Trick Could Unlock iOS 10 devices in Lost Mode

Lost and stolen iOS devices could be at risk if ne’er-do-wells learn of this blunt-force method of getting past Activation Lock. No special equipment or technical know-how is required, which means any geek off the streets can do it. Fortunately, it’s easily fixed — but until that happens, you might want to be a little extra careful about leaving your phone unattended.

The latest exploit is described by Benjamen Kunz-Mejri, founder of German security outfit Vulnerability Lab. An earlier variation, discovered by Slash Secure’s Hemanth Joseph, affected iOS 10.1 and was reported to Apple in October. Although the company attempted to fix the problem in 10.1.1, adding a twist — literally — the the attack means devices are still vulnerable after the update.

When an iOS device’s owner activates Lost Mode through Find my iPhone/iPad, the device is remotely put into Activation Mode, requiring your Apple ID for it to unlock and return it to normal. But logging in requires an internet connection, and for that purpose you can opt to use wi-fi. So the attacker goes to the wi-fi network select screen, and selects “other network.”

This is where things get hot. The network name and password fields here have no character limits!

Apple wasn’t silly enough to allow arbitrary code execution from the fields, so there’s no serious buffer overflow attack here. But if you put enough characters into both fields (upwards of 10,000) the device will slow down and eventually freeze. Put the device to sleep with a cover, wait a few seconds, and open it up — voila, the home screen!

That method worked on 10.1, but with 10.1.1, you have to do a bit of screen rotation and use Night Shift mode. The home screen only shows up for a fraction of a second, but Kunz-Mejri told SecurityWeek that one can get it to stay visible with a well-timed button press.
The problem could be fixed with a simple character limit on those fields, a fix Apple apparently overlooked or didn’t have time to implement in the update.
TechCrunch has contacted Apple for confirmation and further details, and this post will be updated if we hear back.

Eject a disk safely from your Mac

When you have finished with disks they should be ejected properly, which unmounts them. You’ll need to take care though, because files can be corrupted if you don’t follow the right procedure.

One of the main causes of problems is pulling out the plug when files are open. This leads to corrupted files and you might be unable to save work you have open. Files must be closed and applications quit before drives can be ejected safely. This is to ensure that all the data is written to the drive.

1 Do not unplug

Don’t pull out the USB flash drive or USB disk drive plug, or OS X will inform you that you have done it incorrectly. You will be told to eject the disk before disconnecting it.

2 Eject a disk
If there is an icon on the desktop, drag it to the Trash. It’s not deleted, it is ejected. You can right click disks in Finder or click the Eject button in the sidebar.

3 Eject partitions
If a disk is a partition on a drive, you are asked if you want to eject just this partition or all of them. Click Eject or Eject All. Keyboard shortcuts can do this too.

4 Avoid common problems
A frequent cause for the failure to eject a disk is because an application has a file open. Close all the files and quit all applications, then try ejecting the disk again.

10 Ways To Become A Spotify Power User

Of all the many music- streaming services you can now get on your computer or mobile, one of the first and still the best is Spotify. Easy to use and featuring music from (almost) any artist you can think of – The Beatles recently had their back catalogue added! – whether you’re looking to stick to the free version or become a premium user, you’ll find that lurking underneath its deceptively simple exterior is a fully functioning and feature-packed music player.

The object of this workshop is to help you get the most from Spotify by highlighting some of the features that you may not have come across. From adding lyrics to your music, to swapping playback between devices in the blink of an eye, we’ll take you from being a Spotify newbie to a pro user.

1. All things being equal

Spotify comes with a built-in equaliser for mobile, so you can tweak settings for individual tracks – just head to Settings. The equaliser is different for iOS and Android devices, and, although the computer version of Spotify doesn’t come with this built-in, you can download a plug-in like Equalify Pro.

2. Play your music offline

The majority of Spotify members use the software on mobile devices, which is great if you’re linked to a Wi-Fi connection, but will eat up your data allowance if you’re out and about. If you sign up for the premium edition for £9.99/$9.99 a month, you can download entire albums and playlists to your device and listen to them offline.

3. Discover new music

A new feature introduced last year, Discover Weekly, is a smart playlist that’s automatically updated every Monday just for you. Smart is definitely the key word here, as Spotify has employed algorithms to check other people’s playlists and match them with yours to add a series of recommendations it think you will like. The results are impressive – you’ll find the Discover Weekly playlist at the top of your Playlists on the left sidebar.

4. Get a higher bit rate

Hardcore audiophiles looking to get the highest sound quality will also want to upgrade to the premium service. While freemium users have a choice of bit rate between 96kbps to 160kbps for most tracks – depending on the device they’re using and their internet connection – if you subscribe then you can crank this up to an ear-pleasing 320kbps. Just go to Settings and select Streaming Quality from the menu options.

5. Touchy feely

Tapping and holding down on album artwork does a couple of things, depending on what system you’re running Spotify on. For Android it brings up a list of options (including adding a track or album to a playlist, or heading directly to the artist’s page), while on iOS you
will get something called Touch Preview, where it instantly plays the song or playlist when you press on the album art – Touch Preview will be heading to Android soon.

6. Spotify on the web

There are many ways you can listen to your Spotify library, including via a browser, which is useful for when you’re at work or want to play your music on a friend’s computer. Just head to play.spotify.com/browse, sign in and then click on Your Music to access your library remotely.

7. Swap between devices

One of Spotify’s neater features is the ability to swap playback on any devices that are logged into your Spotify account. Say you’re playing music on your phone while you’re out, and when you get back you want to swap to your computer or a compatible speaker or TV, all you have to do is tap on Devices Available at the bottom of the Spotify screen, pick a different one from the list available and the song will continue playback on the new device.

8. Add lyrics to your songs

Eagle-eyed types will probably have spotted the Lyrics button at the bottom of the desktop version of Spotify, so all you have to do is tap on this for the lyrics to scroll through as the song plays. Although it’s not automatically included with the mobile version, you can download the Musixmatch app to do the job for you.

9. Import your music library

If you want to play all your music via Spotify and bypass iTunes altogether (or whatever other music software you play your music through on your computer) then it’s easy enough, much easier than you might think. On the sidebar on the left, click on Local Files under Your Music and you can then scroll through and play any music stored on your computer – Spotify Premium members can also import their tracks too.

10. Share the love

Although sharing and collaborating on playlists is easy enough, sometimes you’re listening to a specific song (maybe one you’ve just discovered) and want to share it with a specific person. Easy! Go to Options > Share > Send to… and you’re given a range of choices to send a direct link to the song that’s currently playing – via SMS, email, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and so on.

How to spot fake iOS and Android Apps

The New York Times and New York Post discovered hundreds of counterfeit shopping apps in Apple's App Store. This is also a problem we have seen in Google's Play store. While some of these apps will display annoying banner ads, others could have more serious consequences.

Some apps may contain malware that could steal personal information. Scammers could also benefit from unsuspecting customers entering credit card information in these bogus apps.

Here are a few tips to help you identify the real apps from the fake ones:

Check to see who published the app. Be careful, though, scammers will use similar names; such was the case for Overstock.com (real) and Overstock Inc (fake).
Check the reviews in Apple's App Store and Google's Play store. A real app will likely have thousands of (hopefully positive) reviews, while a fake one will likely have zero.
Look at the publish date. A fake app will have a recent publish date, while the a real one will have an "updated on" date. For example, that fake Overstock app was only published on October 26 of this year.

Check for spelling mistakes in the title or description. Many of these apps come out of China. Take extra caution if it looks like English isn't the developers' first language.
Beware of apps that promise shopping discounts. Sound too good to be true? It probably is.
When in doubt, visit a store's website in your browser and look for an icon or button that reads "Get our app." This will take you to the App Store or Google Play store where you can download the correct app.

How To Add A MicroSD Slot To Your iPhone

With ever-improving cameras, bigger screens to watch videos, and better speakers for listening to music, we’re storing more on our phones than ever before.

However, it seems phone manufacturers can’t (or won’t) keep up with the demand for physical memory, instead politely pushing us towards their cloud storage accounts while muttering about subscription fees under their breath. Apple deserves to be singled out for this.

After being criticized for years for only offering limited physical storage, they launched a 128GB version of the iPhone 6 – only to axe this option a year later when they announced the iPhone 6S.

But there is an alternative to paying monthly for iCloud, which Android users have enjoyed for years. The Leef iAccess allows iPhone and iPad users to transfer data to a microSD card.

As well as backing up files, its also a great way of transferring photos from your digital camera to share them online on the go.

Transfer photos using Leef iAccess

01.) Clip and connect

Insert a microSD card into the rear slot of the Leef iAccess, before clipping the device into the lightning port of your iPhone.

02.) Open the app

Now download the MobileMemory app from the App option listed on the main menu. Store. Once opened, it will perform You can then select what you want a scan to try and find your iAccess.

3. Transfer files

Choose the ‘Transfer Files’ option listed on the main menu. You can then select what you want to move across from your phone.

4. Interchange cards

At any point you can swap microSD cards around. Press on the inserted card to eject it and slot in a new card instead.

---

WHY SHOULD YOU USE MICROSD CARDS?

Competition is rife for those who want a simple solution to store and transfer their files. Despite this, the market for microSD cards has never been stronger, with more users looking for a secure and cheap way to keep their files with them wherever they go. Here’s why we think microSD cards will still be here for years to come.

01.) They’re safer than the cloud

While our smartphones are now tailored for cloud storage, the lack of encryption can potentially put your files at risk from snoopers and thieves. Having a physical microSD card enables users to take their most treasured files with them and there is a range of carry cases available to stop you misplacing them.

02.) You can use them everywhere

MicroSD support is so widespread that there is a whole bunch of devices you can use with them. For example, everyone’s favourite action camera, the GoPro, contains microSD ports for users to record in-flight footage and then have a simple way of transferring the footage onto their PC or Mac.

03.) Transfer speeds are unbelievable

One of the gleaming features of most modern microSD cards is the incredible transfer speeds that they can achieve when moving files to and from devices. SanDisk’s newest Ultra range of microSD cards can move files at 45MB per second. For larger files, this sort of card is a no-brainer to use.

04.) Lots of storage, low price

As more companies are developing microSD cards, prices are at the lowest they have ever been. A standard 64GB card can now be picked up for less than £20, which works out cheaper in the long-term than if taking out a cloud storage account subscription.

05.) Easy to convert

Once you have downloaded your files to your microSD card, you may wonder what you can now do with them. It’s simple enough to port them directly onto your desktop computer or even use a microSD adapter to convert them across to a full SD card and expand your options even further.

Unlock Hidden Netflix Movies

The next time you’re struggling to find something on Netflix, consider this: there are thousands of movies and TV boxsets you can’t see because of where you live. With the right app, it’s possible to get around these restrictions (if you don’t mind breaching the site’s terms and conditions).

You’ll have access to a wealth of new content: Mad Men and Family Guy in the US, for example, plus all the latest blockbusters that Sky keeps for itself in the UK. Unblock-US is one of the best tools for the job, making your device appear to be located in a country of your choice.

1. Changing DNS settings

Once you’ve signed up for a free trial at unblockus.com, follow the online guide to download the Windows or Mac set-up app, or reconfigure your computer’s DNS settings as instructed. You might have to reset both your computer and your router before the new settings take effect.

2. Verify the connection

Everything is handled via the Unblock-US website (which uses your email address for verification) so there are no settings screens to work through or software applications you have to install after the initial setup. On the Unblock-US home page you will see three green bars when you’re successfully connected.

3. Choose your country

After that you simply need to pick what part of the world you want to appear to be from: 22 different countries are supported and the check box underneath lets you turn on Netflix captions if you’re not confident of being able to understand everything that’s being said on the screen.

4. Enjoy the content

The final step: get watching. You should find your Netflix account repopulated with all kinds of good material you haven’t come across before, though you can still use the same account and Netflix will keep hold of your viewing history for the shows you’ve been watching previously.

Secret codes for Android

Most interesting hacks require root and other tweaks, but here is a simple way of getting info on your device and changing some settings not possible in the normal menus. Simply open the dialer on your phone and enter some numbers!

1. 
   

   Basic phone info

   In the dialer enter *#*#4636#*#* You will then see a testing page, which gives you info on the phone, as well as battery stats and app usage stats. In the Wifi menu you can get info on the network you are connected to and more.
2. 
   

   Change the power button action

   Entering  *#*#7594#*#* will bring up the menu to adjust the power button action. Dependent on your ROM you usually see a list of actions such as ‘Reboot – Airplane Mode’ etc, this allows you to remove these.
3. 
   

   HTC Update checking

   *#*# 2432546#*#* If you use an HTC device, you can force a check for updates using this code. This will bring up a notification telling you whether or not it has been successful. Be careful if you are using a custom ROM , as some updates may not be compatible with it.

Get Better Acoustics In Awkwardly Shaped Rooms

As an audiophile, the quality of your favourite music – be it Led Zeppelin or Mozart – is paramount. With a little care, you can turn the living room in your semi-detached house into an acoustical paradise that makes every note and every beat sound as though you were listening live.It all comes down to good speaker placement. Hide expensive speakers behind furniture and they’ll sound muffled; put a set of budget speakers in just the right place and they’ll sound like they are worth twice the price. The average home though, is not a concert hall, so how do you overcome odd-shaped walls and furniture to guarantee yourself the best sound?

Cutting Corners: 

So you had to be awkward and choose an abode where the rooms are odd shapes. All those little nooks and crannies suddenly become unappealing when you’re after the best sound. Avoid corners by arranging your audio/visual equipment and your seating in a rectangle. Although this will obviously mean that you have to arrange the rest of your furniture around them in the space left. But the sound is worth it!

Sound in an L-shaped room: 

The trick here is first to not think about the room as one L-shaped room, but as two rectangular rooms. Ensure your sofa is positioned close to the TV/speakers and not on the other side of the room from them. Inevitably part of the room is going to suffer from poor sound, so make sure it is not the part you predominantly listen to music in. Position your sofa against one long wall and the TV and main speakers opposite it. One surround speaker will be set off from one side wall, but the other will be in the middle of the room. You may have to move it back against the wall to avoid kicking it every time you walk past, although putting it against the wall will minimise its sound quality.

The surprisingly awkward square-shaped room:

Square rooms are bad for getting great sound from your speakers. The walls are all equidistant, so waves of sound reflect from the walls and end up favouring one frequency over others, affecting the tonal quality of the sound. If you put your TV/stereo speakers into a corner at a 45-degree angle, away from reflective walls with the speakers at least 30-inches in front of the TV, that can help. Speakers are best placed in an equilateral triangle arrangement with the listener at the tip of the triangle.

Why reflective surfaces are bad:

All rooms are reflective, with sound waves reverberating from flat surfaces such as walls, tables and counters. These reflections work against the sound quality of your music or the television to varying degrees, depending upon the shape of the room and the presence of other factors, such as furniture and carpets, which can absorb sound (known as damping). While damping can nullify standing waves, which cancel certain frequencies when they reflect off a wall, damping can also significantly lower the volume of your music. Although this may be to the delight of your neighbours, it isn’t ideal for music lovers who enjoy listening to their tracks with audio clarity.

Turn your Android device into a Wi-Fi extender

It’s frustrating when a Wi-Fi signal is nearby, but it’s just out of reach. Maybe your router doesn’t cover the whole of your home, or you want to surf in your garden. Whatever the reason, if your Wi-Fi isn’t stretching as far as you’d like, you can extend its reach by using your Android device as a Wi-Fi repeater, also known as a Wi-Fi extender. This is where your Android device picks up your Wi-Fi signal, and repeats this signal, so your Wi-Fi is extended over a greater distance. You can then tap into this repeated signal, via another device such as

your PC.

This trick does require a rooted device, but if your smartphone or tablet isn’t rooted, you still have some options for getting online when you’re struggling to find a reliable Wi-Fi signal. One option is using your Android device as a portable hotspot, a process known as tethering. Tethering lets you share your Android’s data connection wirelessly with other devices. Alternatively, you can use a USB cable to tether your device. Be aware that your carrier may charge a fee for using your device’s hotspot feature, so always check your contract.

This tutorial shows you how to use your Android device as a Wi-Fi extender, before sharing a few tricks for getting online, even if you don’t have a rooted device.

For more expert tutorials, make sure you pick up the new issue of Android Magazine.

1. 

   Download fqrouter2

   fqrouter2 is an application that makes it easy to turn your Android device into a Wi-Fi extender. Download fqrouter2 from the Google Play store, and then launch the app on your device. If fqrouter2 prompts you to update to a newer version, follow the instructions to ensure you’re running the right version.
2. 

   Enable Wifi Repeater

   Check your device’s Wi-Fi is on and connected. Then, launch the fqrouter2 app, and scroll down to the Wifi Repeater section. Tap the Off slider, and wait a few seconds until the slider turns green and displays the On label. Your device is now repeating your Wi-Fi signal.
3. 

   Customise your signal

   You can customise your repeated signal, by tapping the Config button. Next, enter a new name for your signal and change the password you use to access it. Once you’re happy with your changes, tap Save. You’re now ready to start using this repeated signal!
4. 

   Test your signal

   Put your Wi-Fi extender to the test by using a second device to perform a search for nearby Wi-Fi. You should spot the signal that’s being repeated by your Android smartphone or tablet. Connect to this repeated signal, and check that the internet is now available on your second device.
5. 

   Wi-Fi hotspots

   If your device isn’t rooted, you can still turn it into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, and then share its connection with other devices. Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi, then open its Settings, tap More followed by Tethering & portable hotspot. Finally, give Portable Wi-Fi hotspot a tap.
6. 

   Customise your portable hotspot

   After creating your hotspot, customise it by scrolling down and selecting Set up Wi-Fi hotspot. Now you can change your signal’s name and create a password. If you haven’t already, check your carrier’s policy, to see whether tethering incurs any additional charges.
7. 

   USB tethering

   You can also tether your Android device via USB. ClockworkMod Tether is a free app that can be downloaded from the Play store, and doesn’t require root. Download the app, and then install and unzip the accompanying tether software on your computer, using the links in the app’s Play listing.
8. 

   Connect up your device

   Connect your Android device to your computer using its USB cable. Make sure your device is either connected to Wi-Fi, or its mobile internet is switched on. On your computer, launch the Tether software and grant it any permissions it requires to run.
9. 

   Start tethering

   Once the Tether program has loaded, click Start. When you see a ‘Tether has connected’ message, you’re ready to access the internet on your computer, using the signal from your Android device. You can use Tether for 14 days without limits, after which you’re restricted to 20MB a day.
10. 

    Troubleshooting

    If you’re a Windows user, you’ll need to install the drivers for your smartphone, before it can connect to your PC, so head over to www.clockworkmod.com/tether/drivers. If you’re encountering slow speeds with Tether, make sure your Android device is the only thing plugged into your PC’s USB ports.