We finally have the winner of our iPhone 16 Pro international giveaway! Congratulations to Oliver T., and a huge thank you to everyone who participated.
Apple Shares Trailer for Apple TV+ Series ‘Home Before Dark’
Home Before Dark is an upcoming series for Apple TV+. It’s based on the true story of a nine-year old journalist.
A mystery inspired by the reporting of a real nine-year-old journalist. When a young girl and her family move back to the small town her father left behind, her pursuit of the truth leads to the unearthing of a long-buried cold case.
The series is created and executive produced by Jon M. Chu and showrunners Dana Fox & Dara Resnik; written and executive produced by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner; and executive produced by Steve Golin for Anonymous Content, Joy Gorman Wettels, Rosemary Rodriguez and Sharlene Martin.
Security Friday – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-05
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday! Hardware flaws, This Week in Who Has Your Data, and the latest in ending encryption.
Using 'Split' and 'Slide Over' Views to Multitask on the iPad
There are lots of tricks to learn within iPadOS – to start, Charlotte looks at how to use some of the multitasking functionality.
Resale Value of Android Devices Drops Twice as Fast as it Does For iPhones
When you get a new phone, there is always a balance to be struck between making the effort of reselling your old device and how much money you will actually get for it. Well, according to data reported on by Cult of Mac, it is worth making that effort for a lot longer if you have an iPhone to sell.
Apple devices do lose value over time. “In the first year, on average, iPhones lost -23.45%; by year two, the total loss is -45.46%,” notes BankMyCell. But Androids lose way more. After one year, they’ve dropped an average of 48.65% — more than twice as much as iPhone after the same amount of time. And after two years, Androids are down 79.66%.
The Bad Reviews of Apple TV+ Series 'Amazing Stories' Have Reappeared!
Some outlets picked up on bad reviews for the new Apple TV+ series,’ Amazing Stories’, which then disappeared. Well, they’re back!
Serious Flaw in Intel Chips Lets Attackers Decrypt Hard Drives
A flaw found in Intel chips lets attackers decrypt your hard drive, among other things. It can’t be fixed, only mitigated with patches.
How Coronavirus Misinformation is Spreading Across Facebook
Almost as soon as the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak became clear, misinformation and conspiracy theories relating to it began spreading. Not surprisingly, Facebook is an absolute hub of inaccurate information. Wired took a look at what is being shared across various groups on the platform.
This fake news has spread through “cure” books on Amazon, WhatsApp viral texts, and even the mainstream media. Now, according to data taken from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool that tracks the diffusion of viral stories, a small army of Facebook fringe groups are following suit and pivoting to a new hot topic: coronavirus misinformation. The posts, which are filling innocuous Facebook groups normally dedicated to political discussions and flight deals, are a strange evolution of conspiracy theories that have been knocking around the internet for years. One much-mooted theory, for example, is that the coronavirus has been caused by radiation from 5G masts. One of these posts, on Smart Meter Health problems UK, garnered 191 reactions, 188 comments and 86 shares – eleven times the normal amount for the group.
How the EARN IT Act is an Attack on Encryption
Introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, the EARN It act would force companies to “earn” protection from Section 230 to fight online child exploitation.
Though it seems wholly focused on reducing child exploitation, the EARN IT Act has definite implications for encryption. If it became law, companies might not be able to earn their liability exemption while offering end-to-end encrypted services. This would put them in the position of either having to accept liability or remove encryption protections altogether.
My linked teaser from yesterday was separate from the EARN It act, but now it shows that companies are being coerced on two fronts.
There May be no WWDC in 2020 Following New COVID-19 Guidance From Santa Clara County
There could be no WWDC in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, following new advice from Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
Utah is Now a Surveillance State Thanks to This Company
A surveillance company called Banjo has partnered with Utah state authorities to enable a dystopian panopticon.
The lofty goal of Banjo’s system is to alert law enforcement of crimes as they happen. It claims it does this while somehow stripping all personal data from the system, allowing it to help cops without putting anyone’s privacy at risk. As with other algorithmic crime systems, there is little public oversight or information about how, exactly, the system determines what is worth alerting cops to.
A.G. William Barr Wants Tech Companies to Fight Child Sexual Abuse
Attorney General William Barr wants tech companies like Apple to fight online child sexual abuse even more with “voluntary standards.”
These voluntary principles are built on existing industry efforts to combat these crimes. Some leading companies have dedicated significant resources to develop and deploy tools in the fight to protect children online and to detect, disrupt and identify offenders. Although significant progress has been made, there is much more to be done to strengthen existing efforts and enhance collective action.
First, as I discovered last year Apple started to scan online iCloud content for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Many other companies do the same. Second, although encryption wasn’t explicitly mentioned, this is undoubtedly (in my opinion) a new development in the war on encryption. Child predators are one of the scary boogeymen used by the government to erode our privacy even further. I of course do support Apple scanning for this content, but it’s not a black and white issue.
DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar is a Custom Block List
DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar is a new block list created by the company over the past couple years. It’s open source and available on GitHub.
iPhone Photography, Device Disinfection – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-05
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss disinfecting (not just cleaning!) your devices, and Andrew’s tips for iPhone photography.
Apple Looking for Maps Writer/Editor
Apple advertised for a Writer/Editor for Maps, indicating that it is looking to put its own editorial information into Maps.
EVRI 80W USB-C Charging Station with 4x QuickCharge Ports: $52.99
We have a deal on the EVRI 80W USB-C Charging Station, a charging hub for your mobile devices that features four QuickCharge ports. It also has a USB-C port with enough juice to charge your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. This device is $52.99 through our deal.
More Details of How Uyghur Muslims Are Exploited in Tech Supply Chains Emerge
Earlier this week, I reported on research by an Australian think tank that highlighted how Uyghur Muslims in China were being exploited, maltreated, and used in the manufacturing of products. Apple is one of the companies whose supply chain was cited in the report. Now, the Associated Press has published further on-the-ground reporting about the exploitation of this minority during the making of tech products. Apple is again one of the firms mentioned, along with the likes of Lenovo and Huawei.
OFILM’s website indicates the Xinjiang workers make screens, camera cover lenses and fingerprint scanners. It touts customers including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, LG and Huawei, although there was no way for the AP to track specific products to specific companies. Apple’s most recent list of suppliers, published January last year, includes three OFILM factories in Nanchang. It’s unclear whether the specific OFILM factory the AP visited twice in Nanchang supplies Apple, but it has the same address as one listed. Another OFILM factory is located about half a mile away on a different street. Apple did not answer repeated requests for clarification on which factory it uses. In an email, Apple said its code of conduct requires suppliers to “provide channels that encourage employees to voice concerns.” It said it interviews the employees of suppliers during annual assessments in their local language without their managers present, and had done 44,000 interviews in 2018.
Is iCloud Slow For You Today? You’re Not Alone
iCloud services are experiencing some issues today, including iMessage, Apple Notes, iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, and more.
Facebook Begins Rolling Out Messenger for Mac
Facebook has begun rolling out its dedicated Messenger app for Mac, which has been spotted by users in the French App Store.
How to Get $5 Credit at a Wells Fargo ATM
Wells Fargo is offering its customers US$5 if they use Apple Pay at an ATM. The offer is valid until March 5, 2021.
Apple Backs Out of SXSW 2020 Over Coronavirus
Apple has pulled out of SXSW 2020 over COVID-19, where it was going to premier three of its Apple TV+ originals.
Twitter Tests Tweets That Disappear After 24 Hours
Twitter is testing a new feature called “fleets” which are tweets that disappear after 24 hours.
According to Twitter, an initial survey of users showed they would be more comfortable “sharing everyday thoughts” if they disappear after 24 hours.
Like tweets, Twitter fleets are based primarily on text, but you also can include videos, GIFs or photos in them. Users’ fleets will appear at the top of their home page and visible to their followers. Other users can reply to a fleet via private direct message or with an emoji.
It sounds like a good idea on the surface, but given that Twitter is a dumpster fire, you can imagine hateful tweets, political lies, etc. all disappearing from the public record. Of course, people can just screenshot them.
Someone Hacked J.Crew Last Spring and we Only Find Out Today
According to a notice [PDF] from J.Crew, someone hacked the company last year. For some reason we’re only finding out about it today, a year later.
“The information that would have been accessible in your jcrew.com account includes the last four digits of credit card numbers you have stored in your account, the expiration dates, card types, and billing addresses connected to those cards, and order numbers, shipping confirmation numbers, and shipment status of those orders,” J.Crew’s data breach notification explains.
You know, sometimes when I write about this stuff, like Facebook doing every bad thing under the sun with our data, I stop and think: “Am I just a cynical a**hole?” Then, when yet another idiot company has a data breach, I realize, no I’m just reporting reality. These companies deserve to be named and shamed.
Tello Value Prepaid 6-Month Plan: Unlimited Talk/Text + 2GB LTE Data: $49
We have a deal for the budget-minded looking for an inexpensive wireless plan, Tello’s Value Prepaid 6-Month Plan. This deeply discounted Tello wireless bundle includes unlimited talk & text plus 2GB/month of LTE data, for 6 months. It’s $49 through our deal.
Locked Apple Notes Aren’t as Secure as You Think
Forensic company BlackBag, a Cellebrite company, recently found that locked Apple Notes are temporarily stored in an insecure state.