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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

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French Police Defeat Retadup Botnet Infecting 850,000 Computers

Andrew Orr ·

French police have defeated a botnet that infected over 850,000 computers. It was created with the Retadup malware. With the help of a web host, they cloned the command & control server and used it to disinfect the zombie computers.

“The malware authors were mostly distributing cryptocurrency miners, making for a very good passive income,” the security company said. “But if they realized that we were about to take down Retadup in its entirety, they might’ve pushed ransomware to hundreds of thousands of computers while trying to milk their malware for some last profits.”

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iOS 13 Code Hints at Apple AR Headset With 'StarBoard'

Andrew Orr ·

Code within iOS 13 hints at an Apple AR headset, with a codename called ‘StarBoard’ that can launch apps, similar to iOS’s SpringBoard.

Namely, internal builds of iOS 13 include a “STARTester” app that can switch in and out of a head-mounted mode, presumably to replicate the functionality of an augmented reality headset on an iPhone for testing purposes. There are two head-mounted states for testing, including “worn” and “held.”

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Google Bans Apple Card From Advertising Platform

Andrew Orr ·

Google doesn’t want customers to use virtual card numbers, and that includes the one Apple Card uses. An anonymous person writes about their experience.

Last week I received my Apple Card and decided to use it on my Google Ads account for another project. Getting a little bit of daily cash back for my meager ad spend was attractive. Within a couple of hours of updating my payment method my account had become suspended for suspicious payment activity.

I’m writing this to warn anyone else that intended to use the card online that you may experience… difficulties. And if you’re planning on using the Apple Card for anything important, think again.

It makes sense, on the premise that tracking companies like Google would oppose private measures like the Apple Card. I assume other virtual cards like Privacy.com would suffer the same fate.

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The iOS 13.1 Beta and a Possible Link to Trump Tariffs

Andrew Orr ·

Charles Arthur believes that the reason we’re seeing iOS 13.1 betas already could be linked to Trump’s tariffs.

Apple’s management also knows it can just about find a win-win solution here. If 13.1 proceeds as if it were 13.0, then it will be ready roughly when the “normal” 13.0 would have been, roughly a week after the new iPhones are launched, but about a week before they go on sale. That means that it can be the “GM” when it’s announced.

I don’t buy his Occam’s Razor logic because that is about finding an explanation with the fewest assumptions, and not his stated “most rational explanation.” And his theory, although interesting nonetheless, makes more assumptions than the current explanation of “Apple is holding features for iOS 13.1 to make iOS 13.0 more stable.”

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Apple Korea Shares a Video of Creative AirPods Cases

Andrew Orr ·

Apple Korea posted a YouTube video showing off some creative AirPods cases and skins that customers are using.

창의성 충만한 여러분의 손길을 거쳐 변신한 개성만점 각양각색 AirPods. 여기 저마다의 매력을 뽐냅니다.

A variety of unique AirPods transformed through your hands full of creativity. Here’s their charm.

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Rumors Still Live for Apple's Bluetooth Tile Competitor

Andrew Orr ·

Apple announced a feature at WWDC 2019 that would let devices running iOS 13 and macOS Catalina to broadcast their location even when offline. The same technology is rumored to show up in a Bluetooth tracking device similar to Tile.

This small beacon device could be attached to personal items such as keys, purses or wallets so that the owner could find them even when out of range of the items. An ARKit “star” image discovered in the Find My app bundle hints at the possibility of using augmented reality to find lost devices or items, similar to Pixie Tracker.

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India Just Passed a Law That Will Help Apple

Andrew Orr ·

As part of a new proposal, India said that single-brand retail companies like Apple can open online stores before they set up physical stores in the country.

This would allow Apple, which has yet to set up retail stores in the country, to start selling a range of products through its own online store. Currently, Apple sells its products in India through partnered third-party offline retailers and e-commerce platforms such as Amazon India, Flipkart and Paytm Mall.

India is Apple’s next—and perhaps last—country for big potential growth in the electronics market. Keep a close eye on this relationship in the future. I expect Apple to build data centers and other resources in the country, if they don’t have such things already.

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Annapurna Interactive to Launch 'If Found..." Game in 2020

Andrew Orr ·

Annapurna Interactive will release what they call an “interactive novel” game in 2020. It’s called If Found... and will launch on PC, macOS, and iOS.

In the game, players enter the mind of Kasio, a young, rebellious and creative soul who is destroying her diary on New Year’s Eve. To discover her story and uncover her secrets, players must erase her words and her memories. In this vivid and honest depiction of the West of Ireland in the early 1990s, players explore Kasio’s world through her torn up memories, like moving into an abandoned mansion, hanging out with the band, going to a punk show, breaking into Kasio’s own house, destroying the universe, and finding out who Kasio can be.

Check out the YouTube trailer below.

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Here's Why DARPA Wants Underground Tunnels

Andrew Orr ·

Popular news yesterday was about how DARPA, a military research agency, put out a request for giant underground tunnels by August 30. The media made it seem like it was some mysterious, scary thing, saying that DARPA didn’t give reasons. But they actually did, and it’s called the DARPA Subterranean Challenge (SubT).

The SubT Challenge is organized into two competitions (Systems and Virtual), each with two tracks (DARPA-funded and self-funded). Teams in the Systems tracks will develop and demonstrate physical systems to compete in live competitions on physical, representative subterranean courses, and focus on advancing and evaluating novel physical solutions in realistic field environments. Teams in the Virtual tracks will develop software and algorithms using virtual models of systems, environments, and terrain to compete in simulation-based events, and explore larger-scale runs in simulated environments that explore significantly expanded scenario sizes and durations.

If we read between the lines, I think a safe assumption is that this is about developing and improving autonomous systems. Think laser mapping, self-driving vehicles, and indoor combat drones.

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Apple Releases iOS 13.1 Public Beta 1

Andrew Orr ·

After confusing people yesterday with the release of iOS 13.1 developer beta, today iOS 13.1 public beta 1 is available.

Beta 1 of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 include a handful of features that were removed from earlier iOS 13 and ipadOS 13 betas, most notably enhanced automation with Shortcuts. The testing of beta versions of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 may suggest that iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 have been finalized.

Once the public betas wind down, I like to delete my public beta profile so I can get the official iOS release. If you’d like to do the same, instead of waiting for the official iOS 13.1 release, I suggest you delete the profile in Settings > General > Profiles.

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Amazon's Surveillance Company Partners With 400 More Police Forces

Andrew Orr ·

Ring, the Amazon-owned surveillance company that sells doorbell cameras, is partnering with 400 more police forces across the U.S.

The partnerships let police automatically request the video recorded by homeowners’ cameras within a specific time and area, helping officers see footage from the company’s millions of Internet-connected cameras installed nationwide, the company said. Officers don’t receive ongoing or live-video access, and homeowners can decline the requests, which Ring sends via email thanking them for “making your neighborhood a safer place.”

Previous Ring coverage: Here, and here.

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Artpaper Gives You Art Wallpapers on Your iOS Devices

Andrew Orr ·

Back in May I wrote about an app called Artpaper for macOS. It gives you over a thousand 5K art wallpapers on your Mac, from different museums and galleries around the world. Today, Artpaper is now available for iOS devices, too.

All wallpapers available in the app are the works from some top-tier galleries and museums all over the world. Featuring Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Fuji Tokyo, Uffizi, Art Institute Chicago, East Side Gallery Berlin, Fide, Amon Carter Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin, and many more.

You can follow the link below to find the Mac app, and click the link here for the iOS app.