Apple
In early September, Apple achieved two milestone releases: the arrival of iOS 12 for mobile devices and macOS Mojave for the desktop environment. Along with a host of bug fixes, both operating systems pushed their security hardening forward. Most notably, users on macOS can now trust that applications won’t gain access to the full contents of their hard disk without permission. While the changes do add the potential for dialog box fatigue and has impacted the operation of some software, it’s in line with Apple’s continued efforts to lock down …
November 9, 2018 •
3 min read
Apple
Just a few hours after Apple released iOS 12.1 – which contained a few new features and a large slate of bug fixes – a security researcher identified a new privacy flaw. The researcher, Jose Rodriguez, recently made headlines a few weeks ago after identifying a problem with Siri similar to this new vulnerability. In both cases, an unauthorized user could access restricted information by bypassing a user’s PIN passcode. Though the exploits require physical access to your device to execute, they can result in the exposure of photos (in …
November 7, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
The latest major version of Apple’s flagship mobile operating has been released, along with a group of updates shared among iOS and many other products, include macOS Mojave and watchOS. As a significant milestone, iOS 12 consists of a variety of hardened security improvements alongside various fixes for many different vulnerabilities and bugs. From making good security easier for users, to locking down loopholes, there’s a lot to unpack in iOS 12.
First up: the latest improvements to the operating system itself. With two-factor authentication more important for user …
October 4, 2018 •
3 min read
Apple
The average person, when they think about fax machines, probably puts them into the same class of technology as dial-up Internet — old, obsolete, and supplanted by more advanced technology. That last component, though, isn’t really true for the humble fax. In fact, many industries, including the medical sector, still rely heavily on fax machines for sending huge volumes of information daily. However, many of the fax machines in use today are not standalone devices, as they were in the 1980s; instead, they’re a component of all-in-one printers and scanners. …
August 30, 2018 •
3 min read
Apple
How do you manage your email? For those who receive a high volume of messages every day and depend on their email for work purposes, answering this question is essential. Most stock mail clients don’t always offer the capabilities you need from them; for that reason, many people choose to use third-party email management programs. macOS users are no exception. However, it is important to be aware that this software, like any other, can put your data at risk if the developers fail to take appropriate security measures. That appears …
August 28, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
One of the simplest ways to stay safe and secure on your Mac is to pay close attention to the warnings and prompts that the system often pops up when you’re in the middle of things. Many times, you might even expect these prompts to appear. It’s just macOS’s way of saying, “Hey, are you sure about that?” when something involves sensitive files or has extensive permissions. When you aren’t expecting them, they’re even more important: as your first line of defense, they can be a big red flag …
August 20, 2018 •
3 min read
Apple
It’s that time again: Apple has pushed out a variety of updates for practically all its products, from iTunes for Windows to multiple flavors of macOS, plus the latest version of iOS 11.4. New security updates are also available for iCloud for Windows, Safari, watchOS, and tvOS. What should you know about these updates?
First, iOS 11.4.1 finally includes the much-discussed USB Restricted Mode, a new security feature that aims at making it more difficult for law enforcement agencies and others from using phone-cracking devices to break past a …
July 18, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
A strong passcode is one of the most important elements of personal security on iOS devices. While it has been some time since Apple introduced the stronger six-digit passcodes (which they now recommend), many people continue to use the four-digit PIN. According to one recent report by a security researcher, the iPhone could be vulnerable to an extremely simple brute force attack which would render those four digits useless. However, Apple has since taken the public stance that the vulnerability as described does not exist. What’s going on here?
July 3, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
Apple’s Swift programming language is a useful tool for developers on Mac and iOS platforms due to its versatility and wide-reaching application. Occasionally, though, Apple uncovers issues within Swift that could unintentionally allow bad actors to make inroads towards attack execution. A new Swift module released only a few months ago recently received an update to correct such an issue.
In March, Apple introduced a new open source framework for developers to use, called SwiftNIO, or “Non-Blocking IO.” What it does is complex, but it centers around providing …
July 2, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
It seems like it was just yesterday that we were kicking off the new year and wondering what the months ahead would have in store for us. As we head into the first sweltering days of summer, it’s safe to say that the first half of the year has been jam-packed with bigger and more far-reaching stories than even we could have anticipated. With so much going on, it can be tough to keep up with all the headlines coming your way. Luckily, we have your back — we’ve …
June 28, 2018 •
17 min read
Apple
Code signing is one of the most important lines of defense against malware. It allows a user to know that the software they intend to install or run came from a trusted source, such as Apple, or another trusted developer. While code signing is not a 100% foolproof method, since some malware authors will burn legitimate developer IDs to sign their code, it’s generally a very strong safety feature. Code signed by Apple would be considered especially trustworthy, since no one would be able to spoof Apple’s private key. As …
June 26, 2018 •
2 min read
Apple
How can programmers keep track of all the changes that get made to a piece of software during its development while keeping everyone else on the project in the loop? Answering that challenge is the purpose of what is known as a “version control system.” This is a framework and system for sharing code, tracking changes to that code, and more. One of the most popular version control systems is Git, originally developed to contribute to development on the Linux platform. Today, Git-derived systems power programming efforts on many platforms, …
June 25, 2018 •
2 min read