There’s another malicious link floating around that will cause any iOS device to freeze & require a hard reset

If you own an iOS powered gadget, you need to be aware that a malicious link has been floating around the web that will cause your iPhone to freeze. You should perform a hard reset in case if your iPhone or any iOS gadget is frozen.

It has been discovered that playing a certain .mp4 video in Safari on any iOS device will cause the device to slow to a crawl and eventually freeze altogether. Nearly two years ago the "effective power" bug took the internet by storm, and we've seen various other similar issues since then.

A YouTube user with the name EverythingApplePro has released a video, which showcases that playing a video in Safari will cause iOS to overload and become unusable. 

This Video Will CRASH ANY iPhone! Via 9to5mac

It’s not apparently clear as to why this happens. According to experts, the iOS gadget will freeze if you play a corrupted video, which causes a memory leak. If you play the video, iOS will not be able to handle it properly. The bug is not specific to a certain iOS build. The video reveals that the malicious video played on an iPhone loaded with iOS 5 causes the phone to freeze and become unusable.

It has been found that if the bug is replicated in iOS 10.2 beta 3, the iPhone will power off and display the spinning wheel indefinitely. You will view this kind of behavior during the shutdown procedure.

If someone sends you the malicious link and you fall for it, this is luckily a pretty easy problem to fix. All you have to do is hard reboot your device. For any iPhone but the iPhone 7, this can be down by long-pressing the power and Home buttons at the same time. The iPhone 7, of course, uses a new non-mechanical Home button. In order to reboot an iPhone 7, you must long-press the power button and volume down button at the same time.

Source: 9to5mac

Apple Seeds watchOS 3.1.3 beta (14S958) to Developers

Apple on 21st December seeded the First Beta of watchOS 3.1.3 Update Build 14S958 to registered developers for testing purpose, the release is a test version of the upcoming update to their Apple Watch Operating System

This can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch App on the iPhone running iOS 10 or higher by going to General > Software Update.

What is required?

This can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch App on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

Developers can download the watchOS configuration profile from the link Download and install the build via the Watch app on the iPhone. But to install the update, the Apple Watch must have 

• 50% battery, 
• It must be placed on the charger and 
• It must be in the range of the iPhone. 

watchOS 3.1.3 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.

The watchOS 3.1.3. beta comes shortly after Apple pulled the watchOS 3.1. release after it was found to be bricking some Apple Watch Series 2 devices. Apple has not re-released an updated version of watchOS 3.1.1 that fixes the bug, So many users are still running watchOS 3.1.

Like tvOS, there is no Public Beta for watchOS. If you want access to watchOS 3.1.3 build, you will need to be a registered developer. Once you are, you can download the configuration profile from Apple Developer to your Watch, and then update through the Watch app on your iPhone.

Source: Apple Developers

India to Get Technology to Unlock Any Mobile Phone

Indian law enforcement will soon get the technology to unlock notoriously hard-to-crack iPhones and other electronic devices with top-notch encryption. And India’s forensic facilities could become the global go-to place for law enforcement agencies seeking to unlock high-security devices. 

 The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), the country's premier forensic institute located

                           in Gandhinagar, will be buying the technology from Cellebrite

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), the country’s premier forensic institute located in Gandhinagar, will be buying the technology from Cellebrite, an Israeli company that was sought out by US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for unlocking a terrorist’s iPhone. 

According to Israeli media reports, the digital forensics company has worked with major intelligence and law enforcement agencies around the world.

FBI and iPhone-maker Apple had fought a public battle over unlocking the iPhone of Syed Farook, who along with his wife had killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last December. FBI unlocked the iPhone with the help of Cellebrite, paying the firm a million-dollar-plus fee. Now, FSL is in negotiations with the company to obtain this high-end decryption technology.

“We are likely to have the technology within a month or so. India will become a global hub for cases where law enforcement is unable to break into phones,” said a senior FSL official. All officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. 

The official said devices such as iPhones with operating systems iOS 8 and above are virtually impossible to break into without this technology. In iPhones, failed attempts to guess the passcode results in data deletion or turns data into gibberish. Another FSL official said the laboratory had sought help from the Israeli firm for a few cases. But now the “entire tool” will be obtained. Only FSL Gandhinagar will have this technology. Requests for cracking encrypted devices from the country’s other forensic institutes will be entertained at a fee. 

Source 

Apple iOS 10.2 Public Beta Version Released

Apple recently rolled out the second beta for its iOS 10.2. This update introduces quite a few important features and upgrades to the iPhone maker’s mobile operating system. The second beta version that Apple has developed for iOS 10.2 is in general not enabled for regular user’s access. These versions are for developers to give a head start in building and tweaking their apps to employ an upcoming iOS update. Frequently, a public beta is rolled out along the developer beta. As the second beta of iOS 10.2 includes a new app, Apple has apprehended a public launch. 

What's New in iOS 10.2 Second Public Beta?

The biggest upgrade to the second beta version of iOS 10.2 is the new TV app for iPhone. This is an Apple’s platform for online videos. Through this app, users will be able to browse through most of the TV shows and movies, besides the videos hosted on various online platforms. One thing to be considered is the exclusion of Netflix content.

The second beta version adds a new SOS function. this will automatically connect the iOS device with some emergency services soon after five presses on the home button. This feature also has the options to be available in select countries. The Apple’s Music app will also see minor changes to its edge. 

Additional Features

One of the major inclusions to the second beta version is the provision of full support to Unicode 9.0. This would expand the choices for emoticons and emojis in the iOS. Few of the emoji to be added are the facepalm emoji, shrug emoji and a group of new emojis that would represent animals and professions.

The first beta version revealed that the iOS update will include an option to Preserve Settings for the Camera app. This feature will retain the options that the users make while taking pictures. This comes with a new widget for the Video apps too. 

The Non-Developers Can Use it Too

Luckily, for non-developer users, there is a way to install the second beta version even without having an Apple developer account. This method to use the second beta of iOS 10.2 without having a developer account was unveiled by the YouTube user iCrackUri Device. The video demonstrates that the users do not even need to link their iPhone or iPad to their computer. To start, the users will first have to install the Apple’s developer beta profile. Once installed, the new beta version will be accessible as an over-the-air upgrade automatically.

Source