Privacy

Hide the waveform and activity bar when using voice memos with discreetVoiceMemos

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 11, 2017

The Voice Memos app is useful for recording conversations to listen back on at a later date. On the other hand, when trying use it discreetly, the app is far from helpful. It drops obvious hints that it’s being used by displaying an animated waveform on the Lock screen and a bloated red Status Bar everywhere else in iOS.

If you were hoping for a solution to this problem, then you’re in luck because a new free jailbreak tweak called discreetVoiceMemos by CydiaGeek helps to make your Voice Memos usage more sneaky by hiding these highly-visible features from your device when the app is in use.

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The best VPNs for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated October 6, 2022

Amid all the recent conversation about ISPs retaining the legal right to sell your internet usage data, many are contemplating their VPN options so they can mask their internet activity for increased privacy and security.

In this piece, we’ll talk about some of the best VPNs for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

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F-Secure buys Jonathan Zdziarski’s Mac security app Little Flocker

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2017

Finnish security company F-Secure announced the acquisition of the Mac security app Little Flocker created by iOS security researcher and former jailbreak developer Jonathan Zdziarski. As we told you, Zdziarski joined Apple’s Security Engineering and Architecture team last month.

Little Flocker offers protection against ransomware, spyware, malware, trojans, back doors, misbehaving applications and other threats to private data stored on your Mac.

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NoLockScreenCam disables camera access on the Lock screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 13, 2017

Anyone with an iPhone should know by now that you can swipe to the left on the Lock screen to quickly access your camera. On the other hand, not everyone wants their camera to be readily accessible to anybody who picks the phone up.

A new free jailbreak tweak called NoLockScreenCam by i0s_tweak3r is the answer to this ongoing dilemma, as it disables access to the camera from the Lock screen.

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Don’t want internet providers to sell your browsing data? Use a VPN

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 26, 2018

While the FCC fought hard to keep your internet browsing data safe from third parties, it appears the United States government has other interests in mind. That said, your internet service provider (ISP) may soon begin selling your personal internet browsing data to third parties, putting your privacy at risk of exploitation.

On the other hand, there's still a way you can protect yourself and your data. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) will keep your internet browsing data hidden from your ISP, which in turn keeps it from being sold to third parties.

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T-Mobile unveils two anti-scam network features, here’s how to enable them

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 24, 2017

Wireless carrier T-Mobile on Friday announced a pair of new anti-scam features aimed at blocking robocalls and scam calls on your iPhone or other smartphone. Called Scam ID and Scam Block, the new tools were designed to either automatically block incoming calls identified by the system as scam (Scam Block) or warn you that a call is coming from a mobile phone number possibly related to spammers (Scam ID).

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Apple: iPhone and Mac vulnerabilities detailed in WikiLeaks CIA dump were fixed years ago

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 24, 2017

WikiLeaks yesterday published a new batch of internal CIA documents which highlighted some of the hacks and programs that the spy organization has been developing internally for years. Those tools were specifically designed to infest Apple’s all-in-one iMac desktop and MacBook notebooks if an agent was able to gain physical access to the device.

One of the methods involved utilized patched Thunderbolt EFI exploit. Apple told TechCrunch that the documents detail old exploits fixed years ago.

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Instagram unveils blurred posts, Two-Factor Authentication now available to everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 23, 2017

Facebook-owned Instagram is continuing to build a safer, kinder community for all its customers by introducing helpful features aimed at increasing user security and privacy on the service. Thursday, the company announced a pair of important updates in the form of a Two-Factor Authentication security feature, now available to everyone, and blurred posts aimed at reducing “unwanted experiences” in the app, a free download from App Store.

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Apple responds to ransom threat: iCloud, Apple ID and other systems have not been breached

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 23, 2017

Yesterday, a hacker group known as “Turkish Crime Family” told Motherboard it had obtained access to hundreds of millions iCloud and Apple ID accounts. They've threatened to reset passwords and remotely wipe Apple devices of all their data, including photos, videos and messages, unless the company pays a ransom of either $75,000 in the Bitcoin/Ethereum cryptocurrencies or $100,000 in iTunes Gift Cards, by April 7. Today, Apple denied the hacking claims, telling Forbes that iCloud, Apple ID and other systems haven't been hacked into directly.

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WikiLeaks details CIA’s infestation software targeting iMac and MacBook computers

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 23, 2017

Following the initial release of documents, dubbed “Year Zero,” which detailed tactics the CIA leverages to breach iPhones, iPads, Windows, smart TVs and other devices, WikiLeaks today published additional “Vault 7”-series materials. Code-named “Dark Matter,” the latest batch of secret files provides an insight into other CIA hacks and programs that have been internally developed and maintained for years with the goal of infesting Apple's all-in-one iMac desktop and MacBook notebooks.

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