Security Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily Update for May 17, 2013

by Steven Sande (May 17th, 2013)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

Your Mac's connection to Harry Potter

by Steven Sande (May 17th, 2013)

The next time you wish to hack into a Mac, it may help to grab your wand and book of spells. At the NoSuchCon security conference this week, security architect Alex Ionescu presented a talk where he revealed that special undocumented code on a Mac's SMC (system management controller) can be ...

Apple's two-step ID now rolling out to a worldwide release

by Mike Schramm (May 10th, 2013)

Apple recently introduced two-step verification for your Apple ID in certain countries, and the process is now being expanded to the rest of the world. The feature, which requires two different codes for verifying your Apple ID (if you want to be extra safe) was initially only available in the US, ...

Security Researcher Brian Krebs outs the man behind the Flashback malware

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 3rd, 2013)

In April 2012, security researchers discovered a new piece of malware targeting OS X users. The malware was dubbed "Flashback" and reportedly infected more than 600,000 Mac users, including about 200 machines on Apple's Cupertino campus. The malware was able to infect so many machines because ...

Securing your iOS device for your children, Part 3: removing apps, limiting social features and other safety options

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 29th, 2013)

There has been a string of high-profile cases where children have racked up thousands of dollars in credit card charges through in-app purchases. In these cases and others like them, the iOS devices used by the children have not been properly locked down by the parents. In the first post of ...

Securing your iPhone or iPad for your children, Part 2: Setup iOS parental controls to prevent in-app purchases

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 29th, 2013)

Securing your iOS device for your children, Part 1: Setting up a kid-friendly iTunes account

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 29th, 2013)

Exploit (now offline) allowed bogus reset of Apple ID passwords (updated)

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Mar 22nd, 2013)

Apple's new two-step verification process has already been put to the test, thanks to a (now apparently offline) exploit that allows anyone with your email address and birthday to reset your Apple ID. The Verge confirmed the exploit after the site was made aware of a tutorial posted on a ...

Apple adds two-factor authentication to your Apple ID

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 22nd, 2013)

Apple is beefing up the security of its Apple ID by adding two-factor authentication to the account login process. Customers concerned about unauthorized access to their Apple ID can login to their account at Apple's My Apple ID webpage and turn on the feature as described below: Go to My ...

Big Brother Camera Security for iOS is back after App Store ban

by Mel Martin (Mar 18th, 2013)

Big Brother Camera Security is an intriguing free app that lets you know if someone is snooping around your iPhone. When you install the app you pick a passcode for your phone, and give it your email address. You'll get a confirming email with a code to validate it's you setting up the app, and ...

Israeli firm highlights 'mobileconfig' iOS vulnerability

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 14th, 2013)

An Israeli firm called Skycure Security has published a report that highlights a potential vulnerability threat to iOS. The report demonstrates how malicious users could circumvent Apple's malware protection via "mobileconfig" files. As AppleInsider notes, "Mobileconfig files... are used by ...

Phil Schiller tweets followers: "Be safe out there"

by Steven Sande (Mar 7th, 2013)

Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller isn't known for using Twitter all that much, but he tweeted a link today and warned his followers to "Be safe out there." What was the link? It was to a Mobile Threat Report (PDF) from F-Secure, which highlighted a number of ...

Study: iOS apps grab personal data more often than Android

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 7th, 2013)

Risk-assessment company Appthority has released its App Reputation Report (PDF), which reports on a study of how iOS and Android apps handle a user's personal data. The study looked at 50 free iOS apps and 50 free Android apps and found that the iOS apps were more likely to collect and share ...

Software Update: Java for OS X 2013-002 1.0

by Steven Sande (Mar 4th, 2013)

Apple has released Java for OS X 2013-002 1.0 today. You can install the update for OS X 10.7 and later by launching the Mac App Store and clicking the Updates icon, or download the update directly here. According to the update notes, "This release updates the Apple-provided system Java ...

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET/7pm PT: Scattered passwords, like the corners of my cloud

by Michael Rose (Mar 3rd, 2013)

You can have near-perfect digital security -- a FileVault-protected computer, onsite and offsite backups, a team of angry vultures flapping around your ISP connection 24/7 -- and still be undone by breaches outside your control. Evernote is the latest service to acknowledge porous borders around ...