MacNN | hacks News

Briefly: AirPort Extreme teardown, Microsoft updates Office for Mac

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:20:00 GMT

Tech site iFixit has <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/287602==http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/AirPort+Extreme+A1521+Teardown/15044/1?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AirPort+Extreme+A1521+Teardown&utm_content=AirPort+Extreme+A1521+Teardown+CID_3731cb6097a859e4ca677c312406b6a3&utm_source=CampaignMonitor" rel='nofollow'>uploaded a new teardown</a>...

Teardowns reveal some surprises in new MacBook Air model

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:53:00 GMT

Two initial teardowns of the latest MacBook Air model by Mac specialists OWC and iFixit have revealed a <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/287526==http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Mid+2013+Teardown/15042/2" rel='nofollow'>number of small changes</a> but <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/287527==http://blog.macsales.com/18966-owc-macbook-air-...

Anonymous leaks NSA documents following reveal of spying program

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:57:00 GMT

More documents allegedly related to the National Security Agency (NSA) and its <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/287234==http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/06/07/charges.of.widespread.monitoring.follow.discovery.of.verizon.nsa.data.collection/" rel='nofollow'>data harvesting</a> activities has surfaced, courtesy of hacking collective Anonymous. The group &...

Tech firms deny involvement in secret NSA 'backdoor' spying program

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:23:00 GMT

Just a day after respected UK newspaper <em>The Guardian</em> reported that a <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/287193==http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/06/06/mass.call.record.logs.provided.to.nsa.on.daily.basis/" rel='nofollow'>leaked secret US court order</a> showed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was harvesting millions...

PlexConnect lets non-jailbroken Apple TVs run Plex media server

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:01:00 GMT

A new hack dubbed <a href="http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/forum/136-appletv-plexconnect/">PlexConnect</a> allows the third-party Plex media server to run on second- and third-generation Apple TVs without jailbreaking, the creators of Plex say. The technique involves running a program on a computer which disguises itself as the Trailer app; changing a set...

Sky Twitter account, Google Play app listings attacked by hackers

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:25:00 GMT

British broadcaster <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/286391==http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/03/19/users.pay.15.for.24.hours.of.access.to.sports.channels/" rel='nofollow'>Sky</a> is the latest victim of hacking by the Syrian Electronic Army. Just as in previous attacks, one of its Twitter accounts was taken over by the hackers, but in an unusual maneuver, ...

Hacked T-Mobile carrier file boosts iPhone 5 download speed

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:30:00 GMT

An <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/285439==http://www.tmonews.com/2013/05/hacked-t-mobile-carrier-update-boosts-speed-for-iphone-5-1900mhz-refarmed-users/" rel='nofollow'>altered carrier update</a> that has been modified by two hackers successfully increases the bandwidth available for iPhone 5 units on T-Mobile's US network, tests have found. The patch to the ca...

Trader pleads guilty in $1B AAPL stock fraud case

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:30:00 GMT

David Miller, a former stock trader who <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/283431==http://www.macnn.com/articles/12/12/05/cash.in.plan.backfires.leaves.company.with.heavy.losses/#665tDem6F0pttSGS.99" rel='nofollow'>brought down his employer</a> in a bet on Apple stock, has <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/283432==http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-...

'Pranksters' behind spate of iMessage DoS attacks?

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:45:00 GMT

A flaw in the <a href="https://www.apple.com/ios/messages/">Messages</a> application used widely on iOS devices has been revealed through <a href="http://thenextweb.com/apple/2013/03/29/imessage-denial-of-service-prank-spams-users-rapidly-with-messages-crashes-ios-messages-app/">a denial-of-service (DoS) attack</a> on a gr...

New hack allegedly lets AT&T iPhone 5 on T-Mobile LTE

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:30:00 GMT

A new hack allows a current-generation AT&T iPhone 5 to operate on the 1700MHz band of T-Mobile's network, reports claim. The <a href="http://leimobile.com/how-to-enable-lte-on-iphone-5-for-t-mobile/">method</a> involves a custom carrier file, and demands an unlocked A1428 model of the phone, whether with AT&T or officially unlocked by Apple. ...

Briefly: Amazon X-Ray for TV shows, 3D-printable Ouya casing

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:55:00 GMT

Amazon has updated the <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/282015==http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/09/06/x.ray.feature.available.for.movies/" rel='nofollow'>X-Ray feature</a> of its Instant Video service to now include television shows. The update will allow users to view <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/282016==http://www.imdb.com/x-ray/" rel='n...

Apple restores 'iForgot' system, fixes password flaw

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 02:52:00 GMT

A security flaw <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/281730==http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/03/22/two.step.verification.only.current.defense/#JB6ei254ojesZF8e.99" rel='nofollow'>exposed earlier</a> on Friday has already been fixed, just hours after it was discovered, according to Apple. The issue, which could have allowed malicious users to hijack and lock ou...

Apple credits Evad3rs team for holes plugged in iOS 6.1.3

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:40:00 GMT

In closing six potential exploits in the security-oriented <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/281432==http://www.macnn.com/articles/13/03/19/japanese.users.get.additional.maps.improvements/" rel='nofollow'>iOS 6.1.3 update</a> released earlier today -- and simultaneously breaking compatibility with the <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/281433==http://www.macn...

FreedomPop announces new data-use rollover feature

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:30:00 GMT

<a href="http://www.freedompop.com">FreedomPop</a>, a cellular internet service provider and maker of an <a href="http://www.macnn.com/articles/12/10/29/iphone.case.slated.for.november/">iPod Touch case</a> that can turn it into a full working smartphone, has just implemented a new "data rollover" feature for its...

Report: carrier files in iOS could be misused for malware

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:53:00 GMT

An Israeli security firm has published a <a href="http://blog.skycure.com/2013/03/malicious-profiles-sleeping-giant-of.html">proof-of-concept</a> pointing a <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/13/ios-vulnerability-uses-mobileconfig-files-to-steal-data">weak link</a> in Apple's otherwise very tight security for ...

HTML5 flaw lets browsers fill hard drives with junk data

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:15:00 GMT

On the heels of more problems with browser plug-ins such as <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/03/01/real.world.malware.called.inconsistent/">Java</a> and <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/02/07/exploits.affect.both.platforms.one.targets.the.mac.specifically/">Flash</a>, a newly-discovered &...

Aereo video streaming service expands to New York metro area

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:15:00 GMT

<a href="http://macnn.com/rd/279883==https://aereo.com" rel='nofollow'>Aereo</a> today announced that its Internet-repeating television service is now available to the more than 19 million people living in the New York City metropolitan area. The region includes 29 counties across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Previously, Aereo was only a...

iOS 6.1.3 beta 2 undoes evasi0n jailbreak exploit

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:38:00 GMT

<A href="http://www.macnn.com/articles/13/02/21/first.beta.was.actually.611/">iOS 6.1.3 beta 2</a> -- seeded to developers late last week -- wrecks <a href="http://www.macnn.com/articles/13/02/19/all.devices.supported.by.original.hack.still.usable.with.update/">the evasi0n jailbreak</a>, one of the members of evad3rs tells...

Oracle updates Java again to close serious security flaws

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:26:00 GMT

Oracle has <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/279622==http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/02/01/java.resumes.working.in.os.x/" rel='nofollow'>once again</a> released an updated version of Java SE 7 in order to combat serious vulnerabilities that have resulted in malware attacks on both Macs and Windows PCs. The new version, <a href="http://macnn.com/...

Update of Evasi0n jailbreak tool for iOS 6.1.2 released

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:01:00 GMT

Holding true to a promise made on <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/279555==http://evasi0n.com" rel='nofollow'>evasi0n</a> spokesperson "planetbeing's" <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/279556==https://twitter.com/planetbeing" rel='nofollow'>twitter feed</a>, the iOS jailbreak tool has been released enabling support for th...

Report: new Trojan aimed at OS X appears, using OpenSSH

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:20:00 GMT

Anti-malware software maker Intego is confirming reports of a new <a href="http://macnn.com/rd/279553==http://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/pint-sized-backdoor-for-os-x-discovered/" rel='nofollow'>OS X-based malware</a> it called "Pintsized" that uses a modified version of OpenSSH to potentially set up a remote connection into Mac accounts, whereu...

Google claims victory against account hijackers

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:56:00 GMT

Google has claimed victory against account hijackers, claiming the number of legitimate accounts compromised by spammers has dropped by 99.7 percent since 2011. The company's latest security protocols have been developed in response to a surge in account hijacking starting in 2010, as cyber criminals began using stolen passwords to distribute spam from legitimate accounts in an attempt to bypass e...

iOS 6.1.2 due early next week, report claims

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:07:00 GMT

iOS 6.1.2 is already in development and should go live early next, say sources for German website <em>iFun</em>. The site adds that the firmware will probably go live before February 20th, and that it's expected to close the <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/02/14/not.first.instance.of.lockscreen.glitch/">lockscreen vulnerability&...

Lockscreen bypass vulnerability discovered in iOS 6.1 [u]

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:46:00 GMT

(Updated with Apple response) A vulnerability in iOS 6.1 allows people to bypass the iPhone's lockscreen without entering a passcode, reports say. To accomplish the hack, a person has to go to the Emergency Call screen, begin to power off, but then cancel and make a call which should also be cancelled. The phone next has to be put into standby, woken up, and then swiped; the bypass is finally po...

FireCore updates aTV Flash, Seas0nPass for Apple TV 5.2

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:12:00 GMT

Developer FireCore has released updated versions of aTV Flash (black) and Seas0nPass for people hoping to jailbreak Apple TVs running the new v5.2 firmware. While Seas0nPass is simply the required jailbreaking utility, aTV Flash adds new functions, such as web browsing and wider format compatibility. FireCore notes that the Bluetooth keyboard support in v5.2 carries over to Flash's features....

Evasi0n jailbreak updated for bugs, new iOS 6.1.1 update

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 01:55:00 GMT

The team behind the Evasi0n jailbreak for devices running iOS 6.0 and later have unveiled an updated version in order to fix some bugs that appeared with the original release as well as re-add support for iPhone 4S devices that were updated to iOS 6.1.1, released yesterday. Apple released iOS 6.1.1 as a fix for problems with v6.1 on the iPhone 4S, including unusual battery drain and 3G connectivit...

evasi0n jailbreak tally hits nearly 7 million devices

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:12:00 GMT

Almost 7 million iOS devices have been jailbroken since evasi0n was released earlier this week, according to Jay Freeman, administrator of the Cydia app store for jailbreakers. Cydia tracking has so far recorded about 5.15 million iPhones, 1.35 million iPads, and 400,000 iPod touches. Freeman claims that the numbers make evasi0n the most rapidly-adopted jailbreak utility to date....

Fixes for evasi0n iOS 6.x jailbreak bugs released

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 06:01:00 GMT

Following the popular release of the evasi0n "jailbreak" tool for devices running iOS 6 and higher, the team behind it have released at least two updates to fix problems caused by the jailbreak, which has been claimed to have been downloaded more than 1.5 million times since its release on Monday. The most common bug was that the jailbreak caused the stock Weather app to crash or (on iPa...

Evasi0n untethered jailbreak released for iOS 6, 6.1

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:06:00 GMT

The Evad3rs hacking team has released its promised jailbreaking tool for iOS 6 devices. Known as evasi0n, the software supports any version of iOS 6 through 6.1, and is available in Mac, Windows, and Linux editions. It's also untethered, meaning that it doesn't require connecting to a computer and reapplying the jailbreak if an iOS device is rebooted....

Forthcoming jailbreak for iOS 6.x gets name, website

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:03:00 GMT

A "supergroup" of well-known iOS hackers now called the Evad3rs have launched an official website to promote the team's jailbreak for a wide variety of iOS devices running iOS 6 or 6.1, the latter of which was just released on Monday. The jailbreak should enable most recent iOS devices to be able to further customized and let users install apps unavailable from the official App Store -- ...

iOS 6 jailbreak nearing soon, but may be waiting on iOS 6.1

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:10:00 GMT

A public jailbreak for iOS 6 could be coming soon, according to tweets by prominent hackers. One hacker, planetbeing, says that "tons of progress" has been made in recent days, and that "the future is looking bright for jailbreaking." He claims in fact that an exploit of his is already working, but that he's been testing it to ensure no "unpleasant side-effects."...

White House launches National Day of Civic Hacking events

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:52:00 GMT

The White House has announced an event that will encourage US residents to make use of government data. The National Day of Civic Hacking on June 1-2 will see 27 cities play host to community events where publicly-released data will be used to create "solutions for problems that affect Americans."...

Oracle issues emergency Java patch, but holes persist

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:50:00 GMT

Oracle has issued an emergency patch for Java, its popular web technology. Security researchers last week uncovered a zero-day exploit that is being exploited by hackers in two malware tookits prompting the US government to issue a warning to PC owners. Although the patch addresses certain holes, Reuters reports that a security analyst still believes that the platform remains vulnerable....

Open webOS ported to Google's Nexus 7

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:04:00 GMT

A developer working over winter break from his college has managed to get Open webOS -- the descendant of the operating system that powered Palm and HP's ill-fated mobile devices -- to work on the Asus-produced Nexus 7 tablet from Google. The port is still in alpha stages, showing some lag and freezing while running on the Nexus 7, but the developer was able to get Wi-Fi and Internet browsing work...

iOS pirating sites Hackulous, Apptrackr shut down

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:13:00 GMT

Two important sites for pirated iOS apps -- Hackulous and Apptrackr -- have suddenly announced their closures over the weekend, notes AppleInsider. A statement from Hackulous claims that the site's community has become "stagnant," and that its forums "are a bit of a ghost town." In spite of this, the site's owners say that it's become hard to keep the forums online and well-m...

Report: new Mac malware hides as fake software installer

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 06:50:00 GMT

A Russian security firm with a mixed track record is warning about a new malware threat for the Mac, which masquerades as an installer for various types of software. Doctor Web, who claimed to have discovered the malware, says it is widely available on various sites -- though at present it is targeting Russian Mac users. The Trojan is apparently a Mac variation on a widespread Windows and Android ...

New iMac model gets teardown just hours after launch

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 08:00:00 GMT

The latest version of the iMac is just 5mm (0.2 inches) thick at its thinnest point, and yet the redesigned machine has revealed quite a bit of empty space in a teardown by Japanese enthusiast site Kodawarisan, which took apart a high-end 21.5-inch iMac just hours after the new version had debuted in Japan. The interior layout and engineering matches the sparse, elegant outside -- with a clean org...

Fake 'Apple' apps appear on Google Play, quickly pulled

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:00 GMT

For a brief time on Saturday, a batch of apps claiming to be from "Apple Inc." and including all the titles formerly grouped under the headings "iWork" and "iLife" appeared as Android apps on Google's Play store. The apps, which were apparently lightly-disguised scams, were pulled from the store a few hours later. It is unknown how many Android users may have been foo...

Anonymous said to target Facebook on Guy Fawkes Day

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:03:00 GMT

Hactivist group Anonymous is rumored to be planning an attack on social networking giant Facebook tomorrow, marking Guy Fawkes Day by taking down the site unless Zynga backpedals on what Anonymous contends is a plan to cut 1,000 jobs. Tomorrow's action would also include the release of Zynga's games for free download. Anonymous claims that Zynga's job-cutting maneuver is inexcusable in light of th...

iOS hacker Comex no longer employed at Apple

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 05:55:00 GMT

On Thursday, Nicholas Allegra, also known as iPhone hacker Comex, reported in a tweet that "as of last week, after about a year, I�m no longer associated with Apple." Allegra is planning on focusing on his studies at Brown university, and does not plan on returning to the iOS jailbreak "scene." His employment contract was not renewed with Apple because he forgot to respond...

Researchers create ForcePhone for squeeze-based conversation

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:03:00 GMT

A phone has been modified to be able to transfer a squeeze to another phone. A prototype by Nokia Research and the Helsinki Institute of Information Technology amended an N900 to use a resistor to detect up to four different levels of pressure from compression. The recipient of the phone call receives different levels of vibration, depending on the amount of pressure applied....

Raspberry Pi doubles onboard RAM, keeps price the same

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:19:00 GMT

The Raspberry Pi has received a RAM upgrade. The miniature computer has now got 512MB of RAM, double that of the original release, and allows the Raspberry Pi to be used in more memory-intensive applications. Despite the increase in onboard memory, the non-profit foundation chose to keep the price at $35, instead of raising it higher....

T-Mobile denies dropping iPhone from unlocking campaign

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:12:00 GMT

T-Mobile USA is denying claims that it plans to drop the iPhone from its "Unlimited and Unlocked" campaign, a spokesperson tells 9to5Mac. Yesterday TmoNews reported that T-Mobile had issued an internal memo warning workers to no longer refer to Apple or the iPhone as a part of Unlimited & Unlocked marketing. The document also allegedly mentioned that "BYOi [Bring Your Own ...

ModBook Pro preorders begin, priced at $3,499

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:05:00 GMT

As expected, preorders for the tablet-enabled Modbook Pro have commenced The full-conversion of a 13-inch MacBook Pro can be reserved for $500, with a final price of $3,499. The ModBook pro sports a 2.5GHz or 2.9Ghz processor, up to 16GB of RAM, a screen and stylus with 512 discrete pressure levels, and up to 480GB of SSD storage....

Modbook Pro replaces hard disks with solid state storage

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 23:10:00 GMT

The resurrected Modbook Pro will be made available with a selection of SSD-only drives. The change from standard hard disks to solid state drives will give the tablet computers a significant speed boost compared to previous versions of the Macbook Pro modification, which is set to go on sale by mid-November....

Government: wireless medical devices demand more oversight

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:34:00 GMT

According to a Government Accountability Office report, wireless medical devices vulnerable to remote control by hackers are proliferating, and should come under greater government oversight. Devices with wireless connections potentially vulnerable to attack include insulin pumps, pacemakers, defibrillators, and neurosurgical implants....

Data-wiping security flaw not limited to Samsung phones

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:35:00 GMT

In a follow-up to yesterday's report of a security flaw that can wipe the data of Samsung's smartphones, it's being reported that handsets from other makers are also vulnerable. While the security patch for Samsung phones is already said to be out, the latest report suggests that many other Android-powered devices are susceptible. They include but aren't limited to the HTC One X, Motorola Defy, HT...

UCal prototypes negative pressure liquid cooling system

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:40:00 GMT

The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) at the University of California San Diego has launched the test for a new server farm cooling technology. A negative-pressure liquid cooling system has been deployed on a three 1U servers in the Calit2 server room to test both the efficacy of the setup as well as the energy efficiency improved by the use of the liq...

Briefly: more iPhone 5 units stolen, self-repair teardown

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:30:00 GMT

An O2 cellular retailer store in London's Wimbledon area was hit in a robbery early Friday morning, with more than 250 iPhone 5 units stolen along with cash in what police say was an inside job. The BBC reports that 252 iPhones worth around $165,000 were taken from the shop in the Tandem Centre at 1:30AM local time, and want to speak with Usman Sethi, 23, who worked as an assistant at the shop. Se...

Report: Verizon iPhone 5 unlocked for GSM, hack allows HPSA+

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:20:00 GMT

According to reports, the Verizon iPhone 5 is GSM unlocked out of the box, as per requirements imposed on Verizon. In addition, using a cut-down AT&T micro-SIM to roughly conform with the nano-SIM standard, the Verizon iPhone 5 is able to acquire an AT&T signal, and connect to the HPSA+ network, AT&T's 4G-equivalent network....