Checklist 10: Demystifying Malware Types and Terminology (Part 2)

With malware attacks on the rise, more and more news coverage is devoted to analyzing these threats. On today’s show we’re going to help you make sense of all that security gibberish by demystifying the terminology and acronyms frequently encountered when it comes to malware.

Apple and Others Revoke All Security Certificates from Chinese Provider

In recent days, several major tech companies have formally disavowed and discontinued use of a Chinese security certificate provider, WoSign. The abandonments began when Mozilla announced that WoSign was not following best practices in issuing its certificates. The primary concern lies in the fact that WoSign was back-dating certain website certificates to circumvent checks that prevent expired certs from working. After Mozilla’s announcement, Apple quickly also said that they would distrust and ban all WoSign certificates. Not long after, Google followed by announcing the search giant would also distrust WoSign …

Securing Your iPad in iOS 10

Ten years ago, the idea of powerful, portable tablets in everyday use around the world seemed closer to science fiction than reality. With the incredible success of the iPad and the ignition of a booming market for tablets, though, they’re now as ubiquitous as cell phones. They make appearances everywhere from school classrooms to corporate boardrooms. Because so many of us now use our iPads as part of our daily lives, keeping them secure is a top priority. Should you ever lose your iPad to theft or misplacement, no one …

Checklist 09: Demystifying Malware Types and Terminology (Part 1)

On today’s show we’re going to cover what makes a piece of spyware different from a worm, and what makes a keylogger different from adware. Once you can tell the difference between the different types of malware, you’ll be better prepared to understand just how the different types of threats can affect *you*, and which ones are worth losing sleep over!

Safeguarding Your Information in the Age of the App

There’s no denying that Apple has completely changed the way we interact with and think about software, especially on mobile devices. Nearly a decade after its release, the App Store serves up hundreds of thousands of apps that are downloaded billions of times by people around the world. Even the word “app” itself entered our vocabularies largely as a result of mobile software.

Today, “apps” even appear on desktop computers, from Google Chrome’s store to Microsoft’s focus on desktop-based apps. The ease of installation — often just a …

The Dyn DDoS is a Reminder of the Need for Hardened Network Security

When the first computer networks were connected, it’s unlikely the engineers had any idea of what was to come. Today, with the ubiquity of the Internet and digital electronic devices, a world without networks and instant global reach seems almost entirely foreign. While these systems power the connectivity of our smartphones and let us watch funny videos online, they also do much more.

Our digital infrastructure forms the backbone of modern financial institutions, power production, industry, and much more. Computers play a fundamental role in many sectors. To …

Checklist 08: Best Practices for Login and Password Security

On today’s episode, we’re hitting best practices when it comes to login and password security — simple steps you can take to keep your accounts from falling into the wrong hands, and what to do in the event that your password has been compromised.

Checklist 07: New Security Features in macOS Sierra

On today’s episode, we’re talking about the latest version of Apple’s desktop operating system, the newly rebranded macOS Sierra. Specifically, we’re going to be focusing on some of the new and expanded security features found in macOS 10.12.

Checklist 06: Identify and avoid online scams in 5 easy steps

Internet criminals can be pretty devious, and it’s becoming increasingly harder to determine legitimate sites from fake ones these days. In today’s episode, we’ll go over five ways to identify and avoid online scams, helping to keep your personal data (and the contents of your bank account!) out of the hands of online con-artists.

Russian Hackers Target OS X with New Trojan

Mac users who haven’t yet updated from OS X El Capitan to the brand new macOS Sierra might want to make doing so a priority. According to security site Dark Reading, there is a new Trojan out in the wild that is targeting OS X. Any machines running any incarnation of the OS X operating system could be vulnerable to the threat.

The initial discovery of the Trojan was by a Palo Alto Networks research team, who codenamed the threat “Komplex.” The researchers said that the Trojan is the …

New App Helps Detect Unauthorized Audio or Video Recording

UPDATE 01/23/17 : Skype patches privacy concern in OS X version

There’s a new app out there that Mac users would be wise to consider installing. It’s called OverSight and is designed to alert Mac users whenever their microphones or webcams are activated. The application is currently available for free download here.

Patrick Wardle, a former NSA employee, and noted security researcher developed OverSight and recently presented the technology at the Virus Bulletin conference in Denver, Colorado. Wardle’s presentation showed how it would be possible for malware to …

Checklist 05: 5 Easy Steps to Prepare your Mac before selling it

On today’s episode, we’re going to run down a checklist of steps to take before selling, donating, or giving away your old Mac. These steps will ensure the secure removal of your personal information and data from your old computer, and help make your transition to a new computer go as smoothly as possible.

SecureMac Releases PrivacyScan 1.9 to Support macOS Sierra (10.12)

Las Vegas, NV, October 4th, 2016 – SecureMac, one of the key contributors in the Mac security world, today announced the release of PrivacyScan 1.9, its popular privacy protection software for Mac users.  PrivacyScan 1.9 includes support for macOS Sierra (10.12) and addresses other bugs from earlier versions of the software.

“It’s been well documented that there has been a dramatic increase in threats against Mac users in the past several years,” said Nicholas Raba, President of SecureMac.  “We spend our lives striving to keep the Mac user-community as safe …

Checklist 04: 10 things to do when setting up your new Mac (Part 2)

In today’s episode, we’re covering the remaining five items on our list of 10 things to do when setting up a new Mac. We’ll be covering specifics when it comes to protecting your data, and discuss the best ways to safeguard your privacy.

Apple Releases macOS Sierra, Provides Feature Updates and Security Updates

Every fall without fail, Apple does two things: unveils a new iPhone and releases new operating systems for its mobile and desktop devices. As of Tuesday, September 20th, the new operating system update for desktop and laptop computers is available. Called macOS Sierra, the operating system is the first Mac OS not to bear the OS X name. It also adds several new features, including Mac support for Siri (previously only available on iOS devices), iCloud optimization, greater integration with the iPhone and the Apple Watch, and more.

Unsurprisingly, …

Apple Urges iOS 9.3.5 Upgrade in Response to Spyware

At one point in time, the idea that we might have to worry about hackers attacking our phones would have been fanciful. Similarly, the thought of a private group using software to spy on individuals through their phones might have felt more at home in a movie. Yet with Apple’s release of the iOS security update 9.3.5 and their urgent insistence for all users to upgrade immediately, it’s hard to deny that is the technological reality.

Known as Pegasus, the software exploited a now-patched vulnerability which allowed it …

Children’s Websites Pay Settlement for Tracking User Activity

Several popular children’s websites have agreed to a court settlement for tracking kids’ activities on the web. The sites collectively will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York. Schneiderman discovered that the sites in question were monitoring kids online and tracking their movements to advance their marketing agendas.

While this type of behavior is legal (and common) with adult users, Internet tracking and targeted advertising gets into dangerous territory when monitoring kids. Schneiderman’s investigation found that the websites in …

Dropbox Security Concerns Deepen with Extensive System Permissions Requests

Over the past few years, there has been an undeniable explosion in the popularity of using “the cloud” for services as diverse as music streaming, web hosting, and file storage. One of the earliest, biggest, and most continually influential players in cloud services is Dropbox. As the company that brought cloud storage and file syncing into widespread use, it’s easy to ascribe safety and security to the Dropbox brand based on popularity alone. In spite of its presence on many platforms including OS X and its everyday use in business …

Ransomware Imitation Attempts to Fool iPhone Users

Though the threat of computer viruses once lurked primarily in the domain of email attachments and suspicious file downloads, the current landscape is vastly different. Simply doing damage to a system and spreading a virus further is no longer the biggest threat. From spyware to any of the many flavors of malware, there are many new and evolving security issues facing computer systems globally. Ransomware continues its rise to prevalence as infections rise year over year, compromising more machines. Ransomware, a type of malware which locks down user access to …

SecureMac to Debut “The Checklist” Podcast Series

Apple Security Experts Teaming Up with Popular Radio Host, Ken Ray

Las Vegas, NV, September 8, 2016 – SecureMac, one of the key contributors in the Mac security world, today announced the debut episode of “The Checklist – presented by SecureMac,” a security-themed podcast series intended for a wide range of audiences from novices to like-minded experts. Ken Ray, a popular icon in ‘all things related to Apple’ will serve as the host.

Each week, Nicholas Raba, Nicholas Ptacek and Ken will cover a wide range of security topics related to Mac …