Hackers targeting iPad and iPhones in 2011

from eSecurityPlanet.com

Security software vendor McAfee (NYSE: MFE) is one of several firms predicting a dramatic surge in attacks on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) devices like the iPhone and the iPad. For year, the Mac operating system was largely ignored by malware authors in favor of Windows applications and devices, which had a much larger user base and, comparatively, far more coding flaws to exploit.

But the popularity of the iPhone and iPad and the millions of applications written specifically for these mobile devices has created a new fertile field for those inclined to write malicious code to take advantage of users' relative naiveté regarding their smartphones.

"We’ve seen significant advancements in device and social network adoption, placing a bulls-eye on the platforms and services users are embracing the most," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. "These platforms and services have become very popular in a short amount of time, and we’re already seeing a significant increase in vulnerabilities, attacks and data loss."

McAfee security researchers said bringing the iPhone and the iPad into the enterprise creates a serious dilemma for IT administrators charged with integrating these devices and applications into the network even though many users lack the understanding and appreciation for the security risks inherent in these nascent mobile devices.   

iTunes Software Update Causes Program to Crash: Apple Issues Adjustment

From infoTECH

There seems to be some problems with the latest iTunes software update, according to a Digital Trends report. The Apple 10.1.1 update was released with the intension of fixing crash issues. Apparently, it caused new ones instead.

It appears that once Apple (News  - Alert) released the update for iTunes, users who had installed the update reported they were unable to open iTunes without the platform immediately quitting. This crash effectively locked these users out of iTunes.

A report in the Apple Insider shows that users received an error message after the crash that simply stated: “iTunes cannot be opened because of a problem. Check with the developer to make sure iTunes works with this version of Mac OS X. You may need to install any available updates for the application and Mac OS X.”

The issues addressed included a problem where music videos weren’t playing properly on Macs loaded with Nvidia GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics cards; the program unexpectedly quitting when a playlist was deleted with the iTunes sidebar visible; iTunes crashing when syncing an iPod on PowerPC Macs; and music videos failing to sync at all to an iPod, iPad or iPhone (News - Alert).

A Macworld release highlights the release of a minor version bump to this latest release to provide a number of important bug fixes. Users everywhere are hoping this bump will be the needed adjustment to ensure iTune will now work....

Funny, a MAC product on a Mac OS on a MAC computer crashing. Is this the Bizzaro World?

WikiLeaks app yanked from Apple's App Store

Apple has removed a WikiLeaks app from its App Store just a few short days after its release.

Launched on December 17, the $1.99 WikiLeaks App offered access to the whistleblower site and the @wikileaks Twitter stream and was described as providing "'instant access to the world's most documented leakage of top secret memos and other confidential government documents," according to a Google cached version of the site provided by TechCrunch. The app was created by a third-party development firm called Hint Solutions, which lists Igor Barinov as its general manager.

But as of late last night, Barinov has confirmed both in his own Twitter feed and in an e-mail to TechCrunch that Apple has removed the WikiLeaks app from sale without further explanation at this point.

Though no specific reasons were given for the app's ouster, the move isn't surprising given both the controversy over WikiLeaks and Apple's tight control over which apps it feels are suitable for the App Store. We've contacted Apple for further details and will update the story if the company responds.

In the meantime, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains out on bail following his recent arrest in London. The controversial Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities over allegations of sexual assault. WikiLeaks itself roused the ire of the U.S. government after it published thousands of sensitive U.S. State Department and Pentagon documents. The uproar prompted several companies, including Amazon, MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal to shut off access to WikiLeaks, triggering a wave of cyberattacks from "hactivists" in support of the whistleblowing site.

It's funny that Apple is worried about their reputation...

Just one more video

Howard Stern on the iPad!

Hi-larious!

I found this amusing....

Just a funny Pic

I haven't looked it up but, in all fairness, I would wager that the LHC was run mostly by Linux machines.

Is Apple Anti-Charity?

From the New York Times

Donations Ban on iPhone Apps Irritates Nonprofits

The nonprofit world is stewing over the ban Apple has put on making donations on the iPhone via charity apps.

No one, including Apple, has data on how many nonprofits have created apps for the iPhone. Organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and American Cancer Society have them, but none can be used to make gifts. Prospective donors instead are directed out of a nonprofit’s app and to its Web site, which the organizations say makes the process of contributing more cumbersome.

“When you’re popped out of an app, you then have to go through a whole bunch of clicks to make a donation,” said Beth Kanter, co-author of “The Networked Nonprofit” and chief executive of Zoetica, a consulting firm. “It’s cumbersome and it doesn’t have to be.”

In protest, Ms. Kanter said she planned to replace her iPhone with a phone that used Google’s Android operating system, announcing her decision on Twitter, where she has more than 366,000 followers.

She also has started an online petition invoking the Grinch and seeking to draw the issue to the attention of Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had attracted more than 1,600 signatures.

An Apple spokeswoman, Trudy Muller, declined to explain the rationale for banning charitable solicitations via apps, saying only, “We are proud to have many applications on our App Store which accept charitable donations via their Web sites.”  -see the full article HERE

Is this because Jobs wants to take his 30% cut but doesn't want to look bad for taking away from charity? Wait, when has he cared about looking bad? And he also doesn't care about making things easy either. 

Problems with Apple TV

From AppleInsider:

Early adopters of Apple's second-generation Apple TV are reporting issues with streaming HD rentals and problems completing "HDMI handshakes" between the new Apple TV and their HD TVs.

No surprise

Several discussion threads on Apple's support forums related to issues with HD rentals not loading and HDMI connectivity problems have reached hundreds of posts in length as increasing numbers of Apple TV owners report having trouble with the device.

Some users report that Apple TV displays HD rental wait times of hundreds of minutes, while other video, such as trailers, HD Netflix movies, and YouTube begin playing after just a few minutes. "At one point, the HD movie was going to take over 3,000 minutes to load," wrote one user.

Though a portion of the users have resolved the issue by upgrading to higher bandwidth Internet, others report the problem occurring even with high-speed connections capable of handling HD video.

Sure, pay more money to fix it, great....

Another Apple support thread details potential compatibility issues between Apple TV and a number of HD TV sets. Users report frequent "HDMI handshakes" between the TV and Apple TV, with the picture returning with inverted colors. A user-compiled list of TVs affected includes models by Philips and Sony.

The Apple TV 4.1 firmware update, which was released last week alongside iOS 4.2, does not appear to resolve either issue.

Apple unveiled the revamped $99 Apple TV in September with a focus on 'the cloud' and streaming media. With just 8GB of onboard storage, Apple's new set top box serves as a hub for content streamed from the Internet, computers, or iOS devices.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced in October that the company had sold 250,000 Apple TVs in "just a short amount of time."

Why the hell would you pay $99 fir this when you can get a Boxee or Roku for less?

Please Don't Believe the Illusion

From TechWatch:



CNET News did an extensive interview with Marc Maiffret, an ex-hacker who is now the co-founder of security firm eEye Digital Security.  The Q&A session was insightful, and covered the state of security in general, as well as how various tech companies are handling this thorny issue. It is a worthwhile piece for those interested in the topic of security.
What caught my attention was when Maiffret was asked whether Apple is taking security seriously now; he replied that "If they were taking it seriously, they [Apple] wouldn't claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not." Indeed, this was my opinion too when I wrote "Pwn2Own 2010: The Mac isn't more secure" last month, which saw some readers respond  strongly in the comments section.
My point then, was that there are fewer security incidents on the Mac platform (and Apple products in general) due to less marketshare overall, a fact that Maiffret concurs with when he said, "The reason we don't see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn't near what Microsoft's is."

This is one of the things I'm talking about.   It is scary to see how many people actually believe that Apple's OS is more secure than any other.   I don't know how many security experts have to say (and prove) otherwise for them to get it.

Apple Sucks!

Apple is a company run by a power-hungry lunatic that makes underpowered, overpriced devices.  The only concern Steve Jobs has is that his products look good.  If that means sacrificing quality or functionality, "so be it" he says.  Let me know what you think! (and don't hold back)