Facebook 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
Welcome 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…
June 14, 2018 • 15 min read
WhatsApp, 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…
June 7, 2018 • 3 min read
In 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…
June 7, 2018 • 15 min read
The 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…
May 31, 2018 • 14 min read
Imagine 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 readSecurity 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…
May 23, 2018 • 3 min readEmail 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…
May 21, 2018 • 3 min readThe 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
There are some items of technology in our lives that are so standard and ubiquitous because of how fundamental they are to the way things work that it’s very easy to take them for granted. Because we don’t pay a second thought to these things,…
May 17, 2018 • 15 min read
Only a few weeks after the recent release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, Apple has amended the update by publishing an additional fix under this version number. Addressing a new flaw described as “serious” by the security community, the supplemental version of 10.13.4 addresses a…
May 16, 2018 • 2 min read
How do you unlock your iPhone when you need to use it? Apple gives us a ton of options when it comes to keeping our information safe from prying eyes and unwanted intruders, from PINs to our fingerprints and our faces. Apple’s commitment to empowering…
May 10, 2018 • 12 min read
Welcome to Episode 87. Last week, we took an in-depth look at data breaches: from how they happen to a few of the biggest ones, and of course, what you can do to protect yourself when a big company loses your data, we covered a…
May 7, 2018 • 14 min read
During the course of your day, buy things, like gas, food, & lodging. Do you pay cash for all those things — or do you try to go back in time and operate on the barter system? Even if you do most of your business…
April 26, 2018 • 13 min read
When you log on to Facebook, do you still feel like you’re having fun? The social network used to be an awesome place to reconnect with old friends and keep in touch with family. Today, more people than ever are choosing #DeleteFacebook. While Facebook is…
April 19, 2018 • 17 min read
Machine learning. Deep learning. Neural networks. Artificial intelligence… it’s starting to feel like we’re in an Isaac Asimov novel! For this week’s episode of The Checklist, we’re diving in to the latest ways computers and technology are being trained to complete complex tasks, make inferences,…
April 12, 2018 • 15 min read
After more than a month since the last big “patch day” for Apple products, the Cupertino company has now released to the public a new slew of updates that bring with them both new features and enhanced security. Covering everything from a new and essential…
April 9, 2018 • 2 min read
It’s that time again — time for us to pull back for a “big picture” look at some of the big missteps in computer security over the recent weeks and months. Some of today’s stories relate to Apple, some don’t, but all of them fall into the category of a classic “security fail.”
April 5, 2018 • 17 min read
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.
March 29, 2018 • 18 min readLas 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…
March 23, 2018 • 3 min read