Just yesterday security vulnerabilities were discovered in WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access II). WPA2 is used in many modern Wi-Fi networks, and eventually affects devices including Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, among others. Discovered by Mathy Vanhoef, the vulnerability could allow people access to your Wi-Fi traffic. Apple has now stated that the WPA2 vulnerability has already been patched on its OS platforms.

According to imore, Apple has confirmed that the exploit has been patched in the latest beta versions of iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and macOS. These betas are currently available to developers and public, and will soon be rolled out to consumers globally. The patch will come with third beta of iOS 11.1, tvOS 11.1 beta, and third public beta of watchOS 4.1. After the stable versions are rolled out, it will essentially keep Apple devices safe when connected to a Wi-Fi router for internet connectivity.

Apple has confirmed to me that #wpa2 #KRACK exploit has already been patched in iOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS betas.

Deeper dive to follow.

— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) October 16, 2017

The security vulnerability uses a key re-installation attack (KRACK) in WPA2 protocol. Using KRACK, attackers can hack into the Wi-Fi’s traffic allowing them to access sensitive information like credit and debit card details, usernames, passwords, and more. In essence, any kind of vulnerable information passed through is at risk of being exposed. 

Considering how WPA2 is used to encrypt Wi-Fi connections, this vulnerability could lead to potential risks of data leaking. In an interview with The Guardian, Vanhoef said, “If your device supports Wi-Fi, it is most likely affected,” Vanhoef writes. “In general, any data or information that the victim transmits can be decrypted … Additionally, depending on the device being used and the network setup, it is also possible to decrypt data sent towards the victim (e.g. the content of a website).”

Content sent to websites that aren’t secured can be exploited by this vulnerability. Even websites with http can be exploited. It is advised that users do not connect to public Wi-Fi networks. You can opt for ethernet connections, and user VPN for browsing. 

How many times have you sent an email to the wrong person, and then every cell in your body wished – what if you could just make it stop? I have been through this a few times, and it could have been worst blunders ever. And to save you from that blunder, two years ago, Google rolled out an ‘Undo send’ feature on Gmail.  As the name suggests, it lets you undo your blunder email. Though an old feature, a lot of people are still unaware of its existence, and some are unsure how to enable it. And so, in this article we will tell you how this feature really works, and take you through a step-by-step process of enabling it.

To begin with, it is important to understand that the undo feature, essentially gives a user a buffer time of 5-30 seconds (depending on the settings) to retrieve a sent email. Post the chosen time, the email cannot be undone or retrieved. If you are wondering why your Gmail does not show the feature, even when it has been around for two years, it’s because you need the enable it in Gmail settings. Here’s how to go about it.

To begin with, you need to sign in to your Gmail account. Now, on the top right corner, click on the ‘gear’ icon, and from the drop-down list choose ‘Settings’. 

From there, scroll down a little till you spot the ‘Undo Send’ option. Here, check the box next to it to enable the feature, and select the ‘Send cancellation period’, which is essentially the time bracket you have at hand to retrieve your email before it is permanently sent.

Scroll down a bit more and save your changes. And done! Your undo feature is now enabled.

After you have enabled the feature, each time you send an email, right on top of your inbox, you will see a pop-up notification, which will give you an option to either undo or view your message. The notification will show up for a few seconds, depending on the time chosen in the settings post which, the email will be sent permanently. Within that time, if you tap on unsend, the email will immediately be retrieved, and your compose box will reopen. 

Do note, when you enable the ‘undo send’ feature, the time taken for the email to be delivered will also be delayed by the amount of buffer time you choose. 

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Apple has switched the default provider of its web searches for Siri on iOS and Spotlight on the Mac to Google from Microsoft’s Bing. Now if you ask Siri to search something on the internet, you will get Google results instead of Bing on iOS and Spotlight — a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple’s macOS and iOS operating systems.

Apple’s web browser Safari on Mac and iOS already use Google search as the default provider, thanks to a deal worth billions to Apple (and Google) over the last decade, Tech Crunch reported. “Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari,” Apple said in a statement.

“We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible.” The search results would include regular ‘web links’ as well as video results. Web image results from Siri will still come from Bing, for now, the report added.

Meanwhile, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the company value the relationship with Apple and look forward to continuing to partner with the iPhone maker in many ways, including on Bing Image Search in Siri, to provide the best experience possible for our customers.

“Bing has grown every year since its launch, now powering over a third of all the PC search volume in the US, and continues to grow worldwide. It also powers the search experiences of many other partners, including Yahoo (Verizon), AOL and Amazon, as well as the multi-lingual abilities of Twitter,” the spokesperson said. Given Microsoft’s work to advance the field of artificial intelligence, the company was confident that Bing would be at the forefront of providing a more intelligent search experience for its customers and partners.

After rolling out iOS 11 and watchOS 4 last week, Apple will be rolling out macOS High Sierra later tonight. The new Mac OS comes with iterative updates, and a focus on under the hood upgrades. Here’s a look at a list of compatible Macs that can be updated to High Sierra, and a list of features worth looking forward to.

For updating to High Sierra, you will need to have one of the following Macs. MacBook (2009 or later), MacBook Air (2010 or later), MacBook Pro (2010 or later), Mac mini (2010 or later), Mac Pro (2010 or later) or iMac (Late 2009 or later).

With High Sierra, Apple is focusing more on boosting Mac’s performance, as well as overall productivity. As the Apple website claims, “New technologies at the heart of the system make your Mac more reliable, capable and responsive — and lay the foundation for future innovations. macOS High Sierra also refines the features and apps you use every day. It’s macOS at its highest level yet.”

Apple File System: Among the biggest changes on High Sierra is a new file system, called Apple File System or APFS. This file system is optimized for SSDs and flash storage on the new Macs, and according to Apple, it is ‘faster, efficient and focuses on both security and encryption’.

HEVC video codec: Apple has introduced a new codec for high-res videos, called HEVC or H.265. This codec can basically compress videos by up to 40 percent when compared to current standards. Apple also claims that the compression is done without loss in video quality.

Powerful photo editor: Apple has improved its Photos app with the inclusion of new editing tools. These include the ability to tweaking a photo’s color, contrast, curves, and more. There is also a compare button for easy reference of before and after photos.

FaceTime Live Photos: Apple has added a new interactive element to FaceTime. So if your friend is doing something crazy, you can record it as a Live Photo. You can use the Photos app to turn these live photos into loop clips, bounce clips, or long exposure-style shots.

Safari reading mode: Apple’s native browser has been given quite a boost in its performance. Some of the new features include a new reading mode. In this mode, which removes all the annoying elements from a web page, and only leaves the text and multimedia to give a nice reading experience.

Blocking auto-playing videos: Another welcome feature on Safari is its ability to block auto-playing videos. This is really helpful, as quite a few websites have small videos embedded somewhere deep in the page that automatically start playing. While helpful, Safari does allow you to choose what websites can auto-play videos.

Mail search and split view: The Mail app on macOS will now consume up to 35 percent less space. Other improvements include a Top Hits panel in search. Powered by Spotlight, this analyzes your mails based on your interactions and makes them more visible in search. There’s also a new split view mode in Mail. This essentially lets you open a compose window on one side, while checking mails simultaneously.

Enhanced iMessage: iMessage on iOS 11 has been given a big upgrade. On macOS, the messaging app gets a much-awaited feature. On High Sierra, iMessage is more in sync with its iOS counterpart. In other words, when you delete a message on your iPhone, it disappears from the Mac app as well.

Improved Universal Clipboard: While copy-pasting stuff across iOS and macOS is not new, Apple has improved its universal clipboard feature. High Sierra allows users to copy stuff between two Macs running on the latest OS – as long as they are using the same Apple iCloud account.

DJ Siri: Siri has also massively improved on High Sierra. For one, the voice assistant can now work as your personal DJ. In essence, you can ask Siri to ‘play some music’. You can also ask it to play a song from some specific genre. Needless to say, you need an Apple Music subscription for this to work.

Last night, Apple made some big announcements. To begin with, three new iPhones were unveiled – iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the anniversary edition iPhone X. Also launched at the event was the latest Apple Watch Series 3, which is the first in the series to come with an LTE support. However, beside these products, Apple also announced the software that will be powering these devices. Which means, Apple also revealed release dates for the iOS, watchOS, macOS and tvOS updates. 

iOS 11 is definitely the most anticipated update. In fact, considering the hole iPhone X could burn in your pocket, iOS 11 is what many were looking forward to from the event. With the new iOS 11, Apple sort of made a U-turn on some of its long-held rules for its touch-based platform. And that includes a dock that more closely resembles the macOS version, the ability to drag and drop between apps, and a file manager of sorts. iOS 11 will start rolling out to all supported devices starting September 19. 

Beside iOS, the new watchOS update was announced too. Now, of course the update won’t add cellular connectivity to your Watch Series 2, but it comes with a bunch of new features for older Apple Watch generations, including a Siri watch face. There are also new Workout and News apps to be found. Along with iOS 11, watchOS 4 also rolls out on September 19. 

Not among the most prominent announcements from yesterday’s event, but macOS High Sierra is surely highly-anticipated. The new macOS brings a touch of refinement to the desktop platform. While perhaps not as grandiose as the Sierra launch, High Sierra still has significant changes, especially under the hood, with the introduction of Apple’s new APFS file system for starters. macOS High Sierra rolls out on September 25. 

Apple also unveiled the new tvOS with a redesigned UI, which comes with a dedicated sports tab. For instance in the sports section, users can see real-time scores next to the preview of a game’s videos. Apple said that the tvOS 11 will be available starting September 19, alongside watchOS 4 and iOS 11. The update will arrive via OTA.

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