Is TikTok reading your clipboard?

TikTok has been caught snooping on iOS users’ clipboard data. The video-sharing app’s troubling behavior was discovered thanks to a new privacy feature in iOS 14

Highlights from the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple’s 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference got underway on Monday with a livestreamed keynote address. The company announced major updates to its operating systems, apps, and hardware.

Google finds zero-click bugs affecting iOS, macOS, and more

his week, Google researchers announced that they had discovered multiple “zero-click” bugs in Apple’s image-processing framework. Such vulnerabilities could potentially be used to develop exploits…

Checklist 183: Tracing the Contact Tracing Story

This week, we’ll highlight some big decisions about mobile contact tracing from around the world — and we’ll also let you know what’s going on over at Apple (spoiler: get ready to update iOS).

Teaching computers to kids

With schools closed indefinitely, many of us are looking for ways to keep our kids engaged and occupied at home (without just plonking them down in front of the TV for hours at a time!).

Checklist 178: Another Coronavirus Checklist

The world is changing so fast that it can be hard to keep up. This week on the Checklist, we’ll take a look at how life is going to be different in the weeks and months ahead — and what you can do to stay safe, productive … and happy.

Security and privacy in a pandemicCybersecurity for remote workersTips from two decades of working at homeWorst-case scenario preparedness

Keeping your data locked down

The current Covid-19 pandemic is a global crisis, and public and private sector organizations are responding accordingly. In the United …

Checklist 174: Building a Safer Nest

This week on the Checklist, we’ll start off with a big list of tips to keep your iPhone safe and happy … and then we’ll take a new look at Google’s Nest smart home devices.

Checklist 172: A Ring of Trouble

On this week’s Checklist, we’ll revisit the issues with Amazon’s Ring, take another look at iCloud backups, and hit the highlights from Apple’s latest round of OS updates.

Checklist 170: A Great Big List + Home Insecurity

On this week’s Checklist, we’ll take a look at someone else’s checklist of security tips, plus we’ll talk about what happens when companies that don’t specialize in security decide to get into the security business.

Cybersecurity New Year’s Resolution #3: Test your phishing awareness

By testing your knowledge of the full spectrum of phishing tactics out there — by seeing what you know…and what you don’t — you’ll be better equipped to deal with even the sneakiest of phishing attempts.

The SecureMac Interview: Nancy Willard on Cyberbullying

Nancy Willard is an educator and lawyer who runs Embrace Civility in the Digital Age, an organization dedicated to creating a culture of civility and positivity online through empowering teens and the adults who care for them. She is the author of several books, including the first book ever published on the topic of cyberbullying, Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats, and Distress.

SecureMac caught up with Nancy to ask her about the state of cyberbullying today, and what parents and …

The SecureMac Interview: Troy Hunt on data breaches

Troy Hunt is a Microsoft Regional Director and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Developer Security. He is the creator of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), a free service that aggregates data breaches and lets people check if their accounts have been compromised. He is also a prolific speaker and educator, giving talks and organizing workshops around the world.

We caught up with Troy to talk about how both businesses and individuals can protect themselves from data breaches—and ask him about the future of information security and his …

Checklist 155: iOS 13 Feature Focus

On this edition of The Checklist: iOS 13’s built-in Cycle Tracker, Privacy and security in Apple Arcade, and Facebook location follow-up.

Do schools have a cybersecurity problem?

We often think of financial institutions, corporations, and governments as the primary targets of cyberattacks. But are schools at risk as well?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes—and the problem is growing.

In this two-part article, we’ll provide you with an overview of the problem, as well as some actionable ideas for dealing with it.

The changing face of education

With state and local education budgets stretched thin, and faced with the challenges of preparing students for an increasingly tech-centric job market, school districts across the country have embraced technological solutions that promise to do …

Objective by the Sea 2.0

Tthis weekend the glamourous Mediterranean enclave was all about Mac security, as it played host to the Objective by the Sea 2.0 conference. Billed as the world’s only conference dedicated to macOS and iOS security, OBTS is a two-day gathering of researchers and developers from around the globe.

Newly-Discovered Bug in Group FaceTime Inadvertently Allows Eavesdropping

When Apple debuted iOS 12.1 late last year, one of the flagship additions to the system was Group FaceTime. This long-requested feature allows multiple users to enjoy simultaneous face-to-face video chat through FaceTime. However, in the wake of a serious flaw in Group FaceTime that was disclosed this past week, the feature is currently inaccessible on all iOS devices.

At issue is the potential risk for spying on the audio (and in some cases, video) feeds from a phone targeted through the flaw. Unlike many iOS bugs, this one does not …

Checklist 102: The Head Shaking Edition

This week, we’ve dubbed our episode the “head shaking edition” because each of our stories today left us shaking our heads for one reason or another. From Google quietly looking over your shoulder to Comcast fumbling the ball with yet another big leak of user data, there’s plenty to discuss — so today we’re diving right in to our discussion. Items we’ll be ticking off the list as we go:

Google’s game of hide and seek
A look at behavioral biometrics
Comcast tells 26.5 million people, “Relax!”

Do you try to stay …

Checklist 96: The Latest Bugs, Flaws, and Privacy Worries

The 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 …

Checklist 85: Facebook Follies

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 a free service in theory, since no one pays to sign up for an account, it turns out the real costs are much higher than any subscription fee. From the Cambridge Analytica story we reported on recently to even more unwelcome news about privacy …

Checklist 84: Machine learning. Deep learning. Neural networks. Artificial intelligence

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, and do more overall. From Google training computers to identify specific objects in images to the way anti-malware software figures out how to detect and stop new variants, there are plenty of cool applications for this innovative technology. However, there are some pretty creepy things …