New Mac ransomware leaves your files permanently encrypted — Mac users hoping to score Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Microsoft Office for free through BitTorrent sites are in for an ugly surprise thanks to a new ransomware making the rounds. The ransomware, called OSX/Filecoder.E, encrypts the contents of victim’s hard drives and demands payment in Bitcoin, but there isn’t any way to actually decrypt and recover files.
Apple and Silicon Valley struggle to navigate Trump’s waters — In the weeks since his inauguration, there has been much discussion about President Trump’s relationship with the media. Rightly so. Media is not alone in feeling the affects of the chaotic political climate that we are currently experiencing. The ramifications are also clear in tech, where companies have struggled to balance politics and business, even as the two intersect one another like never before.
Can WALTR 2 really be your iTunes replacement? iTunes is a mess. It’s bloated, but it’s all Apple gives us (on the Mac) to load media onto our iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. One problem is that iTunes limits the audio and video file formats we can upload. Many of us continuously look for other apps to help us transfer our media files to the iPhone and other iDevices. WALTR is one that Jeff Gamet has tried and recommended, and that app is now in its second version with new features. How well does it work as an iTunes replacement?
Dissecting a phishing email — Phishing is a form of social hacking; the hackers try to get people to divulge their email addresses, passwords, and other key information by sending out fake emails that are usually from email addresses in Russia (sorry, Russian readers, but it’s true…). Steven Sande unpacks a phishing email and tells us how it tries to do its evil work.
Stop Facebook’s emotional manipulation with this tool — Every time you use Facebook’s new Reaction emoji, you’re providing the company with a greater insight into your emotions. With this addition to Facebook’s data collection, advertisers can build a better profile to target you with ads. Facebook could even carry out more emotional manipulation experiments. But there is a new way to defeat this kind of surveillance with a browser extension called Go Rando by Benjamin Grosser.
