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The Fruitfly-Mystery Edition Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Mysterious Mac Malware Has Infected Victims For Years, by Lorenzo Franceschi-bicchierai, Motherboard

Neither Reed nor Wardle know how the malware got onto the victim computers. But the big mystery surrounding FruitFly is who is behind it.

The malware doesn't contain many clues, and it's not even clear what profile the hackers fit, according to both Wardle and Reed.

A Privacy Choice, by Michael Lopp, Rands In Repose

I’m fine with advertising. It funds media and services I trust and depend upon. I appreciate ads that deliver value to me. I understand the more a company knows about me, the better they can deliver me ads I care about, but if that is their core business, I will forever question their motivations regarding the ethical use of my personal information.

Stuff

Taking Siri-on-your-Mac Siri-ously, by Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

I was surprised to discover that many Mac users have no idea that Siri - Apple's intelligent personal assistant - has been available on their Macs since the release of macOS Sierra nearly a year ago. If you're among them, may I suggest it's about time you acquaint yourself with the joys of using Siri on your Mac?

Lego Boost Is The Crazy Robot Cat Guitar Kit You Never Knew You Wanted, by Scott Stein, CNET

Lego Boost isn't a regular Lego kit: it's a connected, programmable robotics set. It pairs with a tablet or phone with Bluetooth. It has motors and proximity sensors. And it might be the best all-in-one Lego kit I've ever seen. But it's definitely a challenge. And, in the last week, I've sucked down a Lego rabbit hole.

3 New Apps That All Breastfeeding Moms Need In Their Back Pocket., by Caroline Siegrist, Cool Mom Tech

Just because breastfeeding is a natural process, it isn’t necessarily all blissed out bonding time. But luckily, we live in a time where there are tons of tech to help nursing moms, like these 3 new breastfeeding apps that caught our attention.

Google Backup And Sync Review: Works Best For Those Already Tied Into Google's Ecosystem, by Glenn Fleishman, Macworld

For those who install few apps or entirely from the Mac App Store and are primarily concerned about backing up documents and media in a few easy to identify locations, like the home folder’s Documents and Photos folders, Google Backup and Sync might be enough. If you need anything more flexible and comprehensive, bump up to software that offers the full range of tools for backing up files, applications, and preferences, and providing good support for restoring as well.

Firetask Pro Is New GTD Task Management Tool For macOS, iOS, watchOS, by Dennis Sellers, Apple World Today

The app provides features such as project portfolios, actions for subdividing tasks, iCloud syncing, a new iOS Today widget, Apple Watch support, and various workflows. The "Today" workflow focuses on tasks that are marked as starred, or are due today (or already overdue).

Notes

Why Using Siri Like Dwayne Johnson May Be Risky, by John Patrick Pullen, Fortune

Of course, you can make the argument that Johnson's passcode is enabled, and that Apple just used creative license and movie magic to cut the step from the ad. But if the point of the video is to demonstrate how Siri makes things easier, most iPhone owners will quickly see a disconnect between their experience and what's in the commercial.