Items tagged with Yosemite
Apple's been keeping itself busy patching up security holes in its software, both for mobile and on the desktop. Just last week, Apple rolled out an update for iOS—version 9.3.5—that patched up several critical security and privacy exploits, and now there's a pair of updates for OS X that addresses the same security issues. One of those updates is 2016-001 for El Capitan and the other is 2016-005 for Yosemite. According to Apple's release notes, left unpatched an application may be able to disclose kernel memory and could allow a hacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Citizen Lab and Lookout are credited for discovering both vulnerabilities. These are the same vulnerabilities...
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Whether it's because you're afraid of heights or simply don't want to tempt the Grim Reaper, maybe rock climbing isn't your thing. That's okay, you don't have to scale a massive wall of rock to enjoy the visuals -- Google and its Street View technology have come to the rescue once again. This time, it's the world's most famous rock wall that's been added to Google's Street View collection, Yosemite's El Capitan. It's the first-ever vertical Street View collection, and a most appropriate one at that. This sucker scales 3,000 feet high and is a challenge on its on. When you add a camera into the mix with snapshots from various angles, it takes even more concentration, which makes the accomplishment...
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Swedish hacker Emil Kvarnhammar is reporting that an unpublished OS X API — he dubs it a "backdoor" — can be used by nefarious types to gain root access through local users without Administrator status on Mac computers that have not yet been migrated to the 10.10.3 iteration of OS X, which was released just two days ago. "The admin framework in Apple OS X contains a hidden backdoor API to root privileges [that] can be exploited to escalate privileges to root from any user account in the system," Kvarnhammar says in an advisory. "The intention was probably to serve the System Preferences app and systemsetup command-line tool, but any user process can use the same functionality. This is a local...
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An update to OS X today brings with it Apple’s new Photos app, which is meant to give users better tools for accessing and sorting their photos. Photos is also more integrated with iCloud, which is good news if you’ve been meaning to get your photos off your vulnerable hard drive and into the cloud. If your 5GB of free iCloud space is already nearly tapped, however, you may soon be exploring Apple’s paid storage expansion options. Image credit: AppleThe Photos app is free, of course. It replaces Aperture and iPhoto and is similar in design to the Photos app for iOS. But it has many more features than you’ll find on the iPhone’s version, including better tools for color correction and a cropping...
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Apple issued an update to its Safari web browser earlier this week that was supposed to patch more than a dozen security vulnerabilities, but has now pulled it offline due to issues affecting some users. Those affected by the buggy update say that it reports installing correctly, but actually removes the browser from their system. Apple's only solution at the moment is to go nuclear and reinstall OS X. "Guys it seems that you have to reinstall OS X - I know it's a bummer but I am chatting live with the folks at Apple and that's what they say so far. You could also wait and see if this becomes systemic and see if Apple has a solution for it that is less drastic," a user wrote on Apple's support...
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One of the disadvantages to buying an Apple system is that it generally means less upgradeability and flexibility than a system from a traditional PC OEM. Over the last few years, Apple has introduced features and adopted standards that made upgrading or using third-party hardware progressively more difficult. Now, with OS X 10.10 Yosemite, the company has taken another step down the path towards total vendor lock-in and effectively disabled support for third-party SSDs. We say "effectively" because while third-party SSDs will still work, they'll no longer perform the TRIM garbage collection command. Being able to perform TRIM and clean the SSD when its sitting idle is vital to keeping the drive...
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Apple CEO Tim Cook took a risk by going to WWDC without any hardware announcements -- no new iPad or iPhone, for example -- but in the absence of new gadgets, the Cupertino outfit generated some excitement by overhauling Mac OS X 10. The new version -- OS X 10.10 Yosemite -- brings to the table a redesigned UI with a few slick new features. Best of all for Mac users, OS X 10.10 will be rolled out for free in the fall. Yosemite has a flatter look than Mavericks, which isn't surprising since Apple did the same with iOS in version 7. One of the features Apple was really excited about was the inclusion of semi-translucent windows that adjust their color temperature based on the background. Toolbars...
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