Back in the day, when I was a reporter at Wired.com, I used to avoid writing about new hacking exploits and vulnerabilities.
Most of the warnings about new threats came from antivirus vendors, and there was an obvious conflict of interest at play. The best way to protect yourself from these new threats, the antivirus companies said, was to buy antivirus software.
Plus, the threats always seemed hyped. And besides, Apple users back then were protected by a distinct lack of interest in the platform from hackers. Apple’s user base was just too small to spend time targeting the company’s products.
Boy, have those days gone.
There’s a new threat to iPhones that is unlike anything I’ve seen in 30-plus years of tech reporting.
A new iPhone hacking tool called DarkSword can infect your device just by visiting a website — no clicking, and no installation of anything, is required. And it sucks in everything.
I’m not being alarmist — you absolutely must take precautions right now.
We have a lot more great stuff today in today’s newsletter:
On a lighter note, a developer just managed to get a massive data-center AI model to run on his MacBook Pro — yeah, a laptop! It’s insane! It has a lot to do with the prowess of Apple silicon, and the way he vibe-coded it is fascinating, too. This seems to me like a major breakthrough.
If you’ve found iPhone typing degraded the last few months, ypu;re no alone: Lots of people have been complaining about the experience. But good news: Apple finally fixed it.
The fact that the MacBook Neo runs just great on an iPhone chip has people wondering if the Apple TV, which packs a similar processor, could be hacked or converted into a Mac. Here’s the answer.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Just $140 is a great price for this incredibly capable smart home lock that can be unlocked even with a dead iPhone or Apple Watch.
Perplexity AI just released a new AI-powered browser for iOS that looks very interesting. Definitely going to have to try this out.
Apple is really starting to celebrate its 50th birthday in a big way: Check out these great pictures of Apple’s birthday parties all over the world.
My ugly potato face isn’t good for selfies, but here’s possibly the best-ever way to take them using your Apple Watch.
Yesterday’s poll about automatic updates sparked a good discussion. See the comments below. It’s a subject that couldn’t be more apropos, given today’s news.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
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One more thing ...
We don't get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? So this is what we've chosen to do with our life. We could be sitting in a monastery somewhere in Japan.
Today’s poll
Do you take selfies?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Is it OK for Apple to automatically update everyone's devices?
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