Apple Mac Computers are considered to be much safer than Windows at keeping viruses and malware out of its environment, but that’s simply not true anymore.
It's not because Mac OS X is getting worse every day, but because hackers are getting smart and sophisticated these days.
The bad news for Mac users is that malware targeting webcams and microphones has now come up for Mac laptops as well.
Patrick Wardle, an ex-NSA staffer who heads up research at security intelligence firm Synack, discovered a way for Mac malware to tap into your live feeds from Mac's built-in webcam and microphone to locally record you even without detection.
Wardle is the same researcher who has discovered a number of security weaknesses in Apple products, including ways to bypass the Gatekeeper protections in OS X.
Wardle also released a free tool calledRansomWhere? earlier this year that has generic detection capabilities for Mac OS X ransomware variants.
Wardle is scheduled to present his new findings at the Virus Bulletin conference in Denver later today, along with his research demonstratinghow malware could easily piggyback on your legitimate webcam sessions to keep its spying activity hidden.
Yes, piggybacking legitimate webcam sessions initiated by you.
Here's How Mac Malware Works:
Since Mac's firmware-level protection lights the green LED for any unauthorized access to user's webcam, Wardle believes that attackers can use a malicious app that quietly monitors the system for any outgoing feed of an existing webcam session – like a Skype or FaceTime call – where the light indicator would already be ON.
The malware then piggybacks the victim's webcam or microphone to secretly record both audio and video session, without any visible indication of this malicious activity and any fear of detection.
In his paper presentation, titled 'Getting Duped: Piggybacking on Webcam Streams for Surreptitious Recordings,' Wardle outlines the threat along with countermeasures to detect "secondary" processes that try to access an existing video session on OS X.
How to Prevent Your WebCam and Mic from Being Hacked
Wardle has developed and released a free tool, dubbed OverSight, which not only monitors webcam and microphone activities but also alerts you when a secondary process accesses your webcam, asking whether you want to allow or block access.
Oversight is a free download from Wardle’s website.
Moreover, physically covering your webcam – like what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and FBI Director James Comey do – also offers a low-tech approach to keeping snoopers away.
Friday 7 October 2016
Thursday 6 October 2016
Forget Samsung Galaxy Note 7, iPhone 7 is exploding too!
Images of new iPhone 7 have surfaced online and it appears that the smartphone caught on fire due to some kind of explosion.
Forget Samsung Galaxy Note 7, iPhone 7 is exploding too!
iFhone 8 Commercial Leaked: The iFhone Which Is “Completely Not Redesigned”
The new iFhone 8 is simply an incredible device which has the potential to take over the iPhone. Actually, the new iFhone 8 has some extraordinary things to offer read out to know about it.
iFhone 8 Commercial Leaked: The iFhone Which Is “Completely Not Redesigned”
Tuesday 4 October 2016
The Apple Watch’s unlock feature could turn the smartwatch tides
Saturday 1 October 2016
Bengaluru-Based WitWorks Wants to Take on the Apple Watch and Android Wear
- The Blink is a smartwatch that is compatible with Android and iOS
- It runs a custom OS called Marvin thats based on Android 5.1
- It is expected to be available from November
- Smartwatches have not really caught on yet. Android Wear devices are rarely seen, and while it’s more common to see an iPhone owner with an Apple Watch, the sales haven’t been impressive. According to one Indian company, the problem isn’t in wearables as a category, but the approach that mobile giants took towards the category.
Android or iOS: What Do the Gadgets 360 Writers Use, and Why?
HIGHLIGHTS
- Android has the majority of users today
- Apple still rules the roost in terms of polish
- A lot of people find the ability to customise Android phones appealing
Moment Will Let You Add a Third Lens to the iPhone 7 Plus
Apple iPhone awarded ‘gadget of the decade’ by T3 – but new handset loses out to Samsung
Man seen in video smashing iPhones with metal ball in an Apple
HIGHLIGHTS
Man seen in video smashing iPhones with metal ball in an Apple StoreApple allegedly did not honor the 2 year warranty applicable in the EUFollow-up videos also show him arguing with security personnel
The local media in France has reported a bizarre incident of a young man destroying Apple products inside an Apple Store in Dijon, France. The YouTube video uploaded by a patron present inside the store at the time, starts with the man calmly putting the iPhones on display flat on the table, before hitting them hard with what appears to be a metal ball, potentially shattering their screens and damaging their components.
#iphone #apple #macbookpro #jalvishack
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After Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Explosions, Is Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus Next?
After Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Explosions, Is Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus Next?
HIGHLIGHTS
Exploding smartphones seem to be the new sliced breadThis is the first report of an iPhone 7 Plus explosionThe user is said to be getting a new iPhone
#iphone7plus #apple #jalvishack
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Thursday 29 September 2016
Apple October event looks more likely as internet rumours hint at new Macbook
Apple spent a two-hour keynote introducing us to the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch series 2 earlier this month.
But the gigantic technology firm made no mention of its other hit products. Specifically, the Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Macbook laptops, which are due a refresh.
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iPhone 7 case brings back the missing headphone jack – and doesn’t need an adapter
Apple has been faced with plenty of backlash since controversially dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7.
But a solution has come in the form of a new case for the phone that’s currently trying to raise funds on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
The Fuze iPhone 7 case includes a 3.5mm headphone jack that means you won’t have to use wireless headphones or Apple’s fiddly adapter. Or drill a hole in your phone.
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Skype for iPhone and iPad now supports Siri and new iOS 10 features
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Apple Tracks Who You’re Chatting Using iMessage — and Shares that Data with Police
Doing conversations with your friend on iMessage and thinking that they are safe and out of reach from anyone else other than you and your friend? No, it’s not.
End-to-end encryption doesn’t mean that your iMessages are secure enough to hide your trace because Apple not only stores a lot of information about your iMessages that could reveal your contacts and location, but even share that information with law enforcement via court orders.
According to a new document obtained by The Intercept, Apple records a log of which phone numbers you typed into their iPhone for a message conversation, along with the date and time when you entered those numbers as well as your IP address, which could be used to identify your location.
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This crazy iMessage app lets you prank friends by putting words in their mouth
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Wednesday 28 September 2016
Ola Gets Siri and Maps Integration for iOS 10 Users
One of iOS 10’s biggest new features was the opening up of the Siri voice-based virtual assistant to third-party apps. Alongside SiriKit, Apple also unveiled MapKit to allow third-party integration with Apple Maps. One of the first such integrations was with Uber, and now its biggest rival in India – Ola – has rolled out the same functionality, including Apple Maps support.
iPhone users running iOS 10 with the latest version of Ola can now ask Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, to book cabs for them. The update, which also includes Apple Maps integration, marks Ola’s growing focus on making cab booking even more accessible and convenient for iPhone users in India, Ola said in a statement.
“Using just their voice, iPhone users running iOS 10 can simply say, ‘Hey Siri, get me an Olacab’ to book their next ride,” it added.
“Technology is at the core of all our solutions aimed at providing enhanced mobility to our customers. Integrating our app with iOS 10 is a step towards redefining customer experience. We are proud to be one of the early adopters of Sirikit and Mapkit in the world,” Ola co-founder and CTO Ankit Bhati said.
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Apple is pushing for a world without touch, but what lies beyond that world?
With the launch of the iPhone 7 and much-maligned AirPods, Apple is pushing us towards a world where physically interacting with our phones may be unnecessary. But what lies beyond that world?
It’s not just Apple of course, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Now, Cortana, they’re all aiming for a world where we spend less time clicking, scrolling or tapping and just talk to our devices. The idea does sound nice. Not having to constantly pull your phone out of your pocket to check the time or interact with a notification would be nice, as would placing calls or sending messages.
What about PCs, however? Where do they fit in? The likes of Google Now and Siri are great on a phone, but I’m not sold on the idea for PC. I don’t know about you, but I find it far faster to type than to holler for Cortana every time I need something.
Are we going to be stuck on keyboard/mouse/touchpad forever, though? Maybe not.
Apple seems to be working on gesture-recognition technology of its own. It recently patented a “3D depth-mapping” technology that involves lasers and eye-tracking. Apple has been working on similar technology since 2009 and in 2013, bought PrimeSense, the company behind the Kinect’s tracking system.
Intel’s RealSense has been in the business a long time, Microsoft already has some form of gesture tracking with stereo cameras in the HoloLens and the likes of LeapMotion and Tobii’s EyeX have been working on bringing gestures to a PC near you.
If you’ve not used gestures before, let me just tell you that they are amazing, but only when they work. I’ve tried RealSense and LeapMotion myself and have experimented a bit with head and hand tracking. While finicky and temperamental, the setups proved to be very freeing.
You’re not locked to a fixed perspective. You won’t realise how much more natural it is to drive a virtual car and glance at a mirror or track a corner with a simple head movement till you actually try it.
I eagerly await the day that gestures go mainstream. Maybe then I can finally fulfil myMinority Report fantasies.
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Tuesday 27 September 2016
iOS 10 Airplane Mode could lead the phone never to get phone signal again, reports claim
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iPhone 7 Jailbreak Has Already Been Achieved In Just 24 Hours!
That didn’t take long. Right?
Security researcher and well-known hacker Luca Tedesco shared an image of his jailbroken smartphone on his Twitter account to show off the world that the new iPhone 7 has been jailbroken.
The image posted by Tedesco on Wednesday clearly shows an iPhone 7 running both iOS 10.0.1 as well as the Cydia app store, which allows jailbreakers to install apps and other software that Apple does not officially support.
Unfortunately, Tedesco has not publically released the exploit, nor he has provided much information about it. So, right now, it is hard to say if and when he will release the iPhone 7 jailbreak to the public.
It is also not clear whether the exploit is an untethered jailbreak.
The untethered jailbreak is a jailbreak where your device doesn’t require any reboot every time it connects to an external device capable of executing commands on the device.
Eventually, there is no tool available yet that you can use to jailbreak your device, but the good news is that a jailbreak has already been developed, which suggests that it’s indeed possible to jailbreak iPhone 7.
Pangu is the same Chinese jailbreak team that released the first untethered jailbreak for iOS 9.
Since it is not good news for Apple, the company would likely block the vulnerability used to develop iPhone 7 jailbreak in its next iOS update, of course.
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