Last year, Apple had to fix a "special character" bug in their Message app that was more of an annoyance than anything. This year, a new special character bug has been found, but this one is much more serious and could allow an attacker to crash your phone and block access to a variety of messaging apps. The bug is specific to iOS 11, so if you've got an older version, you don't have anything to worry about. The company has already announced that it will be fixed in the upcoming release of … Read more
Apple And Google No Longer World’s Top Brands
The latest Brand Finance Global 500 report out and contains some surprises this year. In the battle of the Brands, two companies have long topped the list: Apple and Google. This year, there's a new Sheriff in town. Amazon blew past the top two claiming the top spot for itself. It is now the most valuable brand in the world with an impressive $150.8 billion dollar value. David Haigh, the CEO of Brand Finance had this to say about the upset in the rankings: "Jeff Bezos once said that … Read more
Better Parental Controls Underway For Apple Devices
Recently, a group of investors wrote an open letter to Apple, urging the company to do more in regards to offering better and more robust parental controls on the devices the company makes. Although the group of investors control some $2 billion in Apple stock, this is a drop in the proverbial bucket, given the company's $900 billion market cap. Nonetheless, the letter seems to have gotten Apple's attention. In a statement published in the Wall Street Journal, the company said: "We think … Read more
Older iPhones Are Being Purposefully Throttled, According To Apple
Not long ago, observant Reddit users noted and began discussing a curious phenomenon. It appeared that older iPhones were unexpectedly slowing down, and no one could name the reason why. It caught the attention of a number of security researchers who delved more deeply into the issue, including a man named John Poole, who confirmed the Reddit claims. His tests confirmed that on iPhone 6s and 7s, Apple made tweaks to iOS versions 10.2.1 through 11.2.0. These changes are designed to throttle … Read more
Apple Might Be Working On Universal Apps Across Mac, iOS
Apple has been quietly working on something called "Project Marzipan" for a couple of years now, and it appears that they're getting closer to unveiling it. The company seeks to bring its MacOS and iOS platforms closer together by developing universal apps that will work in either environment. This mirrors Microsoft's Universal Windows app strategy, where apps can detect the environment they're running on and adjust their display and navigation accordingly. Project Marzipan presents some … Read more
New “MailSploit” Allows Email Spoofing
Phishing attacks just got a whole lot easier. A German security researcher named Sabri Haddouche has recently discovered a set of email vulnerabilities that have been collectively dubbed "Mailsploit." At the root, these vulnerabilities stem from the way most email systems interpret addresses encoded with a 1992 standard called RFC-1342. The standard is that all information in an email header must be an ASCII character. If a non-ASCII character is encountered, it gets converted. … Read more
Fake Symantec Blog Post Is Spreading Mac Malware
Sometimes hackers opt for a stealthy approach. Other times, their attempts are downright brazen. That's definitely the case with a newly launched malware campaign that seeks to spread "Proton Mac," a strain of malware designed to steal passwords from Mac users. The hackers registered a domain very similar to Symantec's blog, mirrored its content and then created a fake post about a new version of CoinThief, which was moderately successful back in 2014. After going into a bit of faux … Read more
Bug in macOS Could Allow Hackers Root Access
Do you own a Mac? Is it running Apple's latest macOS, the "High Sierra?" If so, be extra careful with who you allow access to your machine. A security flaw recently discovered by a developer named Lemi Orhan Ergin can easily allow anyone unfettered access to everything on your machine, and by extension, give them an easy "in" to whatever network it's connected to. All they need is physical access. Exploiting this vulnerability is a lesson in simplicity. All a hacker has to do is enter … Read more
Apple Devices Can Get Viruses
Are you under the impression Apple devices are exempt from viruses and hacking? A great deal of Apple users consider Apple systems safer to use than Windows because of the "built-in" security Apple programs into their devices. But Windows operating systems also come with similar existing security to prevent hackers and viruses. So why is there a difference in virus vulnerability? So here's the deal: In their advertising, Apple markets its systems as not needing third-party antivirus … Read more
Be Careful Of Downloads – Google Play Store Sees Malware Increase
Google's Play Store is under siege. In recent month, there has been a sharp spike in malware campaigns launched against the store, with a shocking number of poisoned apps slipping past Google's robust system of checks designed to prevent, or at least minimize such occurrences. The spike in poisoned apps has been reported by three different security companies: Dr. Web, McAfee and Malwarebytes. According to the latest McAfee report, 144 Play Store apps have been identified as containing … Read more
