New devices are fun, but among Apple’s glitzy product launches, its software-focused June event is my favorite. We get a glimpse of the new features coming to existing iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices—at no additional charge!
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pple is urging all iPhone and iPad users worldwide to urgently update their devices to iOS 16.5 and iPad OS 16.5, or risk being hacked by cybercriminals.
The tech giant issued advice last week warning that there are three cybersecurity flaws, known commonly as “zero-day exploits”, that are being actively exploited by hackers and cybercriminals on unpatched devices.
The three security flaws particularly affect the iPhone 8 series, iPhone X series, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 series, iPhone SE 2, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series, iPhone SE 3 and iPhone 14 series.
Users of iPads 5th generation and higher, as well as iPad mini 5th generation and later, should also install the latest iPad OS 16.5 as soon as possible.
You can update your device by going to Settings > General > Software Update and requesting the latest patch download.
In case you haven’t already, it’s also a good idea to enable automatic updates by tapping Automatic Updates in the Software Update section. You can also turn on the Download iOS Updates and Install iOS Updates options for both iPhones and iPads.
Apple’s iOS 16.5 and iPad OS 16.5 updates contain a total of 39 new cybersecurity flaws that have been discovered by white hat hackers and cybersecurity researchers around the world. However, luckily only three of them are being actively used for nefarious purposes.
All three security flaws relate to Apple’s WebKit, a browser engine developed to work with its web browsers on iOS and iPadOS.
Researchers from Google’s Threat Analysis Group, Amnesty International’s Security Lab, discovered that hackers could remotely manage to break out of Apple’s famed sandbox. This would technically lead to attackers being able to hijack other parts of the iPhone or iPad, and possibly look at user data.
And two anonymous cybersecurity researchers discovered that hackers have found a way to steal sensitive information from people using the Safari web browser.
They also found that cybercriminals could use one security flaw to trick the Safari web browser into executing malicious code hiding in websites, which would enable hackers to run any command or code on…
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is warning of a flaw that is allowing hackers to seize control of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, and is urging users to install emergency software updates.
Patches were released on Wednesday (Aug 17) and Thursday by the tech titan to fix what it described as a vulnerability hackers already knew about and may be taking advantage of.
“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited,” the Silicon Valley-based company said.
Apple did not disclose whether it had information regarding the extent to which the issue has been exploited.
It released two security reports about the issue on Wednesday, although they did not receive wide attention outside of tech publications.
The technical description indicated that a hacker could use the flaw to take control of devices, accessing any of its data or capabilities.
That would allow intruders to impersonate the device’s owner and subsequently run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security.
Patches were released for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers running on operating systems with the vulnerability.
Security experts have advised users to update affected devices — the iPhone 6S and later models; several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2; and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. The flaw also affects some iPod models.
Apple did not say in the reports how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered. In all cases, it cited an anonymous researcher.
Commercial spyware companies such as Israel’s NSO Group are known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws, exploiting them in malware that surreptitiously infects targets’ smartphones, siphons their contents and surveils the targets in real time.
NSO Group has been blacklisted by the US Commerce Department. Its spyware is known to have been used in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America against journalists, dissidents and human rights activists.
Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched.
The company has previously…
Opera, the popular internet browser has announced Web3 fueled crypto browser for iOS devices—mainly iPhones and iPads. This comes months after the company first unveiled the browser for Windows, Mac and Android.
The crypto browser allows users to use decentralized apps (dapps), games and metaverse platforms—and has an integrated non-custodial Crypto Wallet. With a non-custodial wallet, only you have sole control of your private keys, there is no third party involved or who has access to the wallet.
Non-custodial crypto wallet supports Ethereum, Polygon, and Celo blockchain ecosystems, the company says “more blockchain integration on the way.” This wallet will allow users to buy cryptocurrency with fiat, send, or even receive cryptocurrency as well as NFTs.
Opera’s crypto browser also comes with direct access to decentralized exchanges – including over 7,000 Polygon (Blockchain)-based services.
“The interest in Web3 is continuing to grow. The Opera Crypto Browser Project was built to simplify the Web3 user experience that has often been bewildering for mainstream users. Opera believes Web3 has to be easy to use in order to reach its full potential and a mass adoption,”said Jorgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera.
Among its features is a news and data aggregator called Crypto Corner, a dedicated start page with live crypto information and updates, crypto asset prices and gas fees, as well as crypto events, airdrops, and even podcasts. This feature aims to brings together all the information you need to both learn about, and stay up to date on, the world of crypto.
Earlier, Opera said its users will enojoy no-log browser VPN, native ad-blocker and tracker blocker, but with the added access to Web3 websites and dApps – directly from the browser’s address bar.
“The Crypto Browser is dedicated to further improving security on Web3 with features like a native ad and tracker blocker, pop-up blocker, and an intuitive Cookie Dialogue Blocker. Also included is cryptocurrency mining protection, blocking any cryptojacking scripts that could compromise iOS devices (and decrease their performance),” the company added in its blog…