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Submission + - Apple's Gatekeeper May Be Beginning of OSX App Restrictions (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Context is a funny thing. In most segments of society, Apple is seen as an exemplary company, with an unrivaled record of innovation, much-admired ad campaigns and a stock price that is the envy of every company not named Google. But in the security community, Apple is regarded with some combination of disbelief, confusion and the disdain that once was reserved for Microsoft.

There have been some signs in the last couple of years, however, that Apple is putting more emphasis on security, at least in some areas. The iPhone has been the mobile platform most resistant to attack thus far, thanks to the inclusion of some anti-exploit technologies and a sandbox in iOS. But much of that success can be attributed to Apple's philosophy of only allowing apps from the App Store to run on iPhones and reviewing each of those apps before it's allowed inside the fence. That policy can be seen in one of two ways: as a method for preventing malicious apps showing up on users' phones; or as a method for locking users into the Apple hardware-software ecosystem.

The next step for Apple with the Mac App Store could well be for it to move in this same direction, restricting the software on Macs to only those apps that have come from the app store. Apple has not said anything like this publicly, nor are they likely to, unless and until the decision is finalized. But it's entirely possible that Gatekeeper is the prelude to such a move, and it likely would be a good one for users, in terms of security. Protecting users from themselves is important.

Submission + - Why Tesla Cars Aren't Bricked By Failing Batteries (itworld.com)

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "Don't believe recent claims made by a blogger that non-functioning batteries in the Tesla Roadster cause the electric cars to be bricked, says IDC analyst Sam Jaffe. 'Here's the primary fact that the blogger in question doesn't understand: the Tesla battery pack is not a battery,' says Jaffe. 'It's a collection of more than 8,000 individual batteries. Each of those cells is independently managed. So there's only two ways for the entire battery pack to fail. The first is if all 8,000 cells individually fail (highly unlikely except in the case of something catastrophic like a fire). The second failure mechanism is if the battery management system tells the pack to shut down because it has detected a dangerous situation, such as an extremely low depth of discharge. If that's the case, all that needs to be done is to tow the vehicle to a charger, recharge the batteries and then reboot the battery management system. This is the most likely explanation for the five 'bricks' that the blogger claims to have heard about.'"

Comment Regulation is good (Score 1) 280

by Night64 (#38849607) Attached to: Android Malware May Have Infected 5 Million Users
If I understand well, what you are saying that apps should be a highly regulated market. From TFA: " Although the infected apps request an uncommonly large number of privileges -- something that the user must approve -- Haley argued that few people bother reading them before giving their okay." If I am allergic to nuts, and I don't bother to read the big red label that some cookies contain nuts, if I get in a coma, hey, that's Nabisco's fault, not mine! They should KNOW I can be bothered to read some boring warnings. I want my cookies, and I want NOW!

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