Protecting Your Mac: Dec 2024 Security Updates for macOS Sequoia and Older...

Keep your Mac secure with the latest updates. Explore the enhancements in macOS Sequoia to safeguard your data and prevent unauthorized access.

Twitter hack was an inside job, sources say

On Wednesday, multiple verified, high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised, including the accounts of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple. Hackers made tweets requesting charitable donations in the form of Bitcoin, promising to double any contribution made within the next 30 minutes. The tweets were, of course, fraudulent — and the Bitcoin wallet addresses set up to accept the cryptocurrency “donations” belonged to the scammers.

Twitter reacted quickly to the attack, removing the offending tweets, locking down affected accounts, and preventing users from tweeting or resetting their passwords as the company attempted …

Zoom security flaw puts you at risk (even after you uninstall)

Security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh has discovered a major vulnerability in the popular Zoom video conferencing app that could allow malicious actors to turn on your Mac’s camera without your permission.

New Mac Malware Knows When You’re Watching

Security researchers at Intego have discovered a new form of Mac malware—one that shows some surprisingly sneaky behaviour aimed at evading detection by antivirus software and human malware hunters alike.

New Linux Malware Appears, Infects Some Macs Along the Way

While the average user might think their operating system options only go so far as “PC or Mac”, the truth is that there are many more systems running behind the scenes which power a great deal of our digital infrastructure. Linux is one such system, used by hobbyists, computer enthusiasts, and enterprises to power all kinds of servers and back-end systems. Naturally, it follows that there would be malware for Linux too — though it is rarer than most. According to a story making the rounds on ZDNet and BleepingComputer, …

Security Researcher Accidentally Stumbles on a Way for Malware to Click...

One of the simplest ways to stay safe and secure on your Mac is to pay close attention to the warnings and prompts that the system often pops up when you’re in the middle of things. Many times, you might even expect these prompts to appear. It’s just macOS’s way of saying, “Hey, are you sure about that?” when something involves sensitive files or has extensive permissions. When you aren’t expecting them, they’re even more important: as your first line of defense, they can be a big red flag …

Apple’s July Security Updates Correct a Host of Problems

It’s that time again: Apple has pushed out a variety of updates for practically all its products, from iTunes for Windows to multiple flavors of macOS, plus the latest version of iOS 11.4. New security updates are also available for iCloud for Windows, Safari, watchOS, and tvOS. What should you know about these updates?

First, iOS 11.4.1 finally includes the much-discussed USB Restricted Mode, a new security feature that aims at making it more difficult for law enforcement agencies and others from using phone-cracking devices to break past a …

Apple Supplements macOS Security Update to Address Wide-Reaching Flaw

Only a few weeks after the recent release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, Apple has amended the update by publishing an additional fix under this version number. Addressing a new flaw described as “serious” by the security community, the supplemental version of 10.13.4 addresses a problem in Intel CPUs discovered near the end of April that affects a broad number of devices, including Windows and Linux machines. However, unlike the Spectre and Meltdown flaws that caused much concern due to their so-called “unpatchable” nature, there is a way to …

Apple Pushes Range of Updates for Quality of Life and Security

Alongside Apple’s recent updates to macOS Sierra and OS X El Capitan to address the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, the final week of January also saw the release of a variety of other incremental updates for most of Apple’s products. Typically, Apple does not disclose detailed descriptions of the security vulnerabilities they fix in these updates, preferring to speak in vague terms to avoid exposing attack vectors that are still open on un-patched systems. However, we do know a little about what went into some of these updates besides …

Apple Patches MacOS High Sierra Login Vulnerability

“Is Apple getting sloppy?”

That was the headline of a BBC article published on Wednesday, November 29th, 2017, reporting the discovery of a major security issue in Apple’s MacOS High Sierra operating system. It seems that a bug within the OS made it possible for anyone to access a High Sierra computer by exploiting a simple login loophole.

Usually, when you login as a user on a Mac, you must enter your username and password. On machines running High Sierra, though, it was possible to enter “root” as the username, …

iPhone Apps with Camera Permissions Could Secretly Take Your Picture

When is your phone able to take a picture? Put that question to the average user and chances are they will say something about having the actual camera viewfinder on screen. Whether it’s from the default camera app, Instagram, or Facebook, we all expect that the camera isn’t at work when we can’t see ourselves on the screen. As one Google researcher, Felix Krause, recently uncovered, however, that is not actually the case. In fact, when users grant permissions to apps for the use of the camera, it turns …

Apple Releases iOS 11.1 and Other Important Security Updates

The latest round of Apple security updates arrived on Halloween, delivering everything from iOS 11.1 to updates that affect macOS, watchOS, and more. As is often the case with large patch days, these updates address a wide variety of security flaws affecting different parts of the systems in question. From WebKit vulnerabilities to memory handling issues on the Apple Watch and in macOS, Apple squashed plenty of bugs with this batch of updates. Perhaps one of the most important issues addressed in this round of updates, however, is Apple’s …

Securing Your Data with macOS and Keychain

Every time a new version of Apple’s operating system arrives, every tech-focused publication on the Internet does a deep dive on the new key features. Occasionally, though, cool bells and whistles go overlooked. Such is the case with the macOS Keychain Access application, which, in addition to storing passwords and account information, can also be used to store and secure sensitive data.

Keychain Access gives users the option to store what it calls “Secure Notes,” alongside passwords and other valuable data. Say you need to store something like a …

Apple Covers All the Bases with Over 100 Security Updates in May

In mid-May, while the world was waking up to deal with the chaos caused by the WannaCry ransomware spreading over the web, Apple was making its users safer again. Released on May 15th, a new set of patches dropped for iOS, macOS Sierra, and both the El Capitan and Yosemite version of OS X. So many different fixes were implemented that  it would be difficult to cover exactly what each of them accomplishes. However, of particular note in this update is the fact that ethical hackers previously identified more …

Apple Reassures Users: Flaws in WikiLeaks/CIA Vault7 Leak Already Patched

On March 7th, WikiLeaks entered the news and made waves again by releasing almost nine thousand documents they claimed came from within the US Central Intelligence Agency. Contained in the leak was a vast range of information about the CIA’s intelligence gathering practices regarding technology. The revelations included information that the agency had undertaken spying efforts through exploiting vulnerabilities in various technologies, including some “smart” TVs and mobile operating systems. Also, contained within the documents, however, were fourteen previously undisclosed flaws in iOS. Through these flaws, an attacker could …

Disruptive macOS Malware Takes Over Mail App

Modern malware adopts a huge number of different forms, from the destructive to the secretive. Some will seek to damage your system, while others snoop around for personal information to steal. Because these are the types of malware infections that users most often encounter, it’s easy to think that an anti-malware solution is all you need to stay protected. However, some malware can exploit flaws at a more fundamental level in the system. Such is the case with the emergence of a recent malware threat for Mac users which …

Apple Corrects Slew of Security Issues with New Updates

Following a month-long gap after the release of iOS 10.1.1, Apple has finally released its latest round of updates not just for its iOS devices but several other products as well. In addition to iOS 10.2, macOS Sierra received many security updates, as did Safari. iCloud and iTunes for Windows also received minor patches as well. While Apple took the time to add some additional features and tweaks to iOS in its update, these patches were mainly aimed at closing many ongoing system vulnerabilities.

Among the most crucial fixes …

Malvertising Hits macOS Users Through Google AdWords

With the huge number of ads present on the web today, it’s no surprise that they’re often a target and an attack vector for hackers looking for an open door. We’ve discussed malvertising here before to alert our readers to the potential threat. Now there comes word from security researchers that malvertisers executed a campaign specifically targeting macOS users early in November. This time the target was users who were hoping to install Google Chrome.

When searching for the keywords “Google Chrome,” a malicious ad purchased by the …

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 …