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We learned recently that macOS malware grew by 744% last year, though most of it fell into the less-worrying category of adware. However, a newly-discovered piece of malware (via Reddit) falls into the ‘seriously nasty’ category – able to spy on all your Internet usage, including use of secure websites.Security researchers at CheckPoint found something they’ve labelled OSX/Dok, which manages to go undetected by Gatekeeper and stops users doing anything on their Mac until they accept a fake OS X update … OSX/Dok does rely on a phishing attack as its initial way in. Victims are sent an email claiming to...

The iPad has an installed base of over 300 million. This is a far larger audience than that of the Mac (which has somewhere between 100 million and 150 million). And whereas the iPad acquired this audience in about 7 years, the Mac took 33 years.Curiously however, it is the iPad that is seen as the more fragile product. The iPad is considered to be failing, with a presumption of an end of life in the near future. The evidence of this failure the year-on-year decline in units sold. This is illustrated by the following graph.  Note that the iPad decline is paired with...

Britain banned laptops from cabins of flights from six countries in middles eastItems such as laptops, iPads, Kindles and Nintendo 3DS game consoles bannedComes amid fears terrorists have developed bombs that can be hidden insideGovernment denies it is linked to US decision - but have not clarified the reason Britain last night took the dramatic step of banning laptops from the cabins of UK-bound flights from six countries, amid fears terrorists have perfected a new type of airline bomb. The move, which is likely to spark travel chaos at affected airports, was imposed just hours after a similar ban...

The program’s creator asks for payments but doesn’t have the encryption key to unlock victims’ files A new file-encrypting ransomware program for macOS is being distributed through BitTorrent websites, and users who fall victim to it won’t be able to recover their files, even if they pay. Crypto ransomware programs for macOS are rare. This is the second such threat found in the wild so far, and it’s a poorly designed one. The program was named OSX/Filecoder.E by the malware researchers from antivirus vendor ESET who found it. OSX/Filecoder.E masquerades as a cracking tool for commercial software like Adobe Premiere...

Apple’s new MacBook Pro isn’t having an easy time in the market. It’s been panned for its reliance on dongles, criticized for using older Intel chips, and a significant number of users have reported decidedly substandard battery life when using the system. Apple has responded to these complaints by cutting dongle prices and removing the “Time Remaining” indicator on the laptop’s battery, neither of which constitutes an actual solution. Now, Consumer Reports has refused to recommend the MacBook Pro for the first time ever. The reason? Battery life.

Hi all, I'm trying to transfer some files I have on a micro-SD card to a friend's MacBook Air. I used my Windows-based PC to fill the card and when I insert it into the Mac the Mac doesn't recognize it (it doesn't show up on the desktop or by clicking "Find"). I talked to someone from BestBuy's GeekSquad on the phone last night and they said that Macs can't read cards unless they're formatted in something called "Fat 32". They said I could reformat the card while it's inserted in the Mac, or, if I recall correctly, on a...

The following Macs will be classified as either vintage or obsolete in the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) Mac mini(Early 2009) MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009) The aforementioned Macs will no longer be eligible for hardware service or new parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, except in Turkey and California, where Apple will continue to provide repairs and documentation for up to two years, or December 31, 2018 in this case, as required by local statutes. Vintage products are those that have not...

The New York Post reports Hillary Clinton's maid a non citizen regularly handled secret material. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton routinely asked her maid to print out sensitive government e-mails and documents — including ones containing classified information — from her house in Washington, DC, e-mails and FBI memos show. But the housekeeper lacked the security clearance to handle such material. In fact, Marina Santos was called on so frequently to receive e-mails that she may hold the secrets to E-mailgate — if only the FBI and Congress would subpoena her and the equipment she used. Clinton entrusted far...

New MacBook Pros lack iconic Mac startup chime, but they do automatically boot when you open the lid (update: here’s how to enable it) Update: There is apparently a way to make your 2016 MacBook chime again at boot, using an NVRAM tweak — full details here on how to do it. To enable chimes, open Terminal and type sudo nvram BootAudio=%01 This is not documented or officially supported in any way, so mileage may vary. There’s also a flag to disable the auto-boot behavior.It has been discovered that along with physical function keys, glowing Apple logo and ‘old style’ USB ports, the new MacBook Pros...

What is Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor? Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor is new macOS malware arising from a malicious third-party app called EasyDoc Converter, which poses as a drag-and-drop file converter. What is EasyDoc Converter? "EasyDoc Converter.app" is a third-party Mac app that poses as a drag-and-drop file converter. The app has the following fake description:EasyDoc Converter is a fast and simple file converter for OS X. Instantly convert your FreeOffice (.fof) and SimpleStats (.sst) docs to Microsoft Office (.docx) by dropping your file onto the app. EasyDoc Converter is great for employees and students looking for a simple tool for quickly convert files to the popular...

Microsoft may have just personally revived the Mac-vs.-Windows debates of yesteryear with its introduction of the Surface Book, the first-ever laptop to come out of Redmond, Calif. With its silver chassis and 13.5-inch display, the Surface Book invites comparisons to Apple's MacBook Pro. So how does the Surface Book stack up against Apple's 13-inch professional laptop?Design: Surface Book's Display Pulls Double Duty At 12.3 x 9.1 x 0.5-0.90, the tapered Surface Book is just a little bit larger than the 13-inch MacBook Pro (12.35 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches). Of course, that modestly larger size allows the Surface Book...

Microsoft did something shocking last night. It launched something people might actually lust over, something sleek, something powerful, something innovative. The Surface Book. At an event in New York rammed with press and industry types and live-streamed to the world, Microsoft confidently and defiantly unveiled its grand vision of Windows 10 devices. Some of the products the company unveiled were expected: an updated Surface Pro 4 tablet, the second generation of the company’s Microsoft Band fitness tracker and two new Lumia smartphones. But it was the Surface Book, Microsoft’s first laptop and a big bet for the company, that drew...

Subtitle: There are a number of reasons why Macs are worth considering as you migrate to Windows 10. Microsoft's Windows 10 has finally been released and many users are looking for a new computer to take advantage of its new features. While it has been advertised that Windows 10 will perform properly on most laptops currently running Windows 7 or 8, we all know that to get the most of the many features and performance enhancements, you'll want the latest high-end laptops designed for the new OS. As you consider your next PC purchase, here's something else to think about:...

A security researcher has found what he says is a deep flaw that potentially affects all Macintosh Intel models made until mid-2014, when the error he discovered appears to have been fixed. The exploit would allow, in a very particular set of combined conditions, to rewrite the boot-up firmware in a Mac to include persistent, malicious software. Pedro Vilaca revealed the information without what is considered responsible disclosure in the security industry, in which an affected company or project is notified sufficiently far ahead of the release of information to allow them the potential to fix the problem. Apple isn’t...

Apple is about to sunset support for a number of iPhones, Macs, and other products as it plans to switch several models to “Obsolete” or “Vintage” status in June, according to internal documents. When a device receives Obsolete status from Apple — Vintage status only applies to California and Turkey, where the company is required to continue offering support — it no longer offers service or repair support through its own Apple retail stores or authorized service providers. It typically begins the process for models 5-7 years after manufacturing has been discontinued and maintains a list on its website here.

Update 5/15/15: I've clarified some of my findings at the bottom of this post. I've owned the 2015 MacBook for just over a month now. I've had a remarkably good time using it so far, and just yesterday I decided to upgrade my installation of Windows 8.1 to the Windows 10 Insider Preview. I had tried it out a couple months earlier through a virtual machine, and at the time I wasn't sure I wanted it as my main operating system. But after taking the plunge, I'm very happy to be using it. I wanted to record a few thoughts...

Love the new MacBook's svelte design, but not a fan of OS X 10.10 Yosemite? There's good news: According to a new test, Windows 10 apparently runs more smoothly on the new MacBook. Alex King, a computer science student studying at Tufts University, spent a month with the new 12-inch MacBook and provided some insightful new details about running the beta version of Windows 10 on it. See also: 5 things Apple didn't say about the new MacBook King installed Windows 10 using Boot Camp, meaning his new MacBook boots natively into Windows 10, as opposed to being emulated in...

Youtube video - click link. An Apple engineer explains how they developed the new 2015 Macbook and the day Tim Cook saw it for the first time.

Basically what the title thread says. I've been looking at these two models to replace my Dell and I'm unsure as to which to get. Any Mac users here that can help out?

In a lengthy email interview with TechCrunch's Scott Merrill, Linux creator Linus Torvalds allows that he's a bit baffled at how nobody else seems to have done what Apple did with the MacBook Air - even several years after the Air's first release. Torvalds pronounces the Air "special" and "ahead of its time", elaborating that he wants his office to be quiet, with the loudest thing in the room the occasional purring of the cat, and that when he travels, he wants to travel light, contending that a notebook weighing more than a kilo (2.2 lb.) is less than ideal,...