Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Parallels Survey of IT Professionals Finds Macs are Moving Beyond BYOD Phenomenon, Now Considered for Broader Corporate Deployment

SAN FRANCISCO & RENTON, Wash.--()--MacIT Conference – Parallels® (www.parallels.com/mac-pro), a global leader in cross-platform solutions, today announced results of its commissioned survey of more than 200 IT decision makers about their attitudes toward Macs in the enterprise. The results are telling – almost half of businesses (45 percent) currently offer their employees Macs, and more than nine out of 10 businesses (95 percent) that don’t currently provide Macs would be more likely to offer employees Macs if they had a single central management system for both Windows PCs and Macs.

Macs are in high demand – and respondents who already support Macs shared the top reasons why:
  • Eight out of 10 businesses (77 percent) say Macs are more reliable overall than Windows machines
  • Seven out of 10 (65 percent) say they are easier to support
  • Seven out of 10 (65 percent) say offering Macs would likely help attract employees (a very important factor given the competition for talent)


Monday, March 3, 2014

Apple Rolls Out CarPlay Giving Drivers a Smarter, Safer & More Fun Way to Use iPhone in the Car



CarPlay Premieres with Leading Auto Manufacturers at the Geneva International Motor Show

GENEVA―March 3, 2014―Apple® today announced that leading auto manufacturers are rolling out CarPlay, the smarter, safer and more fun way to use iPhone® in the car. CarPlay gives iPhone users an incredibly intuitive way to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages with just a word or a touch. Users can easily control CarPlay from the car’s native interface or just push-and-hold the voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri® without distraction. Vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will premiere CarPlay to their drivers this week, while additional auto manufacturers bringing CarPlay to their drivers down the road include BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp. 

“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we’re thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva.”

Apple has led consumer technology integration in the car for more than a decade. CarPlay brings your car and iPhone together for a thoughtful experience that lets drivers focus on driving, while also tapping into everything they want to do with their iPhone. 

Once iPhone is connected to a vehicle with CarPlay integration, Siri helps you easily access your contacts, make calls, return missed calls or listen to voicemails. When incoming messages or notifications arrive, Siri provides an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands, by reading drivers’ messages and letting them dictate responses or simply make a call.

CarPlay makes driving directions more intuitive by working with Maps to anticipate destinations based on recent trips via contacts, emails or texts, and provides routing instructions, traffic conditions and ETA. You can also simply ask Siri and receive spoken turn-by-turn directions, along with Maps, which will appear on your car’s built-in display. 

CarPlay gives drivers access to all of their music, podcasts, audiobooks and iTunes Radio℠ with easy navigation through listening choices from the car’s built-in controls or simply by asking Siri to pull up what you’d like to hear. CarPlay also supports select third-party audio apps including Spotify and iHeartRadio, so you can listen to your favorite radio services or sports broadcast apps while driving.

Pricing & Availability
Apple CarPlay is available as an update to iOS 7 and works with Lightning-enabled iPhones, including iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5. CarPlay will be available in select cars shipping in 2014.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Press Contacts
Christine Monaghan
Apple
cmonaghan@apple.com
+1 (408) 974-8850

Adam Howorth
Apple
adamh@apple.com
+44 207 184 1202


Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone, Siri and iTunes Radio are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/03/03Apple-Rolls-Out-CarPlay-Giving-Drivers-a-Smarter-Safer-More-Fun-Way-to-Use-iPhone-in-the-Car.html

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Update NOW: OS X Mavericks v10.9.2 and Security Update 2014-001

Apple released OS X 10.9.2 and Security Update 2014-001, which includes a fix for a major SSL security flaw that first came to light on Friday, after the release of iOS 7.0.6

You can test if your OS has been patched by visiting https://gotofail.com.


OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Update (Combo) http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1726
Security Update 2014-001 (Mountain Lion) http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1729
Security Update 2014-001 (Lion) http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1727
Security Update 2014-001 Server (Lion) http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1728


Monday, February 24, 2014

Everything We Know About The Huge Security Flaw That Affects (Nearly) All iPhones, iPads, And Apple Computers

 "A software bug called "Gotofail" currently affects every single Apple device, whether it's an iPhone, iPad, or desktop or laptop computer. If you have not updated your machine in the last few days, your Apple device is currently vulnerable.

Apple revealed that the security flaw in its iOS operating system for iPhone and iPad affects encryption. That's how data gets sent over the Internet without you having to worry about people reading your emails or stealing your credit card number when you buy something from Amazon. 
The name "Gotofail" is a reference to the "goto" computer command.

A fix recently went out to iOS customers that renders this bug a non-issue, so if you haven't updated your iPhone or iPad's software recently, be sure to do so. There's a full guide right here, but you'll want to plug your phone in as if you're charging it, open the Settings app, select "General," then "Software Update," and follow the instructions that appear.

OS X users are still waiting for a fix. Official word from Apple is that it will come "very soon."
"

Continue reading the Business Insider Story by Dylan Love

Friday, September 27, 2013

How Your Computer Gets Hacked in Under a Minute


Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) – With just a few clicks, hackers can access all of your online information and stay in your system for years. Bloomberg’s Megan Huges talks to the experts to show you how it’s done. (Source: Bloomberg)

Hackers-for-hire uncovered using hit-and-run 'Icefog' APT on Mac OS X and Windows systems - IT News from V3.co.uk

Kaspersky Lab confirmed uncovering the Icefog campaign in its The Icefog APT: A Tale of Cloak and Three Daggers threat report. The researchers said the campaign has been active since at least 2011 and has hit a number of high profile targets.
"Icefog is an Advanced Persistent Threat that has been active since at least 2011, targeting mostly Japan and South Korea. Known targets include government institutions, military contractors, maritime and shipbuilding groups, telecom operators, industrial and high-tech companies and mass media," read the report.
"There are versions for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. In its latest incarnation, Icefog doesn't automatically exfiltrate data, instead it is operated by the attackers to perform actions directly on the victim's live systems."

Continue Reading: Hackers-for-hire uncovered using hit-and-run 'Icefog' APT on Mac OS X and Windows systems - IT News from V3.co.uk