After WhatsApp and Viber both introduced end-to-end encryption last month, Facebook Messenger will become the next major messaging app to roll out this essential security feature, reports The Guardian.
Although end-to-end encryption on Messenger will be framed as an optional feature that users will need to manually enable, it will ensure that the contents of communications are hidden from eavesdroppers and that the identities of the participants are concealed.
Apple this month brought back software engineer and top expert in practical cryptography Jon Callas, reports Reuters. The move follows Apple's high-profile battle with the FBI, and amidst a growing war between governments and tech firms over encryption.
Callas worked at Apple in the '90s, and again between 2009 and 2011, when he designed encryption to protect data stored on Mac computers. He rejoined the company in May, to help add more powerful security features to its wide range of consumer products.
Earlier in the week, Apple's boss Tim Cook embarked on a charm offensive in China in an attempt to appease the government and its agencies, which have already forced the iPhone maker to shut down the iBooks and iTunes Movie stores in the massive 1.35 billion people market.
As noted by Reuters, in meeting with Cook in Beijing, head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) underscored the importance of strong security of Apple's products for the Chinese consumer.
Has your iPhone or iPad been asking you to enter your passcode after you wake up, even though you normally used to unlock it with Touch ID?
You're not alone. As first discovered by MacWorld's Glenn Fleishman, this is the result of a new Touch ID rule which Apple quietly implemented since iOS 9 was released.
Ride-sharing service Uber today announced an interesting new feature for its mobile application on the App Store, introducing a Find My Friends-like feature that permits you to track family members on the map. Called Trip Tracker, this new feature provides automatic notifications and the ability to follow along on the map whenever someone is riding under your Family Profile. Trip Tracker and Family Profile features are available worldwide starting today.
Newer iPhones come with a chip called a motion coprocessor which gathers data from the accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses of the device to precisely measure motion and fitness data such as body motion, step count, stairs climbed, and more. Most people, including yours truly, do appreciate the data collected as it's particularly helpful if you want to use your iPhone as a step counter and pedometer, for instance. Others are creeped out by this feature.
If you belong to the latter group of people, then I will show you a quick and easy way to stop your iPhone from tracking your steps and other fitness activity.
Stefan Esser’s iPhone app, called System and Security Info, can no longer be downloaded from the App Store, as first noted by The Next Web. Esser’s software let iPhone users know if their device had malware that could be used to spy on them, and could detect a jailbreak, too.
The app was removed from the App Store earlier this morning. Esser was basically told that detecting weaknesses in a user’s device could lead to “potentially inaccurate and misleading diagnostic functionality for iOS devices.”
Sometimes your contact information ends up where you don't want it, and you end up with annoying spam iMessages from people, companies, or bots that try to scam you or steal personal information.
Fortunately, Apple's iMessage service comes with an abuse report feature that you can use to report senders who are misusing the iMessage platform and making it a less enjoyable thing to use.
In this piece, we'll talk about how and why you should be reporting iMessages that seem spammy.
Apple Music, which is Apple's own answer to the music-streaming industry, is a great place to easily search for a song you want to listen to and then play it on demand.
The only problem is, Apple Music keeps a running history of the songs you search for.
So now when you have your co-pilot in the passenger seat of your car choose a new song for you (because we know you don't use your iPhone and drive at the same time!) he's going to laugh at you because of the last time you felt like jamming out to some really embarrassing music.
Well fret not; in this tutorial, we'll show you how you can delete recent searches from the Apple Music app on your iOS device.
Among the plethora of built-in OS X features that help keep your Mac secure is something called File Quarantine, a download validation technology that checks any downloads for known malware when you try to open them.
File Quarantine is also available in compatible applications like Safari, Messages, iChat and Mail that download files from the Internet or receive files from external sources, such as email attachments.
Additionally, OS X blocks compromised versions of web plug-ins from functioning, including Java web apps and Adobe Flash content, to further limit your Mac's exposure to potential zero day exploits.
In this tutorial, we'll discuss how you can make sure that File Quarantine updates are turned on, which will allow your Mac to receive latest malware definitions and information about compromised web plug-ins from Apple.
You probably use the App Switcher a lot throughout your day-to-day iPhone usage. It's an essential part of multitasking because it lets you easily get back to the apps you've used recently.
On the other hand, it also takes a screenshot of your last activity in the apps you closed recently, so it's a privacy hazard because anyone can peek over your shoulder to see what you've done recently when you're switching between recently-used apps.
ASBlur is a new free jailbreak tweak that helps solve this problem by blurring the contents of your App Switcher app previews.
LogDog, a service originally made popular on the Android platform for keeping your various online accounts safe from unauthorized activity, is now launching for iOS.
With LogDog, you can actively monitor your online accounts and keep an eye on where the most recent logins came from, what operating system and web browser was used, and more.
If you're always worried about your security, or even your privacy, this is an app you'll want to check out.