Macworld All attention might be on iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, but Apple hasn’t stopped working on its current crop of operating systems. And if you’re not running the betas, you need to know that Apple just shipped a slew of updates to fix some critical security holes. In all, Apple pushed 10 updates on Wednesday: iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1; iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS 15.7.7; macOS Ventura 13.4.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, and macOS Big Sur 11.7.8; Safari 16.5.1; and watchOS 9.5.2 and watchOS 8.8.1. That covers more than a decade of devices going back to 2013 and includes the iPhone 6s, Apple Watch Series 3, and the original 12-inch MacBook. All of the OS updates fix the same vulnerability:…

Macworld “Passkey” is the name for a simplified login process to websites that arrived in its full glory later this year with macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, and iPadOS 16. A passkey relies on broadly supported industry standards to let you carry out an encrypted login with almost no effort on your part after the initial setup. You can try a passkey without installing the public betas of these upcoming operating systems, as Apple built passkey support in a preview form into Safari across all its operating systems in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and Safari 15 with macOS 12 Monterey. With the full release of passkeys in a few weeks or months, and Google and Microsoft’s announced support for compatible technology, you’re…

Macworld All attention might be on iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, but Apple hasn’t stopped working on its current crop of operating systems. And if you’re not running the betas, you need to know that Apple just shipped a slew of updates to fix some critical security holes. All told, Apple pushed eight updates on Wednesday: iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1; iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS 15.7.7; macOS Ventura 13.4.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, and macOS Big Sur 11.7.8; and watchOS 9.5.2 and watchOS 8.8.1. That covers more than a decade of devices going back to 2013 and includes the iPhone 6s, Apple Watch Series 3, and the original 12-inch MacBook. All of the updates fix the same vulnerability: Kernel Impact: An…

Macworld A MAC address may be the address of your Mac, but they’re not interchangeable. MAC stands for Media (or Medium) Access Control, a geeky term for a part of network communications between the actual hardware, like a Wi-Fi radio or ethernet chip and jack, and the data that flows over it. Every network adapter has a unique MAC address set by the manufacturer during production. Why should you need to know a device’s MAC address? It can come in handy when you want to configure features on your router. You’re probably familiar with an IP (Internet Protocol) address, one that uniquely identifies your computer, phone, or other hardware’s connection on the internet. A MAC address applies only to the…

Don't hold off too long on updating to iOS 16.5.1 and the other new public releases, as Apple has patched multiple security issues that were actively exploited.iMessage vulnerability patchedApple released iOS 16.5.1, iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1, and watchOS 9.5.2 on Wednesday. These are small point updates but contain critical security patches. Read more...

Don't hold off too long on updating to iOS 16.5.1 and the other new public releases, as Apple has patched multiple security issues that were actively exploited.iMessage vulnerability patchedApple released iOS 16.5.1, iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1, and watchOS 9.5.2 on Wednesday. These are small point updates but contain critical security patches. Read more...