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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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Backup Tool ‘iMazing’ Updated to Detect Pegasus Spyware

Andrew Orr ·

The team behind iMazing has updated their tool to detect NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. You don’t have to buy an iMazing license to scan for it.

It would therefore be possible to relatively quickly re-implement MVT’s methodology in our toolkit, and integrate a user-friendly ‘wizard’ in iMazing’s user interface. And because iMazing can already perform iOS backups and decrypt backup files, the tool we envisaged had the potential to dramatically reduce the technical barrier of entry whilst enhancing performance and promoting backup encryption.

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Facebook Bans Accounts of Researchers Investigating its Disinformation Problem

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook has banned the accounts of researchers who were studying the platform’s political ads and disinformation.

The tools were the subject of a long-running standoff between the social network, which claimed scraping violates its terms of service, and the researchers, who argued that more digital advertising transparency is essential to understanding and protecting elections.

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Malware Dubbed ‘Raccoon Stealer’ Targets Crypto Wallets

Andrew Orr ·

Researchers at Sophos have been tracking a piece of malware called Raccoon Stealer. A recent update means it can target cryptocurrency wallets.

Raccoon can collect passwords, cookies, and the “autofill” text for websites, including credit card data and other personal identifying information that may be stored by the browser. Thanks to a recent “clipper” update, Raccoon Stealer also now targets cryptocurrency wallets, and can retrieve or drop files on infected systems.

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Photo Service ‘Mimeo Photos’ Surpasses 1 Million Downloads on macOS

Andrew Orr ·

Mimeo Photos announced on Tuesday that it surpassed one million app downloads in the Mac App Store. Sean Doherty, General Manager of Mimeo Photos:

We are beyond thrilled to have achieved one million downloads in the Mac App Store. From the inception of Mimeo Photos, we have been available to Apple Photo users who want to create beautiful photobooks, cards and calendars directly from their Mac computer. It’s always been our top priority to allow our customers to create superior photo products no matter where they are or what device they’re using, and this achievement is a testament to that goal we continually set for ourselves.

I think it’s a great photography service and I’m glad to see a milestone like this.

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AMD Releases New Radeon PRO W6000X GPUs for Mac Pro

Andrew Orr ·

On Tuesday, AMD announced its line of Radeon PRO W6000X GPU series for the Mac Pro.

Built on groundbreaking AMD RDNA 2 architecture, AMD Infinity Cache and other advanced technologies, the new workstation graphics line-up includes the AMD Radeon™ PRO W6900X and AMD Radeon™ PRO W6800X GPUs. Mac Pro users also have the option of choosing the AMD Radeon PRO W6800X Duo graphics card, a dual-GPU configuration that leverages high-speed AMD Infinity Fabric interconnect technology to deliver outstanding levels of compute performance.

Update to ProtonVPN Adds WireGuard Protocol, iOS Kill Switch
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Update to ProtonVPN Adds WireGuard Protocol, iOS Kill Switch

Andrew Orr ·

WireGuard is a new VPN protocol (and VPN itself) designed to be faster and more efficient than IPsec and OpenVPN. It passes network traffic over UDP. In its latest update, ProtonVPN has added support for WireGuard as a beta feature. Another feature for the iOS app is the Kill Switch which was previously only found on the desktop version. The Kill Switch will stop all network connections on your system if the VPN connection drops to prevent accidental IP leaks.

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The Rise of QR Codes has Privacy Experts Worried

Andrew Orr ·

The popularly of QR codes has risen due to the pandemic, since it enables touchless interactions. But they can be used for tracking and advertising.

But the spread of the codes has also let businesses integrate more tools for tracking, targeting and analytics, raising red flags for privacy experts. That’s because QR codes can store digital information such as when, where and how often a scan occurs. They can also open an app or a website that then tracks people’s personal information or requires them to input it.

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Ethereum’s EIP 1559 Upgrade Goes Live on August 4

Andrew Orr ·

A major update to the Ethereum blockchain known as EIP 1159 will go live on August 4. Reuters explains what it means.

EIP-1559 is a software upgrade that fundamentally changes the way transactions are processed on Ethereum by providing clear pricing on transaction fees in ether paid to miners to validate transactions and “burning” a small amount of those tokens. The burned tokens will be permanently taken out of circulation.

By reducing the number of tokens, the currencies that remain in circulation become rarer and more valuable.

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Hackers Leak FIFA 21 Source Code After Extortion Attempt

Andrew Orr ·

After a failed extortion attempt, hackers have leaked a 751GB cache of data stolen from Electronic Arts. The files include the source code for FIFA 21.

While initially, the hackers hoped to earn a big payday from the EA hack, they failed to find any buyers on the underground market, as the stolen data was mostly source code that lacked any value for other cybercrime groups, most of which are interested in user personal or financial data primarily.

After failing to find a buyer, the hackers tried to extort EA, asking the company to pay an undisclosed sum and avoid having the data leaked online.

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Airbnb Adds New Wi-Fi Speed Test Feature to App

Andrew Orr ·

On Thursday Airbnb announced it added a Wi-Fi speed test tool to its app to let Hosts easily advertise their speeds.

While Hosts have been able to manually add wifi speeds to their listing pages for some time, we’re now providing an easy and efficient in-app solution to allow them to measure the wifi speed in their listing using the Airbnb app.

Hosts can test their listing’s connection speed right within the Airbnb app, and easily have their wifi speed information posted on their listing page, making their listings more appealing to guests looking for connected stays.

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Uber Drivers to Receive Free Rosetta Stone Language Lessons

Andrew Orr ·

Uber announced on Thursday a partnership with Rosetta Stone to offer free language courses to drivers.

The deal is being extended to drivers and delivery workers in select markets where Uber operates. Rosetta’s digital language learning programs, which cover 24 languages, will be fully integrated into the Uber app used by its workers. And the company is working with Rosetta on developing language skills directly related to their work as ride-share drivers and delivery workers.