North Dakota law could change the iPhone in a big way

State lawmakers in North Dakota will soon vote on a law that regulates the way Apple and Google do business with third-party mobile apps. 

Supporters of the law argue that it will help small businesses, and that it would rein in Apple and Google’s near-monopoly power in the world of mobile computing. Critics worry that it could undermine user safety, with one Apple exec saying it “threatens to destroy iPhone as you know it”.

In this short article, we’ll look at the proposed law, examine the arguments from both sides, and talk …

How to set up a new iPhone in 2021 running iOS 14

A new iPhone is a ton of fun — but once you have your shiny new device up and running, you should also take a few minutes to configure it for security, privacy, and performance.

New iOS exploit can hack iPhones wirelessly

A researcher at Google’s Project Zero has just announced a zero-click iOS exploit capable of wirelessly hacking nearby iPhones. As iOS exploits go, this one is a pretty big deal!

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.

New unc0ver jailbreak works on all modern iOS devices

Just as Apple released iOS 13.5 to the world, hackers at unc0ver announced that they had developed a jailbreak that would work on devices running iOS 11 all the way up to the brand new iOS 13.5.

In what follows, we’ll try to answer some common questions about the unc0ver jailbreak. Along the way, we’ll discuss the whys and whats of jailbreaking, and explain what it all means for average iOS users in terms of security and privacy.

What is unc0ver?

Unc0ver is a jailbreak tool for iOS devices. It can be loaded …

iOS 13.5 introduces health and safety features

Apple has just released iOS 13.5, and the update brings several significant changes. In what follows, we’ll touch on the highlights — and tell you what they mean in terms of safety, security, and privacy.

Updated: Apple has now released full security notes for the iOS 13.5 update. 

There were eight separate fixes to kernel vulnerabilities, which is significant: the kernel is the core of the operating system, and bugs there can lead to serious problems. Apple says that the kernel issues patched in this release could have led to arbitrary code …

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…

Apple’s March 2020 Updates

Apple has just released a raft of updates, and some of them have important security and privacy implications. In this brief article, we’ll highlight some of the key points from Cupertino’s release notes and explain their significance. Then (in a sign of the times) we’ll offer a special addendum to our update guidance.

macOS 10.15.4

Version 10.15.4 of macOS patches a number of serious vulnerabilities. Related security patches were also issued to support older versions of the operating system; these were named Security Update 2020-002 Mojave and Security Update 2020-002 High Sierra.

One …

iOS 13 security and privacy features

It’s official: iOS 13 is here, come friday. iPhone users will be able to try out all the new features announced at the WWDC keynote in June: Dark Mode, QuickPath swipe typing, a revamped Maps, and more.

In addition to all of this, iOS 13 also offers a number of security and privacy enhancements— some of which are already making waves. We’ll take you through the most important of these in the following article.

Location, location, location

iOS 13 will allow iPhone users increased control over how they share their location data—and …

Apple Re-Patches Bug That Led to a Public iOS Jailbreak

Over the last couple of weeks, both on the Checklist and on the news section of our site, we’ve been talking about the story of the big iOS jailbreak that was announced in August. This jailbreak was unusual in that it affected the most up-to-date version of iOS available—something we hadn’t seen in quite a while. 

Jailbreaking, as you’ll recall, is the process of removing Apple’s built-in safeguards and limitations on what users and software can do in iOS, essentially allowing them high-level administrative privileges that Apple never intended them to …

Apple announces new iPhones—and the next generation of Apple Watch

This Tuesday, Apple held its much-anticipated media event. Here are a few key takeaways from the big day.

New iPhones!

The big news on Tuesday was, as expected, the announcement of the next generation of iPhones.

Apple is rolling out three new models: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The phones are priced at $699, $999, and $1099, respectively. The new devices will be available for pre-order on Friday and for purchase in Apple Stores by 20 September.

So what’s new? 

Not all that much (with a couple of important …

The Great iOS Jailbreak of 2019—and why you should update to 12.4.1 right

Apple has just released a patch to fix the issue discussed below. If you don’t have automatic updates enabled, take a second to update to iOS 12.4.1 now.

Highlights from the 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference

On Monday morning, Apple’s 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off in San Jose. As is tradition, WWDC began with a keynote presentation from Apple highlighting long-awaited updates, important announcements, and a vision of the road ahead.

Here’s our roundup of the biggest news from the keynote, along with a few comments on what this means for Mac security as well.

macOS

As expected, macOS 10.15 is here. Named “Catalina”, the newest version of macOS features a few important changes and a bittersweet farewell.

Goodbye iTunes

Maybe the biggest news—and something that’s been a long time …

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.

Apple Releases iOS 12.3 and Security Updates to Its Products

The newest array of updates from Apple has arrived, with an array of updates for a variety of products addressing numerous security concerns, some of them serious. While these updates, particularly iOS 12.3, also add several new and exciting features that are sure to please users, there are also new layers of security and fresh bug fixes going into place behind the scenes to keep iPhone users safe. Here’s how the updates break down:

iOS 12.3

More than 40 separate flaws were patched and fixed in this latest version of iOS, though …

iOS 12.2 Patches Majors Security Flaws; Users Should Update Immediately

It seems like only yesterday when Apple was taking Group FaceTime down to give itself time to fix a severe bug discovered by a teenager. In the latest round of updates, iOS received fixes for several bugs as bad or worse than the FaceTime issue that gained a lot of publicity. These, however, Apple kept under wraps until the latest version, 12.2, was ready for release to the public. That means that while no one was likely affected “in the wild” by these issues, it’s imperative to secure your device …

Apple Pushes Latest Round of Updates for a Variety of Products

It’s here: the latest round of updates for Apple products has arrived, and it’s a doozy. This series of updates is jam-packed with bug fixes and security updates that iPhone, iPad, and Mac users should all download right away to begin taking advantage of their added safety improvements. Products included in this set of updates are as follows:

Safari (12.1) tvOS (12.2) macOS Mojave (10.14.4) macOS High Sierra (Update 2019-002) macOS Sierra (Update 2019-002) iOS (12.2)

If you are using versions prior to those listed above, it’s time to update. Check your …

iPhone Prototypes Find Their Way to Hackers and Researchers Alike

Have you ever wondered about how hackers or security researchers can figure out where the hidden flaws in iOS lay? For years, that’s been a big question, from concerns about how companies such as Cellebrite and GrayKey found their way into iOS to how researchers were able to examine how the Secure Enclave works. Thanks to a report by Motherboard picked up by Cult of Mac; we now have a better idea of what’s behind it all: internal prototypes somehow stolen from Apple and then re-sold on the gray market.

What …

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 …