SecurityOver the past several years, international travel has become fraught with more privacy and security concerns than ever before. At many borders, including those in the United States, customs agents are increasingly asking travelers to unlock their phones and hand over their laptops for inspection. Government agencies claim this is an anti-terrorism measure, as well as being aimed at combating fraud and trafficking in illegal materials. For many, this feels like an invasion of privacy.
For those with password managers on their devices, this is an especially big concern. …
July 30, 2018 •
2 min read
SecurityIt’s time for another look into the world of security news, where we’ll talk about where Apple stores your sensitive data, the latest and strangest anti-spam efforts, and more. This week we’re narrowing our focus to look at how Apple is handling some of the latest speed bumps in its efforts to grow while also trying to maintain its public commitment to customer privacy and data security. We’ve also got the latest nefarious scheme the bad guys are using to try and extort people on the web these days …
July 26, 2018 •
14 min read
SecurityIt’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
SecurityIn the past, we’ve spent a substantial amount of time talking about the business of security flaws. Usually, it centers around things such as selling personal data on the Dark Web after stealing it using exploits and attacks. Credit card details, names, and addresses, and more — it all makes for a booming black market of data. That’s not the only kind of information sold on the Dark Web, though: sometimes, it’s the exploits that lead to gathering user data in the first place.
On this week’s episode, …
July 12, 2018 •
12 min read
SecurityThe summer keeps on heating up, so why not stay inside where it’s cool, and relax with the newest edition of The Checklist? As the temperatures outside climb, the headlines in the world of Mac security and beyond keep piling up too. This week, we’re touching on a few security hiccups in Apple products, talking about some welcome patches, and covering the latest creepy information about Facebook’s activities to splash into the news. On our agenda for today’s discussion are these topics:
Quick Look may lead to long looks
Apple code …
July 5, 2018 •
18 min read
SecurityA 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
Security
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- Last updated:
- 07/02/18 8:57 pm
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Description
Dummy is malware.
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July 2, 2018 •
1 min read
SecurityApple’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
SecurityIt 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
SecurityCode 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
SecurityHow 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
SecurityFacebook quietly funneled private user data to device-makers like Apple via hidden partnerships. The New York Times exposes how this sharing bypassed privacy settings and extended third-party access well beyond Facebook’s platform.
June 21, 2018 •
15 min read
SecurityWelcome to Episode 93 of The Checklist. Today, our attention turns towards security and insecurity — but we’re not talking about a long-lost Jane Austen novel. Instead, we’re taking a tour through the headlines to hit some of the big and interesting stories that have cropped up in the security sector over the past few weeks. Things we’ll be visiting on today’s list include:
The Zipperdown vulnerability
Puppy Pictures Preempt Privacy
The returning specter of Spectre
eFail: a big bug in email encryption
What does Apple know about you?
The answer to that last question may …
June 14, 2018 •
15 min read
SecurityWhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, is arguably one of the most popular means for secure communication in the world. Facebook says that more than a billion and a half users trade nearly sixty billion messages across WhatsApp every day. Because the software uses end-to-end encryption, the contents of those messages are typically shielded from prying eyes who might wish to intercept and read them. However, that does not mean WhatsApp is an impenetrable fortress. Forensic security software company ElcomSoft not only has a tool for extracting WhatsApp …
June 7, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityIn many of our recent episodes, we’ve spent plenty of time talking about data breaches, a subject that often dominates security conversations these days. For good, reason, too, as everyone from major credit bureaus such as Equifax to retail store chains have lost or mishandled user information in recent years. Data breaches aren’t the only ways your personal information ends up in the hands of people who might not be authorized to handle it, though — leaks can and do happen, too, and organizations could hand your data off …
June 7, 2018 •
15 min read
SecurityThe 2018 parade of big tech and security headlines continues, and in recent episodes, we’ve touched on some pretty big developments. From Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandals to the rollout of the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, we’ve covered some major issues so far this year. In between all those banner headlines, though, there have been plenty of other important stories that haven’t been quite so big as to merit getting a show all their own. Today, we’re reaching into the grab bag for our third edition of …
May 31, 2018 •
14 min read
SecurityImagine if whenever you went to buy something — a car, perhaps — the information you handed over in the purchasing process became public record for anyone to see and search. All they’d have to do is plug your license plate in, and they’d be able to see your name, address, and phone number.
May 24, 2018 •
17 min read
SecuritySecurity researchers use many tools to conduct their work; in many cases, the best way to test a system is to try to break in, because it allows one to identify all the weaknesses and potential inroads a real hacker might exploit. These tools aren’t secret, though, and often they are used for legitimate purposes just as often as illegitimate ones. One such tool, known as the Metasploit Framework, allows researchers to probe networks and systems for many kinds of security holes using a variety of tools. Of course, …
May 23, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityEmail encryption is supposed to make the content of your emails safer, but according to a team of nine academic researchers, two of the most widely used encryption standards might be doing the opposite.
In a tweet sent on May 14, 2018, Sebastian Schinzel, a professor of computer science at Germany’s Münster University of Applied Sciences, said his team was about to publish information about “critical vulnerabilities” in OpenPGP and S/MIME. OpenPGP is the most widely used email encryption standard in the world. S/MIME, meanwhile, is a public …
May 21, 2018 •
3 min read
SecurityThe General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is a new set of European Union rules that govern the ways businesses and online organizations treat user information, in particular the data belonging to EU citizens. The GDPR introduces a wide range of regulations, chief among them new restrictions on how third parties can process, store, and handle user information.
May 18, 2018 •
3 min read