SecurityIt’s a new year — but some old worries have followed us into 2019, still lingering and causing some concerns. That means it’s time to shake off the last of the sleepiness still hanging around from the holidays and get back down to business. We have phishers making calls looking for info, more issues with troublesome apps that evaded Apple’s notice, and an update to the unfolding story about how Marriott Hotels suffered one of the biggest recent data breaches. So that means that on our list for today, we’re …
January 11, 2019 •
11 min read
Securityalso known as FairyTail
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- Last updated:
- 01/02/19 10:17 pm
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Description
Fairtale is adware.
FairyTale Threat Removal
MacScan can detect and remove FairyTale Adware from your system, as well as provide protection against other security and privacy threats. A 30-day trial is available to scan your system for this threat.
Download MacScan
January 2, 2019 •
1 min read
Securityalso known as CookieMiner
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- Last updated:
- 02/01/19 10:17 pm
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Description
DarthMiner is malware.
DarthMiner Threat Removal
MacScan can detect and remove DarthMiner Malware from your system, as well as provide protection against other security and privacy threats. A 30-day trial is available to scan your system for this threat.
Download MacScan
January 2, 2019 •
1 min read
Security
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- Last updated:
- 01/02/19 10:19 pm
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Description
LamePyre is a trojan horse.
LamePyre Threat Removal
MacScan can detect and remove LamePyre Trojan Horse from your system, as well as provide protection against other security and privacy threats. A 30-day trial is available to scan your system for this threat.
Download MacScan
January 2, 2019 •
1 min read
Security
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- Last updated:
- 01/02/19 10:26 pm
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Description
WindTail is malware.
WindTail Threat Removal
MacScan can detect and remove WindTail Malware from your system, as well as provide protection against other security and privacy threats. A 30-day trial is available to scan your system for this threat.
Download MacScan
January 2, 2019 •
1 min read
Security
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- Last updated:
- 01/02/19 10:23 pm
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Description
PPMiner is cryptocurrency mining malware.
PPMiner Threat Removal
MacScan can detect and remove PPMiner Malware from your system, as well as provide protection against other security and privacy threats. A 30-day trial is available to scan your system for this threat.
Download MacScan
January 2, 2019 •
1 min read
SecurityThe holidays are here — and so is the entire Checklist crew! On this week’s special holiday edition of the show, we’re veering into something new and fun. Rather than bringing you depressing stories about data breaches or the headlines about whatever Facebook’s latest follies may be, we’re sinking into the sofa with mugs of hot chocolate (and mini marshmallows, of course) for a holiday movie marathon. We aren’t flipping on the Hallmark channel, though, because on our list for this week, we’re going to tick off these stories:
An 11-year-old …
December 20, 2018 •
10 min read
SecurityApple recently released a comprehensive set of security updates, affecting devices and applications ranging from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to iTunes to the Apple TV. Below, we have outlined some basic details about these updates, including the devices they are intended for and the security problems they fix.
APPLE-SA-2018-12-06-1 watchOS 5.1.2
This update for watchOS addresses numerous security vulnerabilities that could be exploited to gain or elevate privileges, to execute arbitrary code, to spoof the watch interface, or to present untrusted configurations as verified or trustworthy.
APPLE-SA-2018-12-05-7 Shortcuts 2.1.2
Apple has not …
December 17, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityWith the New Year starting to peek over the horizon, The Checklist is heading to Oz in this week’s discussion — not in terms of “The Wizard of,” though, but “Australia!” There’s a story from Australia this week that has us quite cross, though we also have something to be happy about as Apple starts giving Safari users even more options for safety. We’ll follow that with an update on a story we brought you last week that, while not objectively good, still gives us some good feelings — sometimes …
December 13, 2018 •
9 min read
SecurityLas Vegas, Nevada — With more than 118 episodes in the history books, SecureMac is proud to mark the passing of two years since the initial launch of The Checklist, a weekly privacy and security-focused podcast for users of iOS, macOS, and all things Apple. Hosted by Ken Ray, creator of the long-running and enduringly popular show Mac OS Ken, and SecureMac’s own founder Nicholas Raba, and lead developer Nicholas Ptacek, The Checklist aims to be an easily accessible source of important security news. In an increasingly dangerous digital age, …
December 11, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityAs we get back into the groove of things in between the major holidays, the security hits keep on coming as it starts to look like there are more than just a few weeds in the “walled garden” that is the iOS App Store. Elsewhere, things aren’t always as they seem either as one of the most fundamental ways we know we’re safe on the web turns out to not be so ironclad. And of course, what would an episode of The Checklist be without a discussion about the latest …
December 6, 2018 •
12 min read
SecurityLas Vegas, Nevada – How many companies are tracking where you go online right now? Answering that question isn’t easy, but one thing is sure: it’s not a small number, and it’s growing! From third-party advertisers to social media giants, tracking users is common-place across the web.
With headlines about major security breaches and privacy failures appearing with increasing frequency, Mac users can be left wondering: what can I do about this? It starts with protecting one’s private browsing data and eliminating troublesome tracking cookies. To help users …
December 4, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityWelcome in to our post-Thanksgiving episode of The Checklist, brought to you by SecureMac.
Holiday weeks are typically where news goes to die — everyone shovels out the stories they don’t really want to talk about in the hopes that no one will notice, being instead too distracted by football and stuffing. Does it always work? Nope. Not when you’ve got people like us with their eyes peeled for the stories worth discussing. This week, we’re bringing you a few stories that those involved might have preferred to keep …
November 29, 2018 •
12 min read
SecurityWe’re stuffed on security news this week, with a cornucopia of subjects to sort through in our discussion. We’ll be chatting about a major online retailer fumbling with some of your data just before the biggest shopping season of the year, as well as crypto-miners striking some surprising targets, and a founder of the Web as we know it trying to make the online world a better place. So, we hope you’ve saved room for seconds, because cooking up on this week’s list, we have:
A bit of an oops …
November 22, 2018 •
11 min read
SecurityIn 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
SecurityWelcome in to another episode of The Checklist, brought to you by SecureMac. We’re diving right into the headlines again today, looking first at a new improvement to Mac security, plus a couple of the more interesting stories floating around in the world of computer security this week. So, on our list for this week, we’ve got the following stories:
New Macs get physical with their mics
What’s the Internet for again?
Making laws to handle mishandled data
Let’s kick off today’s discussion with a look at an interesting new security feature …
November 8, 2018 •
13 min read
SecurityJust 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
SecurityType:
Malware
Platform:
Mac OS X
Last updated:
11/01/18 6:01 pm
Threat Level:
High
Description
EvilEgg is malware. EvilEgg comes disguised as a macOS utility called CoinTicker, which is supposed to provide users with information on various types of cryptocurrency. Interestingly, the app itself appears to function as advertised. However, once launched, CoinTicker also proceeds to download two malicious components: the EvilOSX and EggShell backdoors (whence the name EvilEgg).
The backdoors contact a command and control server owned by the hackers, who are then able to execute a broad range of commands on the infected system. CoinTicker also creates a …
November 1, 2018 •
1 min read
SecurityA slightly surprising slip-up on Apple’s part, a helpful security how-to, and an update on a persistent foe — that’s what we’re diving into this week as we tour the headlines and pluck out the security stories that seem most ripe for an interesting discussion. On today’s list, we’re checking off the following stories:
A bypass in Apple’s hours-old update
Scammy subscriptions, and how to stop them
And GrayKey is getting stuck in the lock
This week, we’re starting off with a pretty unique story. When Apple releases a new update, the …
November 1, 2018 •
13 min read
SecurityLast week, we brought you a discussion about some of the latest security and privacy features in Apple’s latest major release, macOS Mojave. Not everything is as it should be, though. Sure, Mojave is just fine for the average user – that’s the determination we made last week – but there are a few problems that have appeared in the days and weeks since its public release. This week, we’re talking about those issues and what’s up with them. On our list:
Full Disk Access Gives Up a Little Too …
October 25, 2018 •
9 min read