Good morning readers, it's Jeff pinch-hitting for an Aspen-bound Robert Hackett on this gorgeous Saturday. The cyber-story of the week was the discovery of a gaping security hole in video conferencing software, Zoom. The flaw permitted hackers to remotely turn on a Mac's camera and add users' to a video call without permission. The exploit remained even if you deleted the Zoom application.
On learning of this, I added the suggested temporary fix—denying Zoom access to camera settings—to my week's to-do list but, before I got around to it, Apple had swooped in and pushed a quiet update that neutered the Zoom threat.
This episode wasn't especially remarkable in the annals of cyber-security, but I mention it because it underscores why I've reluctantly remained with Apple in recent years. Like many others, I've found the company's products don't bring the same magic as they did in the Steve Jobs era, and find them to be blatantly over-priced compared to comparable products. Yet I stay because, when it comes to security, no one equals Apple.
Whenever I get fed up with Apple and think of switching to an Android phone, I read of the latest app-store horror—typically some China-based app that gobbles data or money—and stay with my iPhone. Likewise, while Microsoft's security practices have improved dramatically in recent years, every time I read about a piece of ransomware rampaging through unpatched Windows machines, I think "ugh, I'm glad I have a Mac."
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