Earlier this week, we reported that the first iPhone worm had been created. It was called “ikee,” and all it did was change the default wallpaper on devices to an image of Rick Astley with “ikee is never going to give you up” printed across the top. It was relatively harmless, if annoying, and the [...]
Safari version 4.0.4 is now available, the 30MB update promising improvements to “performance, stability, and security.”
Regarding security, the update addresses several potential “maliciously crafted” attacks–are there such things as benevolently crafted attacks? One uses a color profile, which is inventive, if evil. Others use XML, shortcut menus, or the user’s desire to visit web pages [...]
Microsoft issued updates for Office 2004 and 2008 covering security issues for both versions, as well as an XML conversion tool. The Office 2008 update also includes a number of minor fixes to enhance stability.
Regarding security, both updates address vulnerabilities “that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious [...]
The first iPhone worm has been discovered. It comes to us via Australia, and appears to be limited to that country for now, although it has the potential to spread. It also stars Rick Astley, so to speak. The work changes the iPhone’s wallpaper to an image of the 1980s pop singer, who’s enjoyed a [...]
Security firm Symantec is warning computer users about a new Mac-specific Trojan that deletes files on the user’s hard drive, according to Techworld.com. It has dubbed the piece of malware “OSX.Loosemaque,” and uploaded a YouTube video of how it goes about its nefarious purpose.
Basically, it’s a Space Invader clone wherein when you kill an alien, [...]
Think affiliate programs are solely the province of SEO firms and experts? Think again. There’s such a thing as a malware affiliate program, and a very recent one targets Mac users specifically. It’s a sign that cyber-crime is beginning to target Apple more aggressively than it has in the past.
ZDNet.com reports that a group called [...]
Do you disguise your MacBook as a security measure? A couple of computer case makers think it’s an effective strategy.
Mitemite’s Newspaper MacBook Sleeve is a computer bag made from plasticized fabric and designed to thwart computer theft by camouflaging your MacBook Pro as a folded newspaper. The sleeve measures 37.7cm x 27.5cm x 3.4cm and [...]
Just over a month since Safari 4.0.2 made its way into Software Update, Safari 4.0.3 has arrived for Mac and Windows. The update weighs in at 40.5MB and will require a restart.
In addition to the boiler plate “improvements to stability, compatibility and security,” Safari 4.0.3 purports to address:
Stability improvements for webpages that use the HTML [...]
Days after the SMS vulnerability was reported, in which a single character could be used to crash or even take over an iPhone, Apple has released a single-purpose update.
The Knowledgebase Article makes it sound as potentially bad as it is.
Impact: Receiving a maliciously crafted SMS message may lead to an unexpected service interruption or arbitrary [...]
Cybersecurity researchers Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner claim they can bring down your iPhone by sending it just a single “unusual” character, according to Forbes, which first published news of the exploit earlier this week.
A single square character or a series of “invisible” messages can be used to confuse an iPhone, leaving it open to [...]
When June 17 comes around, iPhone customers will definitely want to upgrade to the latest iPhone 3.0 software to take advantage of huge improvements with Apple’s oft-discussed MobileMe service.
iTunes 8.2 became available for anyone and everyone with a Mac, not just developers, late yesterday. A pre-release version of the update has been available to registered iPhone developers since the release of iPhone OS 3.0 beta 4 a few weeks ago, and is required for those hoping to run the 3.0 software on their [...]
It may not have the charitable underpinnings of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, but Ivan Kristic couldn’t have asked for a better follow-up job than at Apple. Cupertino just snatched up Kristic following his time at OLPC, where he was the architect behind the Bitfrost security specification. He wrote about his new job [...]
You can’t have pizza without cheese, socks without shoes, a sandwich without bread, or a complete week without hearing about the freshest iPhone apps.
Before I present you with a hand-picked selection of the latest iPhone releases to hit the App Store, as is tradition, we’ll take a moment to review notable news and take stock [...]
Security scares seem to be coming up all too frequently for Mac users these days. First, there was the devastatingly fast hacking of a Mac thanks to a Safari exploit at PWN2OWN, and now the first-known botnet to exploit OS X appears to have been activated, according to two security researchers at Symantec. If true, [...]
The recent Conficker virus scare had me warning relatives to protect their PCs, while also simultaneously gloating about how lucky I am to not be affected, since I’m a Mac user. You could say it bordered on the obnoxious, and you’d be right.
But it looks like I may have to eat some humble pie now [...]
Until very recently, Tor was always something I heard about online but never used. I never considered myself enough of a “hardcore” geek to really pursue it, but it turned out to be much simpler to use that I thought. So for those of you that were like me consider this a crash course in [...]
It’s a good thing we’re on friendly terms with New Zealand, because one of the residents of that green, hilly island recently acquired 60 pages of sensitive U.S. military data. Total cost of national secrets? $15. Which would’ve been great if that’s what the man who bought it was in the market for, but he [...]
Depending on how closely you stick to the word of the law, you may or may not be aware of the potentially dangerous trojan called “OSX.Trojan.iServices.A” unleashed on some of the Mac community last week via a pirated copy of iWork ‘09. The trojan, discovered by Mac security software company Intego, allows the distributor of [...]
If you have Safari, on either Windows or OS X, you could be open to malicious attacks whereby users can gain unauthorized access to files on your hard drive.
That’s according to a new tech note from developer Brian Mastenbrook, who has taken matters into his own hands while we wait for an official fix from [...]
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