IT specialist Bob Gendler found that macOS Mail was storing encrypted emails in plain text. He first notified Apple on July 29, but only got a temporary fix from the company 99 days later on November 5.
The main thing I discovered was that the snippets.db database file in the Suggestions folder stored my emails. And on top of that, I found that it stored my S/MIME encrypted emails completely UNENCRYPTED. Even with Siri disabled on the Mac, it *still* stores unencrypted messages in this database!
Mr. Gendler shard a fix in his blog post.
French website MacGeneration (via MacRumors) has found references to and an image of a 16-inch MacBook Pro in the beta of macOS 10.15.1. Looking similar to the current 15-inch MacBook Pro, the not-yet-announced device has a thinner bezel. Cool, yeah? Here’s a snippet from the Google Translate version of the article, but read the full thing for more images and info.
macOS 10.15.1 contains references to a MacBook Pro 16″, which accredit the many rumors about this new model.In the code of the first two beta of this version of Catalina, we found with the help of a reader, Maxime, the mention “MacBookPro16,1” which designates a new laptop of 16 “. Better than that, there are even the icons of the machine!
Charlotte Henry and John Martellaro are back with guest-host Bryan Chaffin to discuss the seemingly dizzying array of iOS updates Apple has released in the last few weeks. They also talk about the special case needs of macOS Catalina and whether Apple could do more to proactively warn users of everything they might face with their Mac systems.
No major new features have been uncovered in Catalina 10.15.1, but Apple is adding support for AMD Navi RDNA video cards for eGPUs.
macOS 10.15 Catalina is available for download, and, as usual, Dr. Mac warns not to install it just yet.
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the right amount of RAM in a Mac, and Catalina’s place in macOS history.
USA Today/tech has published a showcase of the Mac OS X/OS X/macOS wallpapers throughout the years. It’s very cool. By the way, TMO discovered which galaxy was used for OS X Mountain Lion back in 2012.
Although Apple hasn’t released macOS Catalina yet, it did update its browser to Safari 13. It has a new section for downloads permissions.
Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus has been poring over macOS Catalina betas while working on his next For Dummies books, and he has compiled a list of features he thinks you’ll love about the next macOS release.
ars technica has posted at terrific story by Richard Jensen on the origins of the Unix operating system back in the late 1960s.
Maybe its pervasiveness has long obscured its origins. But Unix, the operating system that in one derivative or another powers nearly all smartphones sold worldwide, was born 50 years ago from the failure of an ambitious project that involved titans like Bell Labs, GE, and MIT.
A derivative of the original Unix OS, in the family tree of BSD, is the basis for macOS, iOS, and is even running in your Apple Watch.
The Eclectic Light Company writes:
A few years ago, most Mac users had firewalls in their routers which blocked all incoming connections, and that was all they wanted. Over those years, we’ve increasingly installed software firewalls on our Macs to block outgoing connections. This article looks at some of the issues that arise from doing that.
The rules of the game keep changing, and this article brings us up-to-date.
The Eclectic Light Company writes:
Macs and iOS devices have the benefit of not one variety of Rich Text documents, but two: RTF and RTFD. This article explores some of their features and limitations, and considers the problems of working with them alongside one another.
This is a very readable and helpful article that explains the nature of RTFD files and their history going back to the origins with NeXT Corp.
Both updates contain security patches also found in macOS Mojave 10.14.6.
While the release includes several bug-fixes, it also adds a couple of new features for Apple News+.
In Rants & Raves Episode #340 Dr. Mac explains the transition to 64-bit only computing macOS 10.15 Catalina will bring this Fall and what it means to you.
Work is underway to support Linux on newer Macs, and NVMe patches are currently under review. This would make it easier to dual-boot Linux.
For the sake of security and Catalina app compatibility, Apple has been remotely deleting and adding files to macOS. John explains
Apple has required macOS developers to comply with many modern security practices. John explores the next logical step.
After the controversy surrounding Zoom and its hidden web server, Apple is pushing a hidden Mac update that removes it.
In the latest issue of Mac Format magazine, Adam Banks writes a guide on how to stay safe online. This is a PDF version and on page 66.
Using a Mac makes you safer than average when going online. That’s partly because of Apple’s efforts to secure the operating system; partly because the Mac App Store gives you somewhere to get most of your third-party software safely. It’s also partly because bad actors – in the security industry sense, not the Hollyoaks sense – tend to be less interested in targeting macOS. But that doesn’t mean either you or your Mac can’t get fooled. Know your way around the common risks and basic protections to keep yourself out of harm’s way.
This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.
