Threatpost reports that so-called “typosquatters” — groups who buy domain names similar to famous ones for nefarious purposes — have been attempting to trick Mac users into installing malware disguised as an Adobe Flash update. In our testing, none of the “.om” domains Threatpost mentions attempted to do this, but regardless, never install software updates from unknown sites, and even if it’s a known site, check the URL first to ensure that it’s authentic! Even better, don’t install Adobe Flash at all; if you have to use Flash, use the secure copy built into the Google Chrome Web browser.

 

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Are you struggling to understand the battle between Apple and the FBI over iPhone encryption? Or perhaps you’re having trouble explaining it to a non-technical friend? In this 18-minute video, HBO’s John Oliver lays out the entire case, explaining the details and what’s at stake. Impressively, the piece gets everything right at a technical level and even captures the nuance in the positions of both sides. It’s also pretty funny, but be aware that Oliver uses some strong language (it is HBO, after all). Don’t miss the fake Apple commercial at the end — it’s hilarious!

 

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

mdsolar writes: The Obama administration will abandon its plan to allow new offshore oil drilling on the U.S. southeast coast, dealing a blow to petroleum companies that had hopes of tapping new reserves. The Interior Department is set to announce today that it will not auction off certain drilling rights for Atlantic Ocean waters off the coast of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The reversal comes after environmentalists, coastal residents, and the U.S. military vocalized opposition to the plan. It also comes amid declining industry investment in new exploration and production activities as oil prices fell by about 70% since late 2014 -- although the industry is still seeking long-term investment opportunities under the assumption that oil prices will recover.

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UN special envoy says refugee crisis and battle against ISIL add "sense of urgency" for negotiators to back dialogue.

An anonymous reader writes from an article posted on iDownloadBlog: The DoJ is demanding that Apple create a special version of iOS with removed security features that would permit the FBI to run brute-force passcode attempts on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has made public where he stands on the Apple vs. FBI case, which has quickly become a heated national debate. In the court papers, DoJ calls Apple's rhetoric in the San Bernardino standoff as "false" and "corrosive" because the Cupertino firm dared suggest that the FBI's court order could lead to a "police state." Footnote Nine of DoJ's filing reads: For the reasons discussed above, the FBI cannot itself modify the software on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without access to the source code and Apple's private electronic signature. The government did not seek to compel Apple to turn those over because it believed such a request would be less palatable to Apple. If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple programmers. As Fortune's Philip-Elmer DeWitt rightfully pointed out, that's a classic police threat. "We can do this [the] easy way or the hard way. Give us the little thing we're asking for -- a way to bypass your security software -- or we'll take [the] whole thing: your crown jewels and the royal seal too," DeWitt wrote. "With Apple's source code, the FBI could, in theory, create its own version of iOS with the security features stripped out. Stamped with Apple's electronic signature, the Bureau's versions of iOS could pass for the real thing," he added.

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Crowd gathered under Brandenburg Gate in Berlin called for removal of Syrian president.

Al-Qaeda branch claims it carried out Sunday's attack, which left 18 dead, as revenge for France's offensive in Sahel.

Al-Qaeda branch claims it carried out Sunday's attack, which left 18 dead, as revenge for France's offensive in Sahel.

Crowd gathered under Brandenburg Gate in Berlin called for removal of Syrian president.

An anonymous reader writes: During the past years, malware aimed at stealing game inventory items from Steam accounts and logging Steam login credentials has become extremely sophisticated, but [has] remained at a lower-tier pricing range on underground hacking forums, rarely going above $10, never over $30. Valve says that it receives 77,000 complaints a month for hacked accounts, and Steam Stealers are responsible for most of them. [The] most targeted game is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, while Kaspersky Lab says that most of the cyber-gangs behind these malware families are of Eastern European origin, mostly Russian.

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Interface to FritzBox devices