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The At-Risk Edition Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Apple Launches New 'Personal Safety User Guide' Amid AirTag Concerns And More, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple has launched a new “Personal Safety User Guide” that aggregates details and support documents that can help users “when your personal safety is at risk.” The launch of this dedicated hub comes after Apple published an initial round of support resources a year ago, and as concerns around AirTag safety and stalking continue to mount.

Apple Launches New Shot On iPhone Challenge, This Time For iPhone 13 Pro Macro Images, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple is launching a new Shot on iPhone Challenge to kick off 2022. This year, Apple is inviting iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max users to share their best iPhone macro photos and a panel of expert judges from the industry and Apple will review worldwide submissions and select 10 winning photos.

I’m A Nutritional Scientist, And This Is Why I Say Your Phone Has A Place At The Table, by Uma Naidoo, Fast Company

But with the recent explosion of mindfulness and meditation techniques, it may be that utilizing our smartphones can help us find ways to engage more with our food, rather than further distracting our minds. Utilizing our phones may be a critical step in developing more mindful eating habits.

As a nutritional psychiatrist, I believe there are ways to use the powers of technology for good: good foods and better moods, that is!

Coming Soon?

macOS 12.3 Will Include Cloud Storage Changes Affecting Dropbox And OneDrive, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Altogether, it appears likely that Apple has given cloud storage services like Dropbox and OneDrive advanced notice about system-level changes that will affect online-only files starting with macOS 12.3.

On Security

Booby-trapped Sites Delivered Potent New Backdoor Trojan To macOS Users, by Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

Researchers have uncovered advanced, never-before-seen macOS malware that was installed using exploits that were almost impossible for most users to detect or stop once the users landed on a malicious website.

The malware was a full-featured backdoor that was written from scratch, an indication that the developers behind it have significant resources and expertise. DazzleSpy, as researchers from security firm Eset have named it, provides an array of advanced capabilities that give the attackers the ability to fully monitor and control infected Macs.

Apple Pays Record $100,500 To Student Who Found Mac Webcam Hack, by William Gallagher, AppleInsider

According to Pickren, the new webcam vulnerability concerned a series of issue with Safari and iCloud that he says Apple has now fixed. Before it was patched, a malicious website could launch an attack using these flaws.

Stuff

Beats Studio Buds Gain Battery Pop-Up, Instant iCloud Pairing And More With New Firmware, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

After installing the new firmware, Beats Studio Buds owners have access to instant pairing with all of the Apple devices tied to a user’s iCloud account. On Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and TV, pairing can now be done with a single tap.

'Shared With You' On iPhone Organizes All Of Your Shared Content So You Don't Have To, by Cecily Mauran, Mashable

Shared with You aims to make your life a little more organized. It works by gathering all of the photos, videos, content, and links that have been shared with you through iMessage and compiles them into their own section on each corresponding Apple app.

Apple Planning New Unity And Lunar New Year Apple Watch Activity Challenges In February, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple has two new Apple Watch Activity Challenges on the horizon, one of which will celebrate Lunar New Year and one that will celebrate Black History Month.

Adonit Dash 4 Review, by Ben Brady, Creative Bloq

The Adonit Dash 4 is a ready-to-use, passive (no-bluetooth) stylus made for all touchscreens. It's a versatile pen, which is a good tool for general use (as opposed to being a specialist drawing pen, for instance). It may be pricey for a stylus that doesn't include pressure sensitivity, but its build quality and far reaching compatibility make up for it.

Notes

Joe Biden Formally Backs Consumers' Right To Repair Their Electronics, by Jason Koebler, Matthew Gault, Vice

President Biden became the first sitting president to give extensive comments supporting the right to repair and acknowledging the anticompetitive practices of electronics manufacturers that have spent the last decade creating repair monopolies and making it difficult for consumers to fix the things they own.

Bottom of the Page

I sure hope Apple continues to commit the macOS platform as a general-computing open platform, but announcements such as those from DropBox and Microsoft OneDrive give me pause.

(I don't use neither DropBox nor OneDrive.)

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Thanks for reading.