Apple Delays Enforcement of Secure In-App Web Connections in 2017

Update: In response to developer concerns about meeting the ATS deadline, Apple has extended the timeframe for compliance. Click here to read more on the latest developments in this process.

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Apps on iOS devices were about to become a lot more secure overall in the approaching new year, but Apple has pushed back its deadline in a late announcement. What’s this about, you might ask? Well, it all has to do with groundwork laid several years ago, way back in iOS 9. In that update, Apple took the …

iPhone Users Beware: New SMS Flaw Can Crash Messages app on all iOS Versions

An issue relating to text message attachments is currently causing severe issues for iPhones across all iOS 10 versions, as well as previous releases. Unlike the infamous 2015 Unicode exploit, in which the body of a message caused a system crash, this new problem creates severe instability in the iPhone’s Messages app. After an initial crash, created by opening a malicious attachment, Messages is unable to recover and restart, even after a hard reboot of the iPhone.

At the root of the flaw is an extremely large phone contacts …

Checklist 17: 2016 Mac Security Year In Review

The past year has seen threats new and old targeting Mac users, but it has also seen some significant progress from Apple when it comes to security. On today’s episode, we’ll be covering some of the top Mac security stories that you might have missed over the past year.

Flash’s Decline Continues as Edge and Chrome Move to Block the Software

Once common on websites across the entire Internet, Adobe Flash is today mainly known for its extreme security flaws. At times it has seemed like a new Flash zero-day exploit came out several times each month, always sending Adobe scrambling to issue a quick fix. Earlier this year, Apple took the step of blocking all out-of-date versions of Flash from running in Safari; that position transformed into an even more hardline approach by the early summer. At that point, Apple announced that future versions of Safari would disable Flash …

Mirai Botnet Returns to Menace European Internet Users

Several months ago, Americans on the East Coast awoke to discover that large swathes of the Internet, including major sites like Twitter, were totally inaccessible. The problems continued for hours; the cause was eventually revealed to be a huge DDoS attack launched against Dyn, a major DNS provider in America. The attack, leveraging an army of compromised devices like DVRs and webcams called the Mirai botnet, did no lasting damage but did draw further attention to the growing problem that botnets such as these represent.

Now, Mirai has struck …

Checklist 16: 5 Ways Websites Are Tracking You

There are many different ways that websites and advertisers can track your online browsing habits. In today’s episode, we’re covering 5 ways websites are tracking you, why they’re doing it, and what it means for online privacy.

Apple Moves to Enforce Secure In-App Web Connections in 2017

Apps on iOS devices are about to become a lot more secure overall in the approaching new year, and it all has to do with the groundwork laid by Apple several years ago. Way back in iOS 9, Apple took the step of requiring a secure HTTP connection from apps requesting pages via the Internet. Known as App Transport Security, or ATS, this feature prevents apps from creating insecure connections to the web. These types of connections, as we know, pose a potentially severe security threat and increase the …

Facebook Enters the Online Black Market to Buy Back Passwords

With years of high-profile hacks and huge numbers of stolen passwords already in the history books, it’s no surprise that there’s a black market on the web for dealing with this hacked data. What you might not know, however, is that the purchasers of such information aren’t always those with a malicious purpose. Rather than some spammer or botnet operator buying up your stolen password, it could actually be Facebook. Why would the social media giant head onto the dark web to purchase illegitimately obtained user information, though? The …

Apple Corrects Slew of Security Issues with New Updates

Following a month-long gap after the release of iOS 10.1.1, Apple has finally released its latest round of updates not just for its iOS devices but several other products as well. In addition to iOS 10.2, macOS Sierra received many security updates, as did Safari. iCloud and iTunes for Windows also received minor patches as well. While Apple took the time to add some additional features and tweaks to iOS in its update, these patches were mainly aimed at closing many ongoing system vulnerabilities.

Among the most crucial fixes …

Flash’s Decline Continues as Edge and Chrome Move to Block the Software

Once a staple of websites across the entire Internet, Adobe Flash is today mainly known for its extreme security flaws. At times it seems like a new Flash zero-day exploit comes out several times each month, always sending Adobe scrambling to issue a quick fix. Earlier this year, Apple took the step of blocking all out-of-date versions of Flash from running in Safari; that position transformed into an even more hardline approach by the early summer. At that point, Apple announced that future versions of Safari would disable Flash …

Security Researchers Uncover Massive WordPress Vulnerability

Since the entrance of the word “blog” into our vocabularies in the mid-2000s, the idea of what blogging encompasses has undergone a significant amount of change. What hasn’t changed, however, is a lot of the underlying architecture that powers those blogs. WordPress is among the most popular platforms for creating websites on the Internet. By one estimate, WordPress software is the engine behind nearly 30% of all websites. These aren’t just blogs as such; many other sites run on some variation of the core WordPress software.

Considering the staggering …

Siri Exploit Creates an Avenue for Hackers to Bypass Your Passcodes

Preventing unauthorized access to your iPhone is important; that’s why so many of us lock our phones with secure passcodes and even our fingerprints. These basic features mean that no passerby can pick up your phone and start going through your personal information. However, it’s important for users concerned with privacy and security to keep a close eye on their devices. In some cases, information stored on your phone can still be vulnerable even with a passcode lock. For example, if you have Siri enabled, there is a potential …

Checklist 15: 4 Things to Know About the Muni Hack

It seems like new malware attacks are in the news just about every week. A recent ransomware attack crippled San Francisco’s public transit system, with far-reaching consequences. In today’s episode, we’re going to cover four important things you should know about the Muni hack.

Malvertising Hits macOS Users Through Google AdWords

With the huge number of ads present on the web today, it’s no surprise that they’re often a target and an attack vector for hackers looking for an open door. We’ve discussed malvertising here before to alert our readers to the potential threat. Now there comes word from security researchers that malvertisers executed a campaign specifically targeting macOS users early in November. This time the target was users who were hoping to install Google Chrome.

When searching for the keywords “Google Chrome,” a malicious ad purchased by the …

Checklist 14: 5 Ways to Secure Your Browser

It’s no secret that web browsers rank among the most popular software for daily use, but this popularity also makes browsers an appealing target for viruses, malware, and hackers. In today’s episode, we’re going to tackle this issue with 5 ways to ensure a safe and secure Internet browsing experience.

Dual-Booters Beware: Boot Camp Could Damage the Speakers on your new MacBook

For those who need versatile options when it comes to operating systems, Boot Camp is one of the best tools to have at your disposal. With how easy it makes dual-booting both Windows and macOS on your Mac, many people rely on it when they require access to a Microsoft environment for work or development purposes.

However, it seems that the recent refresh of the MacBook Pro line has brought with it some unexpected problems affecting the laptop’s speakers. Users began to report that when dual-booting into Windows, they …

Checklist 13: Q&A Grab Bag

On this week’s episode, we’re going to do something a bit different, and rather than focusing on one topic, we’ll be answering some listener questions on-air! Please feel free to shoot us an e-mail if you ever have a question about a topic we’ve covered, have a specific topic you’d like us to cover in the future, or need some advice when it comes to the security of your devices — we love hearing from our listeners!

Checklist 12:Five Tips for Secure Holiday Shopping

It’s estimated that 120 million people shopped online on Cyber Monday in 2015, and that number is sure to be even higher this year! That’s a lot of gift shopping — and a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong. While shopping online is convenient, it also carries some security risks. On today’s Checklist: Five things you can do to make your online shopping more secure.

Cyber Monday Savings from SecureMac – PrivacyScan for Only 99 Cents

Las Vegas, NV, November 21, 2016 – SecureMac, one of the key contributors in the Mac security world, today announced a Cyber Monday special for its PrivacyScan software.  Consumers will have one day, Monday, November 28, 2016 to purchase this popular privacy protection software for Mac users for only 99 cents, compared to $14.99 the other 364 days of the year.

PrivacyScan securely removes files used for tracking your computer usage and online whereabouts, including internet browsing history, cache files, cookies, search history, recent items and much more – …

Researcher Discovers That Shazam App Is Always On

Since its arrival in 2002, Shazam has become a popular tool among music fans for identifying songs playing on the radio, in restaurants, in movies or TV shows, and in other similar situations. However, according to recent research conducted by a former NSA staffer, the Mac version of Shazam might be invading your privacy.

Shazam essentially works by listening to and analyzing sound. If you have the app on your phone, you would pull it up and let the app “listen” to whatever song is playing in order to identify it. …