Security

Apple tells U.S. judge ‘impossible’ to unlock new iPhones

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Nate Raymond, writing for Reuters:

Apple Inc told a U.S. judge that accessing data stored on a locked iPhone would be “impossible” with devices using its latest operating system, but the company has the “technical ability” to help law enforcement unlock older phones.

Apple’s official statement on the YiSpecter iOS malware

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Earlier today, we posted about a report from Palo Alto Networks about YiSpector, iOS malware that was said to attack non-jailbroken iOS devices.

We reached out to Apple for comment. Read on for their response.

El Capitan, iOS 9 security and the new version of two-factor authentication

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From Apple:

Two-factor authentication is a new service built directly into iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. It uses different methods to trust devices and deliver verification codes, and offers a more streamlined user experience. The current two-step verification feature will continue to work separately for users who are already enrolled.

These differences are explained in the post and linked article.

Validating the integrity of your copy of Xcode

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A few days ago, we posted the story about the XcodeGhost malware that made its way onto the App Store via compromised copies of Xcode.

In response, Apple pulled affected apps from the store and, just as importantly, sent out letters to developers to test their copies of Xcode, to make sure it was indeed a valid copy from Apple.

Here’s how.

How many times has your personal information been exposed to hackers?

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The New York Times pulled together a very short, clickable questionnaire that’ll give you a sense of how your personal information might be compromised, along with a series of links to articles laying out the major recent attacks, from the Adobe breech on down to UPS.

This site may be hacked

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I got a disturbing text a few days ago. Seems that when a business associate looked up my business name in Google, they saw a message, just below the main site URL, that said “This site may be hacked”.

Here’s how I dealt with it.

Flash. Must. Die.

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Manipulative headline aside, this Wired piece by Brian Barrett is a good read. The first half focuses on the state of the union on Flash and the second half talks you through the process of controlling/eliminating Flash.

Oh Flash. Sigh.

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An evergreen blog post:

Adobe has released an emergency software patch for Flash after it found a serious vulnerability being exploited by hackers.

Net neutrality tester

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The Internet Health Test site runs a series of upload and download tests to check for consistency and degradation in the connection through your ISP. That data is then passed back as part of a crowd-sourcing effort.

On Apple Watch as an invitation to thieves

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There’s been a wave of sentiment over the past few days about the Apple Watch as an invitation to thieves. Many people share John Gruber’s take:

I really don’t get the hysteria over this as an invitation to thieves. This is no less secure than every single other wristwatch ever made.

This isn’t about the value of a single watch. It’s about a combination of large enough market size, high desirability, and relative rarity. Read on for details.

The Apple Watch and theft

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Jeff Benjamin, writing for iDownloadBlog:

The Apple Watch contains security measures to prevent thieves from accessing your data, but it doesn’t include the necessary features to dissuade thieves from trying to steal your device to begin with.

Yahoo rolling out on-demand passwords, texted to your phone

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This is Yahoo’s latest twist on two factor authentication. You log in to your Yahoo account and enable on-demand passwords. You get a verification code via text, enter it, and you are signed up – On-demand passwords are enabled and your device is verified.

Now, the next time you login, you’ll have the option of having a temporary password texted to your verified device.