The Checklist 78: The Perils and Pitfalls of Old Software and Hardware

In the time since we started The Checklist, we’ve reported on and discussed a variety of stories that, time and time again, come back to the same foundation: hackers breaking into the computers in our homes and businesses by exploiting weaknesses in old hardware or…

Shlayer

Coldroot

Checklist 79: Cryptocurrency and Your Web Browser

Last year, we visited the subject of Bitcoin and the technology behind it, the blockchain, in Episode 59 of The Checklist. In just a few short months since that episode, the price of one Bitcoin exploded, hundreds of new cryptocurrencies appeared, and company after company…

The Checklist 80: Digital Legacies

For all our listeners of The Checklist, it is no secret that we are strong advocates for security. Usually, we come on this show to talk about how to secure your digital life and keep unauthorized individuals from snooping through your information. Security is important,…

Some Apps on the Mac App Store Are Mining Cryptocurrency

The wave of cryptocurrency miners taking the place of common malware continues in 2018 unabated, and it appears every week we encounter another story about a website running surreptitious miners or a company looking for ways to use your CPU resources. As Mac users, we…

Checklist 81: Facebook’s Privacy Failures Leave You in the Cold

If you’ve been listening to the news recently, you’ve probably heard the name “Cambridge Analytica” come up — and all kinds of stories about the data firm’s former executives claiming they could manipulate and intimidate large numbers of people with crafted, targeted social media content.

Police Can Now Access iPhone Data Using a Secretive Piece of Hardware

For several years now, a fierce debate has raged over how much access law enforcement organizations (LEOs) should be able to have to the mobile devices of those suspected of a crime. The issue made nationwide headlines after the San Bernardino attacks in 2015, when the FBI grappled with how to break into an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators. While the FBI did eventually retrieve device data by utilizing an unknown group to gain access to the phone’s encrypted contents, law enforcement agencies, in general, have maintained that they must have a “backdoor” to access info secured by your iPhone passcode. Apple has steadfastly refused to give in to such demands, but it appears that for now, those refusals don’t matter: LEOs can now use a pricey piece of hardware called GrayKey.

SecureMac Tackles Tough Privacy Concerns with PrivacyScan 1.9.4

Las Vegas, Nevada — Concern for personal privacy in the digital world is at an all-time high, and with prominent stories about data breaches and leaks on the rise, users are right to want to take better control of their data. However, Mac users today…

Checklist 82: Security threats targeting macOS and iOS

Malware and vulnerabilities have roared in early in 2018. On this week’s Checklist by SecureMac, three hazards and two helpers about which you should know.