Be Safe: Update Your iPhone, iPad and Other Apple Devices Now
July 22 2016 - 5:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Nathan Olivarez-Giles
If you use any Apple Inc. devices -- an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple
Watch or Apple TV -- take some time today to make sure their
operating systems are up-to-date.
Apple issued updates for iOS, OS X, WatchOS and tvOS on Monday
that patched a security hole that could allow hackers to steal
login and password data as you type it.
The exploit, which so far hasn't lead to any known hacks, was
made public by Cisco Systems Inc.'s security research team, Talos.
The malware, which disguises itself as a TIFF-formatted image, can
be sent to Apple devices by way of messaging and email apps, and
web browsers.
"This vulnerability is especially concerning as it can be
triggered in any application that makes use of the Apple ImageIO
API when rendering tiled TIFF images," said Tyler Bohan, a Talos
researcher, in a blog post. Many apps on Apple devices use this
specific API to render images, including Apple's own Messages, Mail
and Safari apps.
A similar security vulnerability, known as "Stagefright," was
found in Alphabet Inc.'s Android mobile operating system last year
and was eventually patched.
Here's how to check if your device's operating system is
up-to-date, and safe from the exploit. (Also: Consider opting into
automatic OS updates that you can do in the settings below.)
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Open your iOS device's settings app and look for the General
menu. Tap Software Update and you'll see if you're on the latest
version of iOS -- 9.3.3 -- or not.
iOS 9.3.3 is compatible with the iPhone 4s and newer, the fifth
and sixth generation iPod Touch, the iPad 2 and newer, all iPad
Mini tablets and the iPad Pro.
Mac Computer
Open up the Mac App Store app and click Updates in the menu bar
up top. Any OS X update will show up here if you need to install
one. The latest version of OS X is El Capitan 10.11.6, and it is
compatible with most Mac laptops and desktops dating back to
mid-2007.
Apple Watch
To update your Apple Watch software, go to your iPhone and open
the Apple Watch app. Tap General and select Software Update. The
latest version of WatchOS is 2.2.2.
Apple TV
Open your Apple TV's settings app and use your remote to select
System, then Software Updates. Then hit Update Software. The latest
version of tvOS is 9.2.2.
Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at
Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 22, 2016 17:43 ET (21:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024