Tag Archive for: ios

WhatsApp to stop supporting older Android, iOS phones from November 1

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WhatsApp will soon stop working on some smartphones which the instant messaging platform will no longer support. Beginning November 1, WhatsApp will stop supporting Android phones running versions before Android 4.1. If you have an old Android phone that runs on these older versions of systems, you may want to consider upgrading to a new device.

On the Apple front, WhatsApp will only support devices that run on iOS 10 and newer versions of the operating system. Meanwhile, WhatsApp will only support KaiOS 2.5.0 after November 1, so JioPhone and JioPhone 2 users can continue to use the platform.

The move of eliminating support for older devices, which platforms like WhatsApp will go ahead with once in a while, is likely a necessary precaution taken to improve the platform’s overall security by having it support once recent operating system versions that will offer users a certain level of control over privacy and security.

What happens if you are on an unsupported system?

If your phone doesn’t meet the above-mentioned requirements post-November 1, your account may be automatically logged out and you may not be able to log in again from the now unsupported device.

WhatsApp also mentions on its website that if you’re moving from an older KaiOS based device to another smartphone platform , there is no way to retrieve your chat history.

How to check my Android/ iOS version?

To check your Android version, you can open the Settings app on your Android phone and scroll down to find the about phone option. Tap on it to open its sub-sections and look for the ‘Android Version’ option. On iOS, you can open the Settings app and navigate to General/ About / Software Version.

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Apple patches iOS vulnerability actively exploited in the wild

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Apple patched a zero-day vulnerability in iOS 15.0.2 on Monday that enabled remote code execution with kernel privileges.

The iOS vulnerability, CVE-2021-30883, impacts kernel extension IOMobileFrameBuffer. Apple described the flaw in its security advisory as a memory corruption issue and said it “may have been actively exploited.”

Apple said in the advisory that the newly patched bug impacts “iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation).” The post said that the company has received “a report” of exploitation but did not elaborate further.

SearchSecurity asked Apple how widespread the exploitation was, but a spokesperson declined to comment.

Mobile security vendor ZecOps tweeted Tuesday that because the latest iOS vulnerability can be exploited from a browser, it is “perfect” for watering hole attacks.

Saar Amar, a researcher with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), published a technical blog about the vulnerability on GitHub that provided an overview of the bug and, broadly speaking, how it can be exploited. In the post, he called the vulnerability “great for jailbreaks” due to its accessibility via App Sandbox and showcased a proof of concept.

The origin of the zero-day is not known, and Apple credited the find to an “anonymous researcher.”

CVE-2021-30883 marks the latest flaw in a string of Apple zero-day vulnerabilities this year. More than a dozen such flaws have been exploited in the wild in 2021, several of which have impacted Apple’s WebKit browser engine.

In other vulnerability news, Apple has come under fire in recent weeks for its bug bounty program, which researchers have criticized for communication issues and, in some cases, an alleged lack of acknowledgement. From this frustration, one researcher publicly released three apparent zero-days last month.

Alexander Culafi is a writer, journalist and podcaster based in Boston.

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Apple fixes security flaw, bugs, in iPhones, iPods & iPads; releases new iOS 15 update

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After the company stopped signing iOS 15.0 and iOS 14.8, Apple released iOS 15.0.2 on Monday, 11 October 2021. It comes with bug fixes, some of which were reported as iPhone users upgraded to iOS 15.0. As published on its official website, Apple also said that the update fixed a security flaw that might have been under attack. Users are advised to update to the latest iOS version. 

The patch notes for the new Apple update mentions quite a few new modifications and features. For instance, photos saved to users’ libraries from Messages could be deleted after removing the associated thread or message. The update fixes issue of the iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe not being connected and AirTag not appearing in the Find My feature. Some issues regarding Apple CarPlay not opening or disconnecting while playback has also been fixed. 

iOS 15.0.2 fixes security flaw that might have been actively exploited

A major security issue has been fixed in iOS 15.0.2 and the iPadOS 15.0.2, called CVE-2021-30883, that could earlier be used to exploit the IOMobileFrameBuffer, a memory resource, Apple informed. As mentioned on the official support page, an application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges due to the flaw.

The page also says that Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. To resolve the issue, Apple has improved memory handling with the new update which is available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad Mini 4 and later and iPod Touch (7th generation).

The first public build of the iOS 15 released by Apple was buggy and a lot of users around the world complained about issues they faced as they updated their iPhones. The issues included an unresponsive screen, non-functional dialer, wrong storage warnings, an unaligned interface for Instagram, iPhone 13 not being unlocked with Apple Watch and more. While Apple acknowledged only a few of them, it released an update that fixed quite a lot of bugs in the latest iOS 15.0.1.

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Install zIPS Mobile Security from AirWatch

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