MacRumors

Yesterday, it was revealed that security researchers from Red Hat uncovered a major exploit in the "Bash" command shell found in OS X and Linux. Named "Shellshock" by security experts, the exploit allows hackers to gain access to web connected devices and services through the use of malicious code.

Now, an Apple spokesperson (via iMore) has commented on the matter, stating that the majority of OS X users are safe from the exploits and that the company is working to provide a software update for advanced UNIX users:

The vast majority of OS X users are not at risk to recently reported bash vulnerabilities," an Apple spokesperson told iMore. "Bash, a UNIX command shell and language included in OS X, has a weakness that could allow unauthorized users to remotely gain control of vulnerable systems. With OS X, systems are safe by default and not exposed to remote exploits of bash unless users configure advanced UNIX services. We are working to quickly provide a software update for our advanced UNIX users.

The exploit was called "as big as Heartbleed" by security researcher Robert Graham, who was referring to a flaw discovered in the popular open-source software OpenSSL that affected 66% of the Internet earlier this year. Apple eventually announced that Heartbleed did not affect its software or key services, and also released updates for AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule. It is likely that a fix for the Bash exploit will arrive relatively soon for users.

Apple has just released iOS 8.0.2, its second update to iOS 8 designed to fix major issues introduced with iOS 8.0.1, which went out to iPhone owners on Wednesday.

iOS 8.0.2 is available immediately as an over-the-air download and in addition to fixing the cellular issue introduced with iOS 8.0.1, it also includes the bug fixes that were included in the original iOS 8.0.1 update.

After installing iOS 8.0.1 yesterday, many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users found that their cellular service was disabled and that Touch ID was non-functional. Apple pulled the iOS 8.0.1 update approximately an hour and fifteen minutes after it was first released, but not before numerous iPhone users were able to download the software. The company announced an investigation in the afternoon, and in the evening, released a support document saying iOS 8.0.2 was in the works and directing users to fix the problem via an iTunes restore to iOS 8.

iOS 8.0.1 contained a fix for a major HealthKit issue that was discovered just before the public release of iOS 8, prompting Apple to remove all HealthKit enabled apps from the App Store. Following iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0.2, these apps will be able to return to the App Store. The updates also bring fixes for third-party keyboards, Reachability, Photo Library, SMS/MMS messages, and more.

Update: According to Apple, less than 40,000 iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices were affected by yesterday's iOS 8.0.1 bugs. Apple has also issued an apology alongside the release of iOS 8.0.2:

"iOS 8.0.2 is now available for users, it fixes an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who downloaded iOS 8.0.1, and includes improvements and bug fixes originally in iOS 8.0.1. We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1."

Update 2: Multiple users in Australia are still reporting both Touch ID and cellular connection issues after installing iOS 8.0.2.

Apple's recent iOS 8.0.1 issue, which saw the update disable the cellular connection and Touch ID functionality on numerous iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices, may have links to Apple's 2012 Maps debacle, reports Bloomberg.

According to "people familiar with Apple's management structure," the same mid-level manager was in charge of overseeing quality assurance for both projects, having been moved to the iOS team after being removed from the Maps team.

[The manager] was removed from the maps team after the software gave users unreliable directions and mislabeled landmarks, though he remained in charge of testing for iOS, said one person, who asked not to be identified since the information isn't public.

The employee in question, who has worked at Apple since 2000, is in charge of a team of more than "100 people around the world" responsible for testing the software before it reaches consumers, says Bloomberg.

According to the Bloomberg report, engineers who test the new software often are unable to get the latest iPhones until they are available to customers, "resulting in updates that may not have gone through tests that are are rigorous as those for the latest handsets," and internal issues can also impact Apple's testing, which may explain how such a significant bug got through the testing process.

Internal turf battles also can impact quality testing, according to a former senior manager. Teams responsible for testing cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity will sometimes sign off on a product release, then [the manager's] team will discover later that it’s not compatible with another feature, the person said.

Released yesterday, iOS 8.0.1 contained a critical bug that caused the cellular service and Touch ID on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices to malfunction. Though the update was pulled after approximately an hour and fifteen minutes after it was first released, numerous iPhone users were able to download the software, which effectively disabled their phones.

Apple announced that it was investigating the situation in the afternoon, and yesterday evening, the company released a support document saying iOS 8.0.2 was in the works and directing users to fix the problem via an iTunes restore to iOS 8.

Apple has seen several issues with iOS 8 in recent weeks, including a major bug with HealthKit that caused the company to pull all HealthKit-enabled apps from the App Store ahead of the public release of iOS 8. Apple promised a quick fix, and iOS 8.0.1 was supposed to repair the issue and allow apps that use HealthKit back into the App Store.

Apple has just released iOS 8.0.2 to fix the bugs that were introduced with iOS 8.0.1.

Update: This post has been updated to remove the individual's name.

Apple Online Stores around the world have begun accepting orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as part of a second wave launch that will see the devices become available in more than 20 additional countries.

The two devices are now available for order online in multiple different countries, and will become available in local retail stores in the morning. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are already on sale in stores in New Zealand, where it is just after 11:30 AM.

Second wave launch countries for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Many countries where the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are available for purchase online are displaying shipping estimates of five to seven days for both devices, for all colors, carriers, and capacities. In many cases, these shipping estimates are better than the shipping estimates for new orders placed in first wave launch countries, but estimates may change as available supply per country dwindles.

Initial iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales in the United States, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, and Singapore topped 10 million during the first weekend that the devices were available for purchase, which Apple CEO Tim Cook said "exceeded expectations."

Apple has plans to bring the new iPhones to 115 countries by the end of 2014.

Earlier today, Apple released a statement to several different media outlets in response to reports about the iPhone 6 Plus bending within user pockets, stating that bending from normal use was "extremely rare" and suggesting only nine customers had complained about bending issues.

In addition to outlining its rigorous testing policies, Apple has now invited reporters from both CNBC and The Verge to its testing facility to see the machines that it uses to test its products in person. The lab contains an array of different testing equipment, with Apple's head of engineering Dan Riccio telling CNBC the iPhone 6 was "the most tested product we have ever done" and that Apple had not tested another phone as exhaustively.

"As we add more and more features, we have to find out a way to break them before customers do," Riccio told The Verge. According to Apple, 15,000 separate tests were conducted on both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. "The bottom line is that if you use enough force to bend an iPhone, or any phone, it's going to deform," said Riccio.

When asked about the reports of bending, Apple's head of marketing, Phil Schiller, called them "extremely rare occurrences" reiterating to CNBC that out of millions of iPhones sold, Apple had only received nine complaints. He also told The Verge that Apple "designed the product to be incredibly reliable throughout all your real world use."

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At just under two years since its last update, the Mac mini seems to have become the forgotten part of Apple's Mac lineup, with a number of fans of the small desktop waiting for any word of a potential update.

As they typically are with Mac products, rumors and leaks regarding the Mac mini's future have been relatively rare, with essentially nothing having appeared on the radar since a reference to a "Mid 2014" Mac mini surfaced on an Apple support page as a likely error several months ago.

MacRumors has now received word that Apple is planning a Mac mini update possibly launching next month alongside new iPad models and presumably OS X Yosemite. While we have been unable to obtain corroborating information of an imminent update, the mere possibility of an update as soon as next month is likely to be welcome news to Mac mini fans. The single source has provided no additional details on what to expect in terms of a next-generation Mac mini, but has provided accurate information in the past.

The timing of such an update would be a bit odd, as it is unclear what processors Apple would use in these machines. Next-generation Broadwell processors from Intel appropriate for the Mac mini are not scheduled to arrive until early next year, and the current Haswell processors are no longer cutting edge as Intel has been forced to prolong their shelf life due to continued delays with Broadwell.

Still, the Mac mini is not generally intended to be a workhorse machine with the fastest processors (although they are popular as servers), so Apple may be willing to launch the updated models with Haswell refresh processors released earlier this year. The Mac mini typically uses the some of the same processors as the MacBook Pro except shifted several months later, meaning that an updated Mac mini released next month could use some of the processors from the late July MacBook Pro update.

The FBI has been in talks with Apple and Google about the way the technology companies are marketing the privacy features in their smartphones, according to FBI Director James Comey (via The Huffington Post). Comey says that he is concerned that the two companies are "marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."

Comey's remarks come following both privacy changes introduced with iOS 8 and a new privacy site that Apple introduced last week, explaining that the company has altered the way encryption works in iOS 8. Apple no longer stores the encryption keys for devices in iOS 8, making it impossible for it to unlock content on devices under police request.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access your data," reads its new privacy site. "So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Shortly after Apple announced the encryption changes to iOS 8, Google announced that the next generation of Android, set to be released next month, will also encrypt data by default, providing the same encryption protections to its smartphones that a passcode provides to iPhones.

According to Comey, though he understands the need for privacy, he believes government access to electronic devices is necessary in some cases.

"I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the content of anyone's closet or their smart phone," he said. "The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened -- even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order -- to me does not make any sense."

He goes on to say that one day, it may matter "a great, great deal" that the government be able to infiltrate "a kidnapper's or a terrorist or a criminal's device." His goal, he says, is to have a "good conversation" in the country "before that day comes."

The exact nature of the talks between FBI officials and Apple and Google remains unknown, with Comey only stating that the discussion has been over the "marketing of their devices."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple has commented on the ongoing complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus bending in user pockets, telling CNBC that the new iPhones include steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and that they use the "strongest glass in the industry."

The company went on to say that only nine customers had complained about bent iPhones, suggesting the issue is not as widespread as it has appeared in the media. It also stated that both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have met or exceeded testing for strength and durability, and that bending in the iPhone 6 Plus during normal use is "extremely rare."

Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.

With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus. As with any Apple product, if you have questions please contact Apple.

Reports of the iPhone 6 Plus's weakness to bending first began trickling in on Monday, after several MacRumors forum members shared images of devices that had bent while in a pocket. The bending issue went viral after a YouTuber posted a video of the iPhone 6 Plus warping out of shape when bent in his hands, which caused significant damage near the device's volume buttons.

Given the media attention the bending received, it was difficult to tell how many users were truly affected by iPhone 6 Plus bending during real world usage. Though Apple kept quiet on the issue until today, the company has been directing its support staff to replace affected phones under warranty following a visual inspection.

Apple has recently added the Mac Pro to the refurbished section of its online store, giving customers the opportunity to purchase the professional-level desktop at a 15 percent discount compared to a brand-new machine for the first time since the computer's December 2013 release.

There are several different configurations available, ranging in price from $2,549 for the 3.7GHz quad-core machine with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage to $7,479 for the 2.7Ghz 12-core machine with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage. All available refurbished Mac Pro models ship within 3 to 5 business days.

All of Apple's refurbished products, the Mac Pro included, have been thoroughly tested for reliability and come with the same one-year warranty offered with standard products.

Apple's 2013 Mac Pro made waves when it was released, due to its radically redesigned cylindrical form factor and the fact that the machine is the first to be assembled in the United States. It features Ivy Bridge E processors, dual GPUs, Thunderbolt 2, and fast PCI Express-based flash storage.

Competition between mobile phone manufactures is fierce with handset companies using social media and other public platforms to call out their competitors. It's not surprising then to see a wave of tweets and comments from big name companies like Samsung and HTC mocking Apple following its recent iPhone 6 Plus bending controversy.

LG and HTC were among the first to attack Apple, commenting on Twitter shortly after the #bendgate controversy began to escalate. At the same time, BlackBerry CEO John Chen mentioned the bending issue during the company's launch of its new Passport handset, saying "I challenge you to bend the Passport," reports CNET.

Samsung, Nokia Deutschland, and even candy maker and Android sponsor KitKat also joined in on the mockery, noting that their products don't bend. These social marketing efforts are a response to Apple's controversy in which some iPhone 6 Plus users were accidentally bending their 5.5-inch handsets after placing them in their pockets. While the prevalence of the issue appears fairly low, photos of warped iPhone 6 Plus units spread like wildfire, with subsequent "bend test" videos showcasing how much the iPhone 6 Plus was susceptible to bending.

According to The Next Web, Apple reportedly is looking into the issue "with an insane amount of detail." A support representative also confirmed Genius technicians may replace bent phones under warranty following a visual inspection. Such inspections typically reject bent iPhones for warranty coverage, however, and it is unclear how much latitude Geniuses will have with this issue.

Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablet is rumored to be landing as soon as early 2015, with the latest report from Taiwan's TechNews (via G For Games) suggesting the tablet will feature an improved A8X processor. Similar to Apple's previous A5X and A6X processors, the A8X would presumably be an graphics-enhanced version of Apple's current A8 processor that debuted in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Apple shifted away from using an "X" version of its base iOS device chip last year, opting to power the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini with the same A7 chip found in the iPhone 5s, albeit clocked slightly faster on the iPad Air. But with a higher-resolution "iPad Pro", the graphics needs are likely high enough to require an enhanced main chip.

In its recent report, TechNews also reiterates its previous claim that Apple's iPad Air 2 will feature 2 GB of RAM. This increased RAM would be a boost from the 1 GB present in both the current-generation iPad Air and the company's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets. It also may serve to set the iPad Air 2 apart from the next Retina iPad mini, which is rumored to keep its current 1 GB RAM configuration.

While the iPad Pro may land next year, Apple's iPad Air 2 is expected to be introduced sometime in the coming month. The new tablet may launch in time for the holiday shopping season with a redesign possibly including marginally a thinner body, redesigned speaker grille and other improvements such as Touch ID.

Apple knew about an iCloud security flaw six months before it was utilized to hack celebrity accounts on the service, reports The Daily Dot. The company was notified of the exploit by independent security researcher Ibrahim Balic, who shared emails between himself and members of Apple's product security team.

In an email from March 2014, Balic told Apple that he was able to bypass the security of any iCloud account by using a "brute-force" hacking method that was able to try over 20,000 password combinations. Balic recommended to Apple that it should implement a feature in iCloud that prevents log-ins after a set number of failed attempts, and even reported the exploit through Apple's Bug Reporter. Balic was also the developer said to be behind the extended outage of Apple's Dev Center last year.

In May 2014, Apple emailed Balic and questioned the validity of the exploit, stating that it "would take an extraordinarily long time" to find a valid authentication token to get into an iCloud account using the flaw. Balic states that Apple continued to ask him about the exploit and how it would be utilized.

On September 1, 2014, hackers breached the iCloud accounts of many well-known actresses, downloading and leaking private photos and videos. While it was not initially known what caused the breach, The Next Web linked to a Python script on Github that may have been used for the hacking. The script utilized a brute-force like method which allowed hackers to keep guessing passwords without being locked out.

Apple acknowledged later in the day that it was investigating the breach, ultimately leading to comments from CEO Tim Cook along with new security implementations. Those implementations included automatic emails when iCloud accounts are accessed via web browsers, automatic two-factor authentication for iCloud.com, and mandatory app-specific passwords for third-party apps accessing iCloud.

Security researchers from Red Hat have uncovered a new exploit in the common "Bash" command shell found in OS X and Linux which can be used to deploy malicious code with minimal effort. Due to the ubiquity of the Bash shell, the exploit can affect a wide variety of different web-connected devices and properties, including unsecured websites, smart home appliances, servers, and more.

Security researcher Robert Graham noted on his blog that the Bash exploit is "as big as Heartbleed," referring to the flaw discovered earlier this year in the popular OpenSSL software which secures connections between clients and servers:

Internet-of-things devices like video cameras are especially vulnerable because a lot of their software is built from web-enabled bash scripts. Thus, not only are they less likely to be patched, they are more likely to expose the vulnerability to the outside world.

Unlike Heartbleed, which only affected a specific version of OpenSSL, this bash bug has been around for a long, long time. That means there are lots of old devices on the network vulnerable to this bug. The number of systems needing to be patched, but which won't be, is much larger than Heartbleed.

Heartbleed was said to have affected 66% of the Internet, although Apple announced in April that the exploit did not affect its software or "key services." Apple also released updates for the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule to better secure both web devices against Heartbleed.

A topic discussing the Bash exploit on StackExchange also notes that Apple did not include a fix for the bug in its latest round of security updates that came alongside the release of OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 last week. It is possible however that Apple will release a fix for OS X in the near future to address the exploit, similar to what it has done for other security issues in the past.

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 8.0.1, which ended up disabling cellular service and Touch ID on many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices. Apple said that it was investigating the issue this afternoon, and it has now released a support document confirming that an iOS 8.0.2 update is in the works with a fix.

In addition to announcing the upcoming update, the document also points users towards an interim fix involving reinstalling iOS 8 via iTunes.

The document offers the same advice Apple support representatives have been giving to customers since the issue first surfaced, directing users to download iOS 8 and reinstall it on their devices using iTunes. Apple's specific steps are as follows:

Follow these steps to reinstall iOS 8.0.

1. Make sure that you're using the latest version of iTunes.

2. Connect your iPhone to iTunes.

3. Back up your iPhone in iTunes on your Mac or PC. iCloud backups won't restore to earlier versions, including iOS 8.0.

4. Download the file below that corresponds to your device:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus

5. Select the file you just downloaded by doing one of these in iTunes:
- Mac: Press the Option key and click Check for Update.
- Windows: Press the Shift key and click Check for Update.

6. Press Update to install iOS 8 on your iPhone.

The Health app won't work in iOS 8 after these steps. It will be fixed in our upcoming iOS 8.0.2 software update.

Apple has pulled the iOS 8.0.1 over-the-air update, but the software was available to customers for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes, leaving many users with broken devices. According to the Apple, iOS 8.0.2 is already in the works with a fix and will be ready "in the next few days."

iOS 8.0.1 originally fixed a significant HealthKit bug that popped up just ahead of the public release of iOS 8. Apple pulled all HealthKit enabled apps from the App Store due to the issue, and iOS 8.0.1 fixed the original bug, allowing the apps to be redistributed. The update also included fixes for third-party keyboards, Reachability, Photo Library, SMS/MMS messages, and more.

Apple's iPhone 6 Plus has been receiving a huge amount of attention over the last day, following reports of users seeing significant bending after placing the phone in a pocket.

A video made yesterday demonstrated just how far the iPhone 6 Plus is able to bend, and now the video's creator, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, has created a second video to test the iPhone 6 and several other Android devices.

The smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 appears to be much less malleable than the larger iPhone 6 Plus. While the iPhone 6 Plus bent significantly near the volume buttons under the force inflicted by Hilsenteger, he is unable to do as much damage to the iPhone 6. Aside from a small dent, the phone remains intact. "This one is far more durable," he says.

Based on his preliminary testing, Hilsenteger does not believe that iPhone 6 users will see the same issues that some iPhone 6 Plus users are seeing in regards to bending. As we noted yesterday, it's unlikely that the force Hilsenteger used in the original video will be replicated inside of a pocket, but photos of bent iPhone 6 Plus devices have suggested that it does not take much force to cause a slight curvature in the device.

Bending issues are not limited to the iPhone 6 Plus, as bending has been seen in prior versions of the iPhone, including the iPhone 5 and 5s.

Apple has not commented on the iPhone 6 Plus bending incidents, but iPhone 6 Plus owners can likely prevent bending by removing the phone from their pockets before sitting or by placing the device in a rigid protective case.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and former SVP of products, Jonathan Rosenberg, recently published a new book entitled "How Google Works, which explores topics like corporate culture, strategy, talent, innovation, dealing with disruption, and more. The duo have done an interview with Bloomberg to promote the title, with Schmidt commenting on the state of affairs between iOS and Google and Apple's new larger-screened iPhones.

According to Schmidt, competition between Apple and Google is more brutal than ever before, with "enormous, enormous racing" going on between the two companies, which ultimately has "enormous benefits for consumers worldwide."

In fact I would say that this brutal competition between Apple and Google over Android and iOS has enormous benefits for consumers worldwide. If you look at the innovation on the Apple side and on the Google side, that competition which I think is the defining fight of the computer industry, it benefits global at the billions of people level.

When questioned about how he feels driving past an Apple Store and seeing people lined up around the block to purchase an iPhone, Schmidt said "I'll tell you what I think. Samsung had these products a year ago." The interviewer further notes that nobody "had a huge party" and Schmidt reiterated that Samsung had larger phones first once again. "I think Samsung had the products a year ago. That's what I think."

Re/code has also published a short excerpt from "How Google Works," where Schmidt writes about a meeting he had with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2010. During the meeting, Jobs made it clear that he believed Android was based on Apple's intellectual property, and Schmidt worried that a dispute was brewing.

The two had sat outside at the California-cuisine-oriented cafe, discussing Google's growing mobile operating system, Android. Steve was convinced that the open-source operating system was built on intellectual property created by Apple. Eric responded that we hadn't used Apple's IP and had in fact built Android on our own. But his argument was to no avail. "They are going to fight us," he thought.

The excerpt goes on to detail the friendship between Jobs and Schmidt and the release of the iPhone in 2007, which led to Schmidt stepping down from Apple's board due to the similarities between iOS and Android. It also covers the differences between Apple's closed system compared to Google's open system, and why both methods work.

Apple's control model works not just because of Steve Jobs's excellence, but also because of how he organized the company. At Apple — just like Google — the leaders are product people with technical backgrounds. When you build a team of great, smart creatives, and put the world’s uber-smart creative in charge, then you have a good chance of being right most of the time. And when you are right most of the time, then a highly controlled model can yield tremendous innovation.

Schmidt and Rosenberg's full 15 minute Bloomberg interview contains additional details on the relationship between Google and Apple and is well worth watching. Their new book, "How Google Works," can be ordered on Amazon for $24.