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Apple Apps No Longer Bypass macOS Big Sur Firewalls

Andrew Orr ·

In macOS Big Sur, Apple deprecated third-party kernel extensions including Network Kernel Extensions (NKEs). NKEs are used by apps like firewalls to monitor network traffic. Apple’s new user-mode Network Extension Framework had a side-effect: Apple’s own apps wouldn’t be routed through it and thus could bypass third-party firewalls. But now that has changed.

I of course also wondered if malware could abuse these “excluded” items to generate network traffic that could surreptitiously bypass any socket filter firewall.  Unfortunately the answer was yes! It was (unsurprisingly) trivial to find a way to abuse these items, and generate undetected network traffic.

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Meditation App ‘Calm’ Introduces Calm Puzzles with Spin Master Games

Andrew Orr ·

Calm is a popular sleep and meditation app. It recently partnered with Spin Master Games to create Calm Puzzles. These are jigsaw puzzles featuring zen, tranquil landscape scenes (Calm Coral, Foggy Mountains, Hidden Waterfalls, Jasper Lake, Sunflower Fields and Waterfall Mountain). These Mindful Puzzles are available to purchase on Amazon and in stores at Target and Walmart. You can listen to peaceful audio in the Calm app while you work on the puzzle. Each 300-piece puzzle includes a FREE 30-day subscription to the Calm app, which allows you to listen to sounds of nature and peaceful audio content that corresponds to your mindful puzzle as you work on putting it together.