Checklist 06: Identify and avoid online scams in 5 easy steps

Internet criminals can be pretty devious, and it’s becoming increasingly harder to determine legitimate sites from fake ones these days. In today’s episode, we’ll go over five ways to identify and avoid online scams, helping to keep your personal data (and the contents of your bank account!) out of the hands of online con-artists.

Russian Hackers Target OS X with New Trojan

Mac users who haven’t yet updated from OS X El Capitan to the brand new macOS Sierra might want to make doing so a priority. According to security site Dark Reading, there is a new Trojan out in the wild that is targeting OS X. Any machines running any incarnation of the OS X operating system could be vulnerable to the threat.

The initial discovery of the Trojan was by a Palo Alto Networks research team, who codenamed the threat “Komplex.” The researchers said that the Trojan is the …

New App Helps Detect Unauthorized Audio or Video Recording

UPDATE 01/23/17 : Skype patches privacy concern in OS X version

There’s a new app out there that Mac users would be wise to consider installing. It’s called OverSight and is designed to alert Mac users whenever their microphones or webcams are activated. The application is currently available for free download here.

Patrick Wardle, a former NSA employee, and noted security researcher developed OverSight and recently presented the technology at the Virus Bulletin conference in Denver, Colorado. Wardle’s presentation showed how it would be possible for malware to …

Checklist 05: 5 Easy Steps to Prepare your Mac before selling it

On today’s episode, we’re going to run down a checklist of steps to take before selling, donating, or giving away your old Mac. These steps will ensure the secure removal of your personal information and data from your old computer, and help make your transition to a new computer go as smoothly as possible.

SecureMac Releases PrivacyScan 1.9 to Support macOS Sierra (10.12)

Las Vegas, NV, October 4th, 2016 – SecureMac, one of the key contributors in the Mac security world, today announced the release of PrivacyScan 1.9, its popular privacy protection software for Mac users.  PrivacyScan 1.9 includes support for macOS Sierra (10.12) and addresses other bugs from earlier versions of the software.

“It’s been well documented that there has been a dramatic increase in threats against Mac users in the past several years,” said Nicholas Raba, President of SecureMac.  “We spend our lives striving to keep the Mac user-community as safe …

Checklist 04: 10 things to do when setting up your new Mac (Part 2)

In today’s episode, we’re covering the remaining five items on our list of 10 things to do when setting up a new Mac. We’ll be covering specifics when it comes to protecting your data, and discuss the best ways to safeguard your privacy.

Apple Releases macOS Sierra, Provides Feature Updates and Security Updates

Every fall without fail, Apple does two things: unveils a new iPhone and releases new operating systems for its mobile and desktop devices. As of Tuesday, September 20th, the new operating system update for desktop and laptop computers is available. Called macOS Sierra, the operating system is the first Mac OS not to bear the OS X name. It also adds several new features, including Mac support for Siri (previously only available on iOS devices), iCloud optimization, greater integration with the iPhone and the Apple Watch, and more.

Unsurprisingly, …

Apple Urges iOS 9.3.5 Upgrade in Response to Spyware

At one point in time, the idea that we might have to worry about hackers attacking our phones would have been fanciful. Similarly, the thought of a private group using software to spy on individuals through their phones might have felt more at home in a movie. Yet with Apple’s release of the iOS security update 9.3.5 and their urgent insistence for all users to upgrade immediately, it’s hard to deny that is the technological reality.

Known as Pegasus, the software exploited a now-patched vulnerability which allowed it …

Children’s Websites Pay Settlement for Tracking User Activity

Several popular children’s websites have agreed to a court settlement for tracking kids’ activities on the web. The sites collectively will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York. Schneiderman discovered that the sites in question were monitoring kids online and tracking their movements to advance their marketing agendas.

While this type of behavior is legal (and common) with adult users, Internet tracking and targeted advertising gets into dangerous territory when monitoring kids. Schneiderman’s investigation found that the websites in …

Dropbox Security Concerns Deepen with Extensive System Permissions Requests

Over the past few years, there has been an undeniable explosion in the popularity of using “the cloud” for services as diverse as music streaming, web hosting, and file storage. One of the earliest, biggest, and most continually influential players in cloud services is Dropbox. As the company that brought cloud storage and file syncing into widespread use, it’s easy to ascribe safety and security to the Dropbox brand based on popularity alone. In spite of its presence on many platforms including OS X and its everyday use in business …

Ransomware Imitation Attempts to Fool iPhone Users

Though the threat of computer viruses once lurked primarily in the domain of email attachments and suspicious file downloads, the current landscape is vastly different. Simply doing damage to a system and spreading a virus further is no longer the biggest threat. From spyware to any of the many flavors of malware, there are many new and evolving security issues facing computer systems globally. Ransomware continues its rise to prevalence as infections rise year over year, compromising more machines. Ransomware, a type of malware which locks down user access to …

SecureMac to Debut “The Checklist” Podcast Series

Apple Security Experts Teaming Up with Popular Radio Host, Ken Ray

Las Vegas, NV, September 8, 2016 – SecureMac, one of the key contributors in the Mac security world, today announced the debut episode of “The Checklist – presented by SecureMac,” a security-themed podcast series intended for a wide range of audiences from novices to like-minded experts. Ken Ray, a popular icon in ‘all things related to Apple’ will serve as the host.

Each week, Nicholas Raba, Nicholas Ptacek and Ken will cover a wide range of security topics related to Mac …

Opera Suffers Major User Data Breach

With millions of active users on Mac platforms alone and hundreds of millions more users worldwide, Opera remains a favorite web browser even two decades after its first release. On its website download page, Opera even bills itself as “the best browser for Mac.” Apple users should, therefore, pay close to attention to a recent data breach affecting users of the Sync feature. Opera Sync functions similarly to Google Chrome’s sync function, which synchronizes settings and other data over multiple devices. This feature is very helpful for individuals who use …

Apple Releases Security Updates for OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, and Safari

Apple released a trio of security updates on Thursday to patch vulnerabilities in their desktop operating systems and web browser. Users running OS X El Capitan should download Security Update 2016-001, while those still using OS X Yosemite will need Security Update 2016-005.

As MacRumors noted in their report on the updates, it is not customary for Apple to release standalone security updates for OS X. Instead, security updates tend to be bundled in with more overarching version updates. MacRumors theorized that the distribution of these two standalone updates …

A Security Exploit Using Live Photos Showcases the Need for Biometric Scrutiny

Personal biometric data, such as our faces and fingerprints, is increasingly used as a set of digital keys for unlocking access to many of our important devices and services. For example, many banks now take advantage of the iPhone’s built-in fingerprint scanner to allow quick and easy access to their mobile banking applications. This application affords a great deal of convenience for the user, generating a positive experience.

Beneath the “cool” factor, though, these new technologies must be strictly evaluated in terms of their real world effectiveness. Are we …

Ivan Krstic Announces Bug Bounty Program

Apple’s head of Security Engineering and Architecture made the announcement (which everyone is by now well aware of) about their soon-to-be-implemented bug bounty program at Black Hat 2016. Krstic expanded upon the parameters of the program in greater detail. Apple is offering cash payouts of varying amounts, depending on type of vulnerability discovered:

SecureBoot firmware components – Up to $200,000
Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave Processor – Up to $100,000
Execution of arbitrary code with kernel privileges – Up to $50,000
Unauthorized access to iCloud account data on Apple servers …

Five Easy Steps for a Safer Mac

Those of you with a small or home business probably use your laptop or personal computer to send invoices, receive transactions, and deal with incoming or outgoing mail related to running your company. If that’s the case, there’s probably plenty sensitive information passing through your computer, and you need to ensure that it’s well protected.

For the Mac users out there, you might have heard that Macs are naturally less susceptible to viruses, hacks and other security breaches than PCs. And at some point in the past, that may have been …

Apple’s Clash with Banks Over Apple Pay & NFC Chips

You’ll recall that Apple recently got into a row with four large Australian banks (Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac) over Apple Pay and their NFC (near field communication) mobile payment hardware. For those who are unaware, Apple Pay allows iPhone and Apple Watch users to make convenient, contactless retail payments at various outlets instead of a credit or debit card. The banks joined forces to resist signing deals to use Apple Pay, and (from Apple’s perspective at least) stifle their ability to compete. In a formal …

Apple to Start Requiring HTTPS for iOS Apps

You’re browsing the Internet, and you take a glance up at the address bar. What do you see? In most cases, the first characters in the URL of the website you are looking at will be “HTTPS.” HTTPS, or HTTP Secure, is the most secure version of Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This protocol allows for communication over a computer network, with said communications encrypted by either Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). On the Internet, HTTPS allows for private and safe exchange of data between a website …

Apple Releases Important iOS Update to guard against Malware

iPhone and iPad users should update to the latest version of iOS as soon as possible, following the latest security update from Apple. The new patch—iOS 9.3.5—arrived on Thursday, August 25th and was dubbed by Apple as an “important security update.” It addresses dangerous malware that was recently developed in the Middle East.

Writing for ZDNet, Zack Whittaker noted that iOS 9.3.5 is a patch for three different malware vulnerabilities, not just one. Working together, security researchers Citizen Lab and Lookout discovered the vulnerabilities and notified Apple about their existence. Lookout …