Apple delivers desktop, mobile OS updates, patches dozens of security holes
- Reference: 1647389101
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/03/16/apple_updates_security/
- Source link:
MacOS Monterey got bumped to version 12.3, bringing with it [1]60 security fixes , eight of which involved potential arbitrary code execution.
The desktop OS update also includes some useful features like [2]Universal Control , a way to use a single mouse and keyboard across multiple Apple devices such as a macOS computer and an iPad. If you've ever wanted to copy data from one bit of kit in order to paste it to another with a mere mouse movement, your ship has come in.
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Universal Control is not to be confused with [4]Sidecar , which dates back to macOS Catalina and provides a way to extend a Mac's display space with the extra screen area of an iPad.
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The desktop update incorporates Spatial Audio support for M1-based Macs, given the right model AirPods. So with the proper gear, you can experience dynamic head tracking in Apple's Music app.
Finally, macOS 12.3 adds [7]37 new Emoji , a gender-neutral Siri voice, an episode filter for the Podcasts app, Italian and Chinese (traditional) translation support in Safari, more accurate battery capacity readings, and a few other things.
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Apple's iOS 15.4 (and iPadOS 15.4) addresses [9]39 CVEs and implements support for Face ID authentication when wearing a health-oriented face mask, though only for iPhone 12 and 13. Designated iDevices can manage facial recognition of masked folk even with reading glasses – more so if you bother to [10]set the system up to expect glasses – but not with sunglasses.
Apple acknowledges that face recognition with a mask doesn't work all that well. "Face ID is most accurate when it's set up for full-face recognition only," warns the Face ID setup pane. It will be interesting to see whether devices configured for masked recognition end up authenticating people other than their owners.
The iOS update also includes support for 37 new Emoji, a notification toggle option for Personal Automations in the Shortcuts app, an Apple Card widget in Today view (for seeing one's Apple Card activity), and the ability to add notes to iCloud Keychain password entries. What's more, there's now an option to hide security recommendations about compromised passwords, based on the notion there might be times it would be inconvenient to hector users about weak security.
[11]Apple, Google urge monopoly watchdog to leave them alone
[12]114 billion transistors, one big meh. Apple's M1 Ultra wake-up call
[13]Just two die for: Apple reveals M1 Ultra chip in Mac Studio
[14]Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla agree on something: Make web dev lives easier
Those with iCloud+ subscriptions can now set up a custom email domain with iCloud Mail via an iDevice in iOS 15.4. And there's now support for [15]WebAuthn passkeys, which means websites and apps that implement passkey login can allow users to authenticate via Face ID or Touch ID instead of a password.
The iOS update enables Tap to Pay on iPhones, so payments can be made through third-party payment systems that have been taught to handle this particular transaction mode. It also incorporates the same Safari translation additions, Podcast episode filter, and Siri voice addition as the macOS revision.
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As Apple [17]mentioned last month , iOS 15.4 includes an anti-stalking popup to discourage the misuse of its AirTag tracking devices. It's unclear how effective Apple's efforts to discourage AirTags abuse will be given that a Berlin-based infosec firm has [18]developed a way to clone AirTag hardware so that it bypasses Apple's anti-stalking protections.
The iOS update includes a few other minor features like support for the EU Digital COVID Certificate format in Apple's Health and Wallet apps. One feature that's missing in iOS but present in iPadOS 15.4 is the above mentioned Universal Control (because it works on iPads and not iPhones).
Apple's Xcode, Logic Pro X, and GarageBand all got updates – to support Apple's [19]Mac Studio hardware and other things. Apple's tvOS 15.4 delivered [20]23 CVE fixes .
Among [21]25 CVEs addressed in the iBiz's watchOS 8.5, there's [22]said to be a security fix that addresses a vulnerability in Apple's Mail app that could leak the user's IP address when accessing remote content. It's [23]claimed , however, that Apple's Privacy Relay system still leaks the user's IP address when opening links sent via iMessage on an Apple Watch. ®
Get our [24]Tech Resources
[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213183
[2] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212757
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YjFvBIf9B@gvRhLqiqSrfwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210380
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YjFvBIf9B@gvRhLqiqSrfwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[7] https://emojipedia.org/unicode-14.0/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YjFvBIf9B@gvRhLqiqSrfwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213182
[10] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213062
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/15/apple_google_cma/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/14/apple_m1_opinion_column/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/08/apple_m1_ultra_studio/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/04/web_dev_tech/
[15] https://webauthn.guide/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YjFvBIf9B@gvRhLqiqSrfwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/11/apple_airtags_stalking/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/22/apple_airtags_protections_bypass/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/08/apple_m1_ultra_studio/
[20] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213186
[21] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213193
[22] https://twitter.com/mysk_co/status/1503468390102536202?s=20
[23] https://twitter.com/mysk_co/status/1503468392757571585?s=20
[24] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Been looking forward to this one. Meh at best.
I really don't see the point of going through all the hassle with Apple Updates until the final year end version of Monterey is released, (on the release of the next version of MacOS). I prefer to stick to last year's major release, and for older kit, where I can, I'm still on aligned on High Sierra (and happy with it) and it's magnitudes faster on similar hardware to Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur.
Much prefer Apple HFS+ to APFS, because there is such a lack of third party apps (if any) that can read and enlarge/shrink APFS file systems. Paragon Hard Disk Manager can see a partition is APFS, but can't do much with it.
Everything after High Sierra, is pretty much bloat, superficial eye-candy. I couldn't care less about dynamic desktop backgrounds, that change with the day. The way Apple hyped Universal Control in the recent keynote, felt the same as Apple hyping dual/triple display, yet that has been around since the Matrox Parhelia-512 days, 20 years ago and longer if you count dual display on the Matrox 550. You'd think no else had ever thought of it beforehand, the way Tim Cook professes about such things.
KVM Solutions aren't new, maybe this will be better, but it's marginal at best.
Cut to the chase...
I'd much rather Apple announced extended support for High Sierra and up, due to Covid, the constant product refresh / churn when at times many Apple users were twiddling their thumbs due to lockdown is getting tedious. Much of the Apple kit bought in 2019 really hasn't been fully utilised and is heading for landfill soon enough.
Plus, the fact that lockdown hasn't been a cash cow for everyone, keeping up with Apple's product refresh is hard work if you're a developer. The latest Xcode requires Mojave.
I get it, they are pushing the M1 transition through, and there is little mercy for Intel users, but we buy this stuff, and the push for profit is at the expense of Apple's 'real' users, not their superficial influencer YouTube crowd.
In a word, Tim Cook, give people some slack to catch up.
Been looking forward to this one.
First time I've looked forward to an OS upgrade for quite a while.
Want to see how well Universal Control goes. Been using copy and paste between devices for as long as its been out and I quite like it.
If I don't post here tomorrow then that means it didn't go too well and my lappy and iDevice quiver have all gone to shit.