Researchers find another terrifying iOS flaw
It can’t have escaped your attention that security experts have declared open season on Apple products over the last few weeks. At San Francisco’s RSA conference, an even more terrifying exploit has been revealed that has the power to send your iPhone or iPad into a perpetual restart loop. Mobile security firm Skycure has discovered that iOS 8 has an innate vulnerability to SSL certificates that, when combined with another WiFi exploit, gives malicious types the ability to create “no iOS zones” that can render your smartphones and tablets unusable. Before you read on, grab a roll of tinfoil and start making a new case for your iPhone.
Broadly speaking, any app that uses SSL certificates – which is almost all of them – can be fed a dummy certificate that causes it to crash. If, however, you can feed that same dodgy data into the operating system itself, then the hardware will be thrown into a perpetual loop of failed restarts. That can be easily achieved if you can set up a WiFi network to behave like one of the trusted setups that iOS automatically tries to connect to. So, as Gizmodo says, all it takes is for someone to build a nefarious network, name it “attwifi” and they’ve got a honeytrap.
Skycure has already reported its findings to Apple and won’t give away any more details should it give hackers free reign to brick thousands of devices. Until the problem is fixed, users are advised not to trust free WiFi networks, keep iOS updated and, should they wander into a “no iOS zone,” get out, quickly.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via: The Register, Gizmodo
Source: Skycure
UPS Begins Confirming April 24 Apple Watch Pre-Order Delivery for Some Customers
Following a week of constant order status changes and general haziness on when customers would actually receive their Apple Watch orders, a few MacRumors users have confirmed this morning that they have received April 24 delivery estimates for their Apple Watch pre-orders.
In the forums, multiple mentions of an Apple distribution center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee have resulted in numerous users getting confirmed delivery dates for their Apple Watch orders this Friday, April 24. While mostly centered in the southern states like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida, a few outliers, like a few customers in Indiana, have also had the April delivery date confirmed.
The news comes after a few Apple Watch pre-order customers began receiving UPS tracking numbers yesterday, thanks to the service’s “My Choice” opt-in emails, which notify customers whenever a package is on its way to their house. On Monday, many people began being charged for their Apple Watch orders, seeing a shift from “Processing Items” to “Preparing for Shipment” for a majority of users.
Many of the early UPS shipping notifications had delivery estimates for earlier in the week, but these were understood to be inaccurate considering Apple’s efforts to have all deliveries held until the official launch day. Apple’s own order status pages are also still showing a broad “4/24-5/8″ window for the first wave of orders, so tracking information pinpointing delivery for Friday will be a welcome reassurance for many customers.
With the Apple Watch launch stressing some of the company’s customers out, yesterday Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was seen in a video updating Apple retail employees on the different approach for the Watch’s launch, promising a “unique situation” and that the company’s “blockbuster launches”, or in-store launches, will continue in the future. With only two days to go until the official launch of the Apple Watch, many users should begin seeing status and date changes popping up on their accounts over the next few hours.
‘The Whole Pantry’ App Developer Admits Faking Cancer to Boost Sales [iOS Blog]
After facing a wave of controversy in March over reports of false claims made towards her cancer diagnosis, Australian indie developer Belle Gibson this week spoke out, admitting that “none of it’s true” in regards to her ever having cancer (via News.com.au).
Last month, when $300,000 of her app sales failed to find its promised home at certain charities, the legitimacy of her cancer claims began to be questioned. Gibson is the founder of The Whole Pantry, a healthy lifestyle and diet app that focuses on naturally-occurring ingredients and solutions to complicated recipes.
Gibson claimed that her app, which launched in 2013 on iOS, was the culmination of a lifestyle and choices that helped her personally overcome terminal brain cancer, a statement she’s now claiming to be completely false when talking to The Australian Women’s Weekly earlier this week.
“No. None of it’s true,” she confessed. “I am still jumping between what I think I know and what is reality. I have lived it and I’m not really there yet.”
“In the last two years I have worked every single day living and raising up an online community of people who supported each other … I understand the confusion and the suspicion, but I also know that people need to draw a line in the sand where they still treat someone with some level of respect or humility — and I have not been receiving that.”
Amid the firestorm against her, Penguin Australia has stopped selling her book and Gibson has faced monetary troubles as numerous accountants have instructed her to provide any leftover funds from The Whole Pantry‘s sales to the charities she initially pledged money to.
The Whole Pantry Apple Watch app before it was removed by Apple.
The Australian Women’s Weekly suggests that Gibson may suffer from Factitious Disorder, whose sufferers feign illnesses and disease to gain a wider audience and recognition. Despite the whole ordeal causing her to shut down The Whole Pantry‘s Facebook page and even her own personal Instagram account, Gibson hopes her honesty on the matter helps her grow from the situation.
“I just think [speaking out] was the responsible thing to do. Above anything, I would like people to say, ‘Okay, she’s human. She’s obviously had a big life. She’s respectfully come to the table and said what she’s needed to say, and now it’s time for her to grow and heal.’”
Apple began promoting Gibson’s app The Whole Pantry as a featured spot on its Apple Watch app page, going so far as to fly Gibson out to Cupertino to assist her in being one of the first-wave launch apps for the Watch. The company ended up pulling the app from its App Store, and stopped promoting the Apple Watch version, when the fraud allegations began in March.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple Watch Pre-Orders in Italy and Other Second Wave Countries Could Begin May 8
Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the Apple Watch in Italy on May 8, according to Italian website iSpazio. The report, citing an internal source, claims that Apple Stores in the country have already received Apple Watch advertising materials and display tables for the wrist-worn device that will be setup on May 7 to prepare for the launch.
While not mentioned directly in the report, iSpazio administrator Fabiano Confuorto told MacRumors that Apple Watch pre-orders in Spain and “a lot of other” second wave launch countries will also begin on May 8, which coincides with the end date of 4/24-5/8 shipping estimates on some early Apple Watch pre-orders. Confuorto did not specify which countries beyond Italy and Spain. The sales process will reportedly be identical to the United States and other first wave countries, with orders taken exclusively online at launch.
Second wave launch countries for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Shipping times for the pre-orders could be 4-6 weeks or later in those countries based on current estimates on the Apple Online Store in the United States.
Apple Watch pre-orders became available on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific through the Apple Online Store in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom, and sold out completely in less than six hours. The company also began taking Apple Watch try-on appointments the same day at Apple retail stores and select fashion boutiques such as Selfridges in London, Isetan in Tokyo and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
Apple Watch Sport’s Ion-X Glass Display Cover Subjected to Scratch Test in New Video
Earlier this month, a video surfaced showing the incredible scratch resistance of the sapphire crystal display cover used in the stainless steel and Edition Apple Watches, and now another video claims to show the scratch resistance of the Ion-X glass display cover used in the Apple Watch Sport.
The video, from Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, uses Ion-X glass covers sourced from Sonny Dickson, who has acquired parts from various pre-release devices in the past. The glass covers in the video are said to be the same Ion-X covers used in the Apple Watch Sport.
Hilsenteger subjects the Ion-X glass to a key, a knife, steel wool, and several different sandpapers to try to damage it (skip to 2:30 to get to the scratch testing portion of the video).
While a key, a knife, and steel wool don’t do any damage to the glass, Hilsenteger is able to scratch the glass quite significantly with sandpaper, suggesting that while it will stand up to day to day wear and tear, it’s still possible to scratch the Ion-X glass under extreme conditions.
When the sapphire display cover of the more expensive watches is subjected to sandpaper, as in the video we saw earlier this month, it does not scratch due to the sapphire’s greater hardness. Sapphire’s scratch resistance is why it’s used by many high-end watch manufacturers to protect watch faces as it’s second only to diamond when it comes to scratch resistance.
Sapphire display covers are only offered in the higher-end Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models, presumably due to the high price of sapphire. The Apple Watch Sport, Apple’s most affordable watch, has a lower price tag in part because it uses less expensive materials — Ion-X glass instead of sapphire crystal and aluminum instead of stainless steel or gold.
The Apple Watch sport is priced more affordably than the other available Apple Watches, starting at a price of $349 compared to the $549 entry-level stainless steel watch and the $10,000 entry-level Edition watch.
1,500 iOS apps are vulnerable to an HTTPS-crippling bug
According to analytics service SourceDNA, nearly 1,500 iPhone and iPad apps currently available in the App Store include a bug that breaks HTTPS. This could leave users’ sensitive personal information exposed to hackers. Analysts have identified an out-of-date version of open-source code library AFNetworking as the source of the vulnerability. The library itself has already been patched, however, many apps are still using the older, insecure version. “We tested the app on a real device and, unexpectedly, we found that all the SSL traffic could be regularly intercepted through a proxy like Burp without any intervention,” researchers Simone Bovi and Mauro Gentile wrote in March.
It should be noted, however, that this vulnerability does not break security system-wide. Instead, it poses an issue when a vulnerable app is active. That is, if you have the Alibaba.com app running (which is vulnerable), only the data that you send through that app will be at risk; the information you send using, say, the eBay app or via the Amazon website will still be secure. SourceDNA analyzed the binary code of every free app, as well as the top 5,000 paid ones, to assemble its list. The company has also released a search tool to help users see if their favorite apps are affected. Hopefully all this added attention will incite developers to patch their programs, though as of yesterday, about 1,500 apps remain at risk.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: SourceDNA
Apple Updates Long List of Apps With Bug Fixes as Keynote for iOS Gains Apple Watch Controls [iOS Blog]
Apple today updated a number of its iOS and Mac apps, bringing bug fixes and performance improvements to Beats Music, Remote, Xcode, Keynote for Mac, Pages for Mac, Numbers for Mac, Pages for iOS, Numbers for iOS, and Keynote for iOS.
Keynote for iOS was the only app to receive an update introducing new features, gaining support for the Keynote Remote Apple Watch app that will let Keynote presentations be controlled directly from the wrist.
Today’s round of updates are the first Apple’s iWork apps for Mac and iOS have seen since January. None of the apps have gained significant new features since an October update that brought compatibility with OS X Yosemite and Continuity. Both Beats Music and Remote have also gone several months without seeing an update until today, having last been updated in November and September, respectively.
Researcher says Apple hasn’t fixed major OS X security flaw
Earlier this month, Apple released an update that was supposed to patch a serious flaw in OS X, albeit only for Yosemite users. But, according to a recent report by an independent researcher, the company from Cupertino failed to fix the problem. Objective-See, a website that provides tools to prevent OS X malware, reports that the backdoor security flaw, known as “RootPipe,” can still be exploited. The root access vulnerability is a major one too, as it could give anyone with bad intentions a way to take over a user’s machine and, if they want, inject malware into the operating system. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will be updating this story if and when it gets back to us.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software, Apple
Via: ZDNet
Source: Objective-See
Angela Ahrendts Updates Retail Employees on Apple Watch and MacBook Launch Situation
Angela Ahrendts today sent out a video to Apple retail employees, once again reiterating Apple’s Apple Watch policies and explaining why the company has decided not to accept walk-in orders.
In the video, shared by French site Mac4Ever [Google Translate], Ahrendts again told employees that the Apple Watch is only available online due to global demand exceeding supply. She also emphasized Apple’s efforts to give customers the best possible ordering experience by restricting in-store orders and said there are no plans to change the current Apple Watch ordering process.
https://dailymotion.com/video/x2ngpic
It was not an easy decision, and I think it’s really important to remind every single customer that this is not just a new product for us, this is an entirely new category. And the first time we’ve ever previewed a product two weeks before availability.
The great news is from anyone who did pre-order, they’ll start getting their orders this Friday.
Ahrendts told employees that she’ll be providing updates on supply on a week by week basis, and she asked retail employees to prepare to help customers who will be receiving a pre-ordered Apple Watch in the near future. Ahrendts also once again confirmed that the Apple Watch launch is a unique situation and not reflective of Apple’s launch plans going forward. “We love our launches we do in stores,” she said. “Have absolutely no fear, this is a unique situation.”
The video also covered the MacBook, which has been highly limited even in first wave launch countries. Ahrendts said the response to the MacBook has been “overwhelming” and that it was one of Apple’s best MacBook launches yet. Demand for the Space Gray and Gold MacBooks was described as “off the charts.”
WhatsApp Messenger for iOS Gains Voice Calling Capabilities [iOS Blog]
After promising to deliver voice calling capabilities back in 2014, WhatsApp has finally delivered, introducing voice over IP features in its latest update. With the new version of the app, it’s possible for WhatsApp users to call friends and family directly within the app using a Wi-Fi or cellular connection at no cost.
The introduction of voice calling to the Facebook-owned WhatsApp app puts it on par with Facebook’s other messaging app, Facebook Messenger, which gained voice calling back in 2013. It also allows the app to better compete with other iOS-based VoIP calling options like Skype and FaceTime Audio.
Today’s WhatsApp update also brings a few other features, including the iOS 8 share extension for sharing videos, photos, and links to WhatsApp from other apps, contact editing tools, and the ability to send multiple videos at one time.
What’s new
-WhatsApp Calling: Call your friends and family using WhatsApp for free, even if they’re in another country. WhatsApp calls use your phone’s Internet connection rather than your cellular plan’s voice minutes. Data charges may apply. Note: WhatsApp Calling is rolling out slowly over the next several weeks.-iOS 8 share extension: Share photos, videos, and links right to WhatsApp from other apps.
-Quick camera button in chats: Now you can capture photos and videos, or quickly choose a recent camera roll photo or video.
-Edit your contacts right from WhatsApp.
-Send multiple videos at once and crop and rotate videos before sending them.
WhatsApp can be downloaded from the App Store for free. The new WhatsApp calling feature will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks. [Direct Link]
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