Have an iPad or iPhone? Don't plug it into public chargers

A new trojan-horse that specifically targets iOS and OS X users has emerged out of China.

Security firm Palo Alto Networks has warned of a new malware threat to Apple customers that can infect iPhones and iPads via USB.

WireLurker is significant as it is the first to be able to infect iOS devices like a traditional virus. Previous malware has required users to have jailbroken their device, meaning less than one per cent of users were at risk.

The point of origin appears to have been a third-party app store for Macs running OS X.

 

Self-replicating malware

WireLurker is able to auto-generate infected software, meaning removing the app that allowed the malware into the device isn’t enough to solve the issue.

At the time of writing, some 467 apps are believed to be infected, with more than 350,000 users downloading them. All are hosted on Chinese third-party app store Maiyadi.

 

Infection through USB

Those downloading apps via Maiyadi aren’t the only users at risk. Wirelurker is also able to gain access to iOS devices through being connected via USB to an infected Mac.

Once it has infected an iOS device, Wirelurker copies your phonebook and will read through any iMessages you have on your phone or tablet.

For the time being, Palo Alto is saying the best way to avoid becoming infected is to not connect your iOS devices into any unfamiliar devices and to avoid using non-Apple chargers. That includes the public chargers you get at airports.

“We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we’ve blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching,” an spokesperson for Apple told Engadget. “As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources.”

Source: http://www.t3.com

D-Link connects everything to everything else

Nervous home owners now have a new way to reduce their urban paranoia levels. The Mydlink Home system lets you monitor your mansion AND switch things on and off in it.

Hot on the heels of the Withings Home, here a slightly dowdier but no less high tech Home: the Mydlink Home from D-Link.

Comprising of a brace of a security cameras - the tilt-and-pannable Home Monitor 360 and the immobile Home Monitor HD - the self-explanatory Wi-Fi Motion Sensor, the Home Smart Plug and the Mydlink app, which receives Home gear alerts and lets you monitor and activate/deactivate electricals in your home.

Examples suggested by D-Link range from the sensible - a lamp that turns on via the Smart Plug when motion is detected by your Home Monitor camera - to the slightly mad - you can tune in to a Home Monitor camera to see if the iron is still on, and then deactivate it. Well, so long as you've put every square inch of your pad under Mydlink surveillance, and plugged your iron into a Smart Plug socket.

These products follow hot on the heels of the same sub-brand's Home Music Everywhere streamer. It means D-Link devices can now theoretically turn on just about everything in your house, though not, by and large, control things beyond that - that's where IFTTT will eventually come into its own, with kit springing into life when it detects it's been turned on.    

It's got to be said, these are notably less attractive than Withings' devices. Still, the proof is in the using with these things, really, and rest assured we'll have a review as soon as D-Link comes up with the goods. 

Pricing is as follows: Home Monitor HD £91, Home Monitor 360 £95, Home Smart Plug £41, Home Wi-Fi Motion Sensor £36.50, Home Music Everywhere $45.50

Source: http://www.t3.com