Apple releases macOS Big Sur 11.2

Apple has just released macOS Big Sur 11.2 along with the related Security Update 2021-001 Catalina and Security Update 2021-001 Mojave.

Checklist 216: Zooming into 2021

This week on the Checklist, iMore’s Stephen Warwick joins us to discuss all things Zoom.

Critical security updates for iOS, iPadOS, and more

Apple has just released an important round of updates. The TL;DR is that the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS updates address vulnerabilities that are under active exploitation (according to reports). If you have a device running any of these operating systems, you should update immediately.

In the following article, we’ll give you some additional information about the security content of these updates:

iOS and iPadOS

Apple has just released iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4. The updates address two separate security issues. 

First, the updates contain a fix for a kernel vulnerability. The “kernel” is …

How to set up a new Mac in 2021 running Big Sur

Macs work great right out of the box, but unfortunately, that leads some users to skip over important setup steps — steps that can make them safer.

Checklist 215: Seriously Locking Down Your iPhone

We’ll look at various states of data, what we have to worry about, and what we can do to mitigate that worry. Plus – A followup to Apple flouting the firewall.

What’s up with WhatsApp?

WhatsApp has been in the news a lot over the past week, with critics alleging that the popular Facebook-owned messaging app has become a threat to user privacy.

7 COVID-19 vaccine scams to watch out for

The COVID-19 vaccines are here, but there have been serious issues with availability and distribution. Sadly, the bad guys are taking advantage of the situation — and of people’s anxieties — with new COVID-19 vaccine scams. 

Here’s what to watch out for, and how to stay safe:

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Checklist 214: Five Big Mac Malware Stories from 2020

With a new year just underway, we thought we’d look back at five big Mac malware stories for 2020. We’ll talk about FinSpy, GravityRAT, XCSSET, ThiefQuest, and Shlayer.

How to uninstall Adobe Flash on your Mac

Adobe Flash reached its end-of-life (EOL) on December 31, 2020, and as of January 12, 2021, any remaining Flash Player installations will be blocked from playing content.

Checklist 213: New Year Security Resolutions

It’s the perfect time to make positive changes, so this week we’re bringing you two cybersecurity-themed New Year’s resolutions that will help keep you safe through 2021 and beyond.

Mac Malware in 2020

We’ll look back at 5 of the most significant Mac malware finds of 2020.

The 10 biggest Apple news stories of 2020

In something of a reversal of the general trend for last year, a lot of that Apple news was actually good news as well!

Checklist 212: The Hacky Holidays Special

Voices of Checklists passed tell us about their favorite hacker movies, including Hackers, WarGames, Sneakers, and Superman III. What did they get right? What did they get wrong? And what can we learn from them? Snuggle up for The Hacky Holidays Special.

Zero-click iMessage exploit used to hack journalists

Security researchers have uncovered a surveillance campaign aimed at journalists in the Middle East, claiming that a zero-click iMessage exploit was used to hack their iPhones.stock

SolarWinds hack impacts U.S. government and military, exposes most of Fortune...

In mid-December, security analysts announced a serious data breach at two U.S. government departments. The SolarWinds hack has turned out to be one of the most far-reaching and sophisticated cyberattacks ever carried out against the U.S. government — the full impact of which now appears to go well beyond what was initially suspected.

In the past few days, we’ve learned more about the incident, including the scope, the attack vector, and the likely culprits. In what follows, we’ll try to answer some of the most common questions that people have been …

Checklist 211: Avoiding a Scammy New Year

The holidays! A time of love, warmth, and good cheer. Also, prime time for scammers. We’ll look at some delivery scams and how to avoid them.

Apple releases security updates for all OSes

Apple has just released security updates for all of its operating systems. In this short article, we’ll tell you about the most essential patches and help parse some of the language used in Cupertino’s release notes.

iOS and iPadOS

Apple has updated iOS and iPadOS to iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3. 

In terms of security content, these updates mostly address vulnerabilities caused by the way that iOS and iPadOS handle image files, audio files, and font files. The vulnerabilities could have allowed an attacker to use maliciously crafted versions of these different file …

Apple and Cloudflare develop a more private Internet protocol

Apple and Cloudflare have teamed up to build a better Internet protocol. Known as ODoH, the new protocol is designed to enhance privacy by making it harder for third parties to see what users are doing online.

How to avoid package delivery scams

For record numbers of people, holiday gift buying was done online this year — and now everyone is waiting around for those presents to be delivered. The bad guys know this, and are using package delivery scams to take advantage of the situation.

Checklist 210: Shopping for Internet of Things Things

With time ticking down, you may be ordering IoT things for holiday gifts. Be sure what you’re buying is safe! We’ve got a Checklist for that. Plus – 33 vulnerabilities pose a threat to “millions” of IoT devices.