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Apple's New MacBook Disconnects Microphone "Physically" When Lid is Closed

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 October 31, 2018  Mohit Kumar Apple introduces a new privacy feature for all new MacBooks that "at some extent" will prevent hackers and malicious applications from eavesdropping on your conversations. Apple's custom T2 security chip in the latest MacBooks includes a new hardware feature that physically disconnects the MacBook's built-in microphone whenever the user closes the lid, the company revealed yesterday at its event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. Though the new T2 chip is already present in the 2018 MacBook Pro models launched earlier this year, this new feature got unveiled when Apple launched the new Retina MacBook Air and published a full security guide for T2 Chip yesterday. "This disconnect is implemented in hardware alone, and therefore prevents any software, even with root or kernel privileges in macOS, and even the software on the T2 chip, from engaging the microphone when the lid is closed,&qu

Instagram Accidentally Exposed Some Users' Passwords In Plaintext

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November 18, 2018

instagram password hack
Instagram has recently patched a security issue in its website that might have accidentally exposed some of its users' passwords in plain text.

The company recently started notifying affected users of a security bug that resides in a newly offered feature called "Download Your Data" that allows users to download a copy of their data shared on the social media platform, including photos, comments, posts, and other information that they have shared on the platform.

To prevent unauthorized users from getting their hands on your personal data, the feature asks you to reconfirm your password before downloading the data.

However, according to Instagram, the plaintext passwords for some users who had used the Download Your Data feature were included in the URL and also stored on Facebook's servers due to a security bug that was discovered by the Instagram internal team.

The company said the stored data has been deleted from the servers owned by Facebook, Instagram's parent company and the tool has now been updated to resolve the issue, which "affected a very small number of people."

Download Your Data was rolled out by Instagram in April to comply with the new European data privacy regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and to address the privacy concerns of users worldwide amid Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Affected users are highly recommended to change their passwords and clear their browser history as soon as possible.

If you have not received any notification from the photo-sharing service yet, it means your Instagram account and password are apparently not affected by the bug. If you are still concerned about the privacy and security of your account, you can also consider changing your password.

Users are also advised to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and always secure their accounts with a strong and unique password.

Facebook had recently addressed a much more severe bug linked to its "View As" feature that was being actively exploited by unknown hackers to steal secret access tokens for 30 million Facebook users.

In late August, Instagram fixed another severe flaw in its API that unknown hackers exploited in the wild to gain access to the phone numbers and email addresses for many "high-profile" users with verified accounts.

In the same month, Instagram was also reportedly hit by a widespread hacking campaign that mysteriously locked out hundreds of users of their accounts with their email addresses, account names, profile pictures, and passwords changed.

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