone X clone is a lot scarier than it looks

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$100 iPhone X clone
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.

How iOS 12’s smartest features put users firmly back in control

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Time for bed screen time downtime
Time for bed. iOS 12 lets you choose who can disturb you.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac 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.

This is the most important setting you can enable on your iPhone

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iPhone Data Protection is better than 10 padlocks.
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?

iPhone SE 2 will sport a much smaller notch than iPhone X

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Watch a iPhone SE 2 TV ad
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.

Facebook two-factor authentication no longer needs a phone number

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Facebook two-factor authentication
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.

How to stop websites hijacking Safari

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hijacked StopTheMadness
Take back control of Safari with StopTheMadness.
Photo: Daniel Rehn/Flickr CC

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.

Popular parental teen-monitoring app left user Apple IDs exposed

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TeenSafe
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 keeps your password game on point [50 Essential iOS Apps #15]

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Dashlane password manager all items list on iPhone
Dashlane can store all your logins, and makes signing in to websites quick and easy.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Dashlane password manager appHow 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 tests ‘Secret’ encrypted messaging feature

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Twitter has changed its mind on deleting inactive user accounts (for now)
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.

How to stop sites tracking you, and speed up your internet with 1Blocker X

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Steve Jobs’ brief for iPad: A piece of glass for emailing on the toilet
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.

How to speed up your internet and stop your ISP tracking you

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cloudflare dns
A cloud, with added flare, just like your awesome new DNS service.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Your entire DNS browsing history can be recorded by your ISP, and will soon be sold to anyone who wants it.

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.

Apple beefs up Safari security with iOS 11.3

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IOS 11.3 Safari
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.

How to stop Facebook eavesdropping on your conversations

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facebook eavesdropping microphone
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 unlocks mayhem in new iPhone X ad

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A9F357BE-3F1B-4359-A9E3-0BD4E4582E74
Face ID irl would be ahmazing!
Photo: Apple

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.

Watch the mayhem unfold:

GrayKey iPhone unlocker could be a black market goldmine

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
GrayKey can bypass iPhone security. It’s supposed to be only for police but...
Photo: Ed Hardy/ Cult of Mac

More details have come to light about the GrayKey iPhone unlocker, and it turns out it’s even more likely to fall into the wrong hands than first thought.

This tool is very expensive, and is intended for use only by law enforcement, but stolen units could someday be available on the black market where they would be a goldmine for identity thieves.

Dashlane reveals the state of password security across America

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Dashlane's password manager on a MacBook Pro
Dashlane reveals the state of password security across America.
Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

How seriously are people taking password security in your city?

Password management service Dashlane today published its 2018 City Security Rankings, revealing the state of password security in America’s most populous cities — and those that are home to some of the biggest companies and government agencies.

Apple’s home city of Cupertino ranks highly, right behind Fort Meade, MD, home of the National Security Agency (NSA).

TSA accused of searching phones and laptops on domestic flights

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iphone
According to new lawsuit, airports are searching phones on some flights.
Photo: Apple

We’re all used to our bags being searched when we go through airport security, but a number of reports claim that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is also searching the electronic devices belonging to passengers on domestic flights within the U.S.

As a result, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the TSA, requesting records gathered by the fderal agency.

FBI seeks industry help unlocking iPhones and other devices

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FBI Director
FBI Director Christopher Wray says law enforcement should be able to access any phone.
Photo: FBI

The FBI wants the tech industry to help unlock thousands of smartphones and tablets involved in criminal cases each year.

FBI Director Christopher Wray did not single out any companies during his talk at a cybersecurity conference today. Still, Apple certainly sits at the top of his wish list.

Chinese woman locked out of iPhone for 47 years

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iPhone China locked
Not a message you want to see on your iPhone.
Photo: Kankanews

Do you want to continue being able to unlock your iPhone in a timely manner? Then maybe don’t leave a 2-year-old child playing with your handset.

That’s the lesson learned by a mom who ended up locked out of her iPhone for 47.5 years because her son entered the passcode incorrectly enough times.

Apple targets Android switchers in latest series of simple ads

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Apple
iPhone has better support.
Photo: Apple

Apple is hoping to convince Android users to switch to iPhone with its latest set of short ads that highlight some the iPhone’s best features.

Five new ads were published by Apple this afternoon covering everyone from ease-of-use to customer support. Most of the ads are less than 15 seconds long and similar in style to the simple campaign Apple launched last year.

Watch all five ads right here: