Mobile – Page 5

Apple Users Are Getting Group Facetime

June 14, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Apple’s Legions of users love FaceTime, but there’s a problem with the highly popular app. It only allows you to see and talk to one person at a time. Apple fans have been clamoring for Group FaceTime for almost as long as the app has existed, and soon, they’ll get their wish.

Beginning with iOS 12, Group FaceTime will finally be “a thing,” allowing you to simultaneously talk with up to 31 of your contacts. Even better, the new functionality will allow you to turn any iMessage group chat into a group FaceTime session, and switch back to iMessage at will.

Don’t want to be on camera in a group setting? Apple has an answer for that too. The company has announced that when Group FaceTime is rolled out, you’ll be able to place an Animoji over your face, or apply one of several different photo filters to disguise you. This is because they know that some days, you just might not feel “camera ready.”

At the end of the day, Group FaceTime is probably going to be a lot like tabbed browsing was for many users. Until you try it, and until it’s readily available, you won’t truly appreciate its value. Once you try it for the first time, it won’t be long before you’re unable to imagine life without it. It’s a cool, indispensable addition whose time has come.

Kudos to Apple’s loyal fan base for keeping Group FaceTime on the radar, and kudos to Apple itself for finally listening to their customers and giving them what they want. While we could quibble that they took longer than we’d like to make this feature a reality, in the end, they listened. That is the essence of business, isn’t it? Giving your customers what they want.

Joseph Martin

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T-Mobile Site Leaked Data On Millions Of Customers

June 13, 2018 by Joseph Martin

ZDNet Researcher Ryan Stevenson recently found a big problem on T-Mobile’s website regarding an unprotected API. As a result of the flaw, untold millions of T-Mobile’s customers’ account information was left exposed and completely unprotected. Literally anyone who stumbled across the site and tried to abuse it could access a wide range of customer information with no password required.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Customer name

Phone number

Mailing Address

Account Number

The status of the account (current, past due, suspended, etc.)

In an unknown number of cases, tax IDs and PINs were also exposed.

T-Mobile has a bug bounty program and pays a bounty to anyone who discovers a flaw that impacts the company. Stevenson received a $1,000 reward for discovering the issue, and subsequent research revealed that the flaw had been present on the company’s website since October, 2017 or prior.

T-Mobile’s handling of the incident has been less than stellar so far. Although they have acknowledged the existence of the issue and have already moved to correct it, the company has issued no information relating to how many customer records were exposed.

There is no evidence that any of the exposed records were inappropriately accessed. Typically, when an incident like this occurs, the company in question provides details relating to the scope and scale of the incident, informs all potentially impacted customers and usually provides a year of free credit and identity monitoring. So far, none of that has occurred.

While it’s certainly possible that the company may take these steps in the future, we were both surprised and disappointed that they had not already done so, especially given the fact that this was essentially a self-inflicted wound. Here’s hoping that in the days ahead, they do something to earn back the lost trust.

Joseph Martin

Latest IPhone Update Syncs Messages Across All Devices

June 8, 2018 by Joseph Martin

If you use Apple products, you may have noticed an annoying “feature”. If you’re using the messaging app on your phone and texting someone and then you move to your Mac and access the same program there, the conversation you were having on your phone isn’t present. The two devices are messaging islands that can’t reliably communicate with each other. Since they can’t, you can’t start a conversation on one device and then pick it up later on another.

True, Apple fans have found workarounds for the issue, but these are far less than perfect.

There’s good news, though. As of the latest iPhone update, your phone will now synchronize your messages across all Apple devices you own.

It’s a small thing, but you’d be amazed at how often it matters. Back in the “good ol’ days” most people just had one computer they used for everything. We no longer live in that world. Today, there are more active smartphones than there are people living on the planet, and the smartphone is just one of the many computing devices we use.

The advent of cloud-based technologies made accessing data across multiple devices possible, allowing you to work seamlessly on the same project with whatever device you have in hand at the moment. However, some things (like messaging) have been impossible, or at least highly inconvenient to access across multiple devices. That is, until now.

Granted, this improvement won’t change the world, but it will serve to make your world more seamless, convenient, and efficient. That makes it worth talking about.

In a lot of ways, the upgrade is like tabbed browsing. Until you start using it, you cannot fully appreciate just how awesome it is. By the time you realize how great it is, you’re hooked and can’t imagine messaging any other way. Kudos to Apple for an excellent enhancement!

Joseph Martin

T-Mobile And Sprint To Merge Companies

May 16, 2018 by Joseph Martin

The on-again, off-again talks about a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is definitely back on, with T-Mobile planning to buy Sprint for a staggering $26 billion.

The deal has been in the works since before Trump was elected President. It died quietly when it became clear that the Obama administration would not allow the deal to go forward, due to concerns that it would leave the US with only three telecom providers, which could harm consumers.

The Trump administration has made it clear that they applaud the move. However, Trump’s Justice Department may be a significant hurdle to clear. Nonetheless, as things stand now, the deal is steaming ahead and the combined company would have a whopping 127+ million customers, putting it not far behind AT&T’s 141.6 million and Verizon Wireless’ 150.5 million customers. T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere would lead the new, larger company.

John had this to say about the planned merger:

“This combination will create a fierce competitor with the network scale to deliver more for consumers and businesses in the form of lower prices, more innovation, and second-to-none network experience – and do it all so much faster than either company could on its own.”

The underlying argument in favor of the merger is that the US is falling behind in terms of network speed. If there is to be any hope of arriving first at a nationwide 5G network, we need bigger, stronger and more robust competitors.

As history shows us clearly though, the regulators of the previous administration have valid concerns about the monopolization of the industry. Any time there are fewer competitors on the board, regardless of the industry, consumers invariably get hit with higher prices. There’s no reason to believe this merger will lead to a different outcome.

Regardless, it now appears that the merger is likely to happen.

Joseph Martin

WiFi Sync on iOS Vulnerable To TrustJacking

May 10, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Owners of Apple devices have a new attack vector to worry about, called “TrustJacking.” Symantec researchers recently stumbled across a pair of scenarios that take advantage of Wi-Fi syncing of various Apple devices. These are scenarios that also take advantage of the trust users have in the security of their own devices, allowing hackers to take complete control over those devices.

The flaw is a consequence of the way that iTunes Wi-Fi Sync is designed. The vulnerability manifests when a device is connected and the user selects the “sync” feature. This creates an opening which could potentially allow a hacker to take complete control over the device.

The first issue manifests like this: With the “sync” setting enabled, the device owner has access to both that device and a paired iPhone over a wireless connection, even after the device is disconnected from the syncing service. That sets up part one.

Part two of the first scenario requires a bit of social engineering, where a hacker tries to trick the device owner to click on a malicious link that will install malware of the hacker’s choosing on the vulnerable system.

The second part of the second scenario targets users who are traveling. A hacker could take control of a free airport charging station. In order to make use of those free charging stations, users are required to trust the device. As soon as that happens, the hacker controlling the charging station can remotely issue a command to connect to iTunes, and then enable the sync command.

Once those two steps are completed, even when the victim disconnects from the charging station, the hacker can still access the compromised device remotely, gaining access to most (if not all) of the user’s private information.

Unlike similar, recently discovered vulnerabilities in Apple products, this one distinguishes itself by allowing the hacker permanent access to the device, making it a dangerous vulnerability indeed.

Joseph Martin

Apple Releases Major iPhone and iOS Device Update 11.3

April 13, 2018 by Joseph Martin

There’s a lot to talk about in Apple’s latest update to iOS. Version 11.3 boasts some significant changes and is well worth getting. We’ll go over the highlights below.

Battery management is the biggest and most significant change. Last year, the company found itself in hot water when they began quietly throttling older phones and slowing down their performance because older phones have batteries that begin to degrade. In the absence of throttling, it’s entirely possible that a user’s phone will simply shut down when it attempts to run a process that requires more power than the aging battery can provide.

Despite the company’s good intentions, their decision to throttle older phones met with serious backlash from their normally adoring customer base, and the company has changed their approach in 11.3. Now, throttling is optional and under user control if you have an iPhone 6, 6S/6S Plus, 7, or 7 Plus SE. However, all users, regardless of model now have access to a new battery health screen so they can keep tabs on the condition of their battery and make good decisions about if and when to replace.

Another significant change is the addition of a new Health Records section, which allows users to get easy access to their medical records if their doctor also utilizes the app.

On the business side, the 11.3 update comes with Business Chat, which allows select businesses to communicate with customers directly in the iMessage app, rather than via social media or email. While there aren’t a lot of companies taking advantage of this feature yet, you can bet that in coming weeks, you’ll see a slew of big names signing up to take advantage of the service.

There is a raft of other, smaller features in 11.3, but even if there weren’t, the “Big Three” mentioned here would make the update well worth getting. Kudos to Apple!

Joseph Martin

MyFitnessPal User Information Data Breach Affects 150 Million

April 9, 2018 by Joseph Martin

Another week, another high-profile data breach. This time, it’s Under Armour in the hot seat. Under Armour acquired the MyFitnessPal app back in February 2015, and the company recently announced that their new acquisition was hacked in late February 2018.

So far, the company is taking all steps we’ve come to see as usual in these circumstances. They’ve notified their user base about the scope and scale of the attack, which impacted a hefty 150 million users. In conjunction with the announcement of the event itself, they assured their users that the theft of data was limited to user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords.

Although the stolen passwords are encrypted with bcrypt (which is a highly secure solution), the company is still recommending that all of the app’s users change their passwords immediately, just to be safe. Under Armour also assures its MyFitnessPal users that no credit card information was exposed.

In a departure from the routine we’ve come to expect in situations like these, the company is also warning users to be aware that since their emails were stolen, they may be subject to phishing scams in an attempt to get more of their personal information.

That announcement, in part, reads as follows:

“Please note that the email from MyFitnessPal about this issue does not ask you to click on any links or contain attachments and does not request your personal data. If the email you received about this issue prompts you to click on a link, suggests you download an attachment, or asks you for information, the email was not sent by MyFitnessPal and may be an attempt to steal your personal data. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from such suspicious emails.”

While Under Armour’s handling of the incident has been solid so far, one has to wonder how many more of these incidents we’ll see before companies start taking data security more seriously.

Joseph Martin

Another Google Service Is Going Away

April 6, 2018 by Joseph Martin

If you are a fan of, and regularly use Goo.gl (the URL shortener service), brace for impact. The company has announced that as of March 30, 2019, the service will be shut down for good. Long before then, beginning April 18th of this year, only existing users will be able to shorten links via goo.gl. No new signups will be allowed.

The company had this to say about the recent announcement:

“The URL Shortener has been a great tool that we’ve been proud to have built. As we look towards the future, we’re excited about the possibilities of Firebase Dynamic Links, particularly when it comes to dynamic platform detection and links that survive the app installation process….FDLs are smart URLs that allow you to send existing and potential users to any location within an iOS, Android or web app.”

Fortunately, we’re not actually losing a service as much as we’re seeing one swapped out for something better and arguably next generation. It is worth mentioning that Google does not have any plans to auto-migrate goo.gl links to Firebase Dynamic Links. If you opt to use the new system, you’ll have to export your short links and then import them manually into Firebase.

Given this, it’s expected that at least some percentage of goo.gl users will simply opt to shift to other URL shortening services such as Bit.ly or Ow.ly.

Although Google is not ending support for the service to make life more difficult for hackers and spammers, that’s one of the unintended consequences of the move. Both spammers and malware authors regularly make use of goo.gl. Sadly, legions of Marketing departments and other legitimate users do too, and many aren’t thrilled that although Google is offering an ostensibly better and more robust alternative, they’re not offering any means of auto-migration to the new platform.

Joseph Martin

RottenSys Malware Has Infected 5M Android Devices Since 2016

April 4, 2018 by Joseph Martin

There’s a new threat on the horizon, according to security researchers from Check Point. A group of hackers in China are busy building a massive botnet that so far, totals almost five million Android smartphones. The hackers are quietly taking control of these devices using a strain of malware known as “RottenSys.”

While the malware is flexible and can be adapted to any number of purposes, in its present incarnation, it’s being used to display copious numbers of advertisements. This generates a healthy revenue stream for the hackers, but that could be just the beginning. The researchers have found evidence that the hackers are gearing up for a campaign that could be much more far-reaching and damaging. According to Check Point: “This botnet will have extensive capabilities, including silently installing additional apps and UI automation.”

RottenSys is fairly new to the malware ecosystem, first appearing in September 2016. So far, the hackers have spent most of their time simply spreading their creation to more devices. At current count, the number of infected Android phones stands at 4,964,460, and it grows by the day.

It wasn’t until last month that RottenSys got an update that gave its owners the ability to take direct control of all the devices. Prior to that, they were happy to simply rake in ad revenue, which is estimated to exceed $350,000 a month.

Currently, the malware hasn’t spread beyond the confines of China, but that could easily change as the hackers seek to add an increasing number of devices to their already massive botnet.

What makes RottenSys notable is the fact that it has managed to spread to so many devices in such a short period of time. As it turns out, the secret to the hackers’ success has to do with the code it’s built around, which includes both “Small”, (an open source virtualization framework) and “MarsDaemon”, which is a library that keeps apps “undead,” which ensures that the malware’s processes continue to operate even after users close them. This ensures that the ad-injection capacity cannot be disabled.

Only time will tell what the hackers have planned, but it can’t be anything good. They’ll have a formidable botnet to do damage with. Stay tuned.

Joseph Martin

Massive Malware Attack Stemmed From Bittorent App

April 2, 2018 by Joseph Martin

According to a Microsoft security researcher, a massive malware attack attempted to install a cryptocurrency mining software on more than 400,000 computers in less than twelve hours. The failed campaign is noteworthy because of the attack vector used. It was a supply chain attack implemented by compromising Bittorrent, a highly popular program used to share and download files.

Until recently, security professionals discounted the very possibility of supply chain attacks, regarding them as highly improbable occurrences. The sad truth, however, is that they’re becoming increasingly common. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a growing number of them, including CCleaner, which is a popular disk-maintenance program. A poisoned version of it was delivered to more than two million of the software’s users.

In another supply chain attack, M.E. Doc (a tax and accounting application which is widely used in the Ukraine) was tainted and contained the NotPetya wiper worm, and shut down computers all over the world just last year.

Then there was a collection of Android apps that came preinstalled on phones from not one, but two different manufacturers that allowed hackers unfettered access to the data on those phones. In fact, this is actually the second time Bittorrent has been hijajcked. Last year, a tainted version of the client installed ransomware on Macintosh computers around the world.

Fortunately, this latest attack was not successful, although Microsoft researcher reported that Windows Defender blocked more than 400,000 attempts to infect computers between March 1st and March 6th , with the actual Bittorrent infection occurring sometime between February 12 and February 19. In this instance, the threat was regional, with most of the computers being located in Russia, Turkey, and the Ukraine.

While this was the latest supply chain attack, it certainly won’t be the last. Worst of all, these kinds of attacks are notoriously hard to prevent because updates coming from trusted sources are often installed without question.

Joseph Martin

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Apple Users Are Getting Group Facetime

T-Mobile Site Leaked Data On Millions Of Customers

Latest IPhone Update Syncs Messages Across All Devices

T-Mobile And Sprint To Merge Companies

WiFi Sync on iOS Vulnerable To TrustJacking

Apple Releases Major iPhone and iOS Device Update 11.3

MyFitnessPal User Information Data Breach Affects 150 Million

Another Google Service Is Going Away

RottenSys Malware Has Infected 5M Android Devices Since 2016

Massive Malware Attack Stemmed From Bittorent App

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