Kirk McElhearn
Co-Host of Intego Mac Podcast
Kirk McElhearn writes about Macs, iPods, iTunes, books, music and more on his blog Kirkville. He is a regular contributor to The Mac Security Blog, TidBITS, and several other websites and publications. Kirk has written more than twenty books, including Take Control books about iTunes, LaunchBar, and Scrivener.
Kirk McElhearn has hosted 370 Episodes.
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Episode 354: How a CrowdStrike Update Affected Mission-Critical Systems Around the World
July 25th, 2024 | 29 mins 57 secs
We look into the worldwide effects of the CrowdStrike catastrophe: what caused this issue, why it happened, and what went wrong.
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Episode 353: AT&T Data Breach, Apple Public Betas, and Is Safari a Browser That's Actually Private?
July 18th, 2024 | 28 mins 5 secs
The AT&T breach affects over 100 million users. What customer data has fallen into the hands of hackers? Public betas of Apple's new operating systems are available, and we have some advice if you're thinking of installing the. A recover feature is coming to the Photos app. But...why? And Apple's latest ad highlighting its privacy features is big on imagination, but are its implied advantages accurate?
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Episode 352: AI Siri Delayed, and Will Apple Make a Smart Ring?
July 11th, 2024 | 29 mins 8 secs
Improvements to encryption have finally arrived in the Mac version of the ChatGPT app. Apple has delayed some new operating system features by a few more months. And Samsung can put a Smart Ring on your finger right now. Does Apple have plans for its own Smart Ring?
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Episode 351: New iPhone Chips, macOS Sequoia Features, and the regreSSHion Vulnerability
July 4th, 2024 | 28 mins 43 secs
Further observations on using the new iPad Pro. Which iPhone models will be able to use Apple Intelligence and why? An Apple leak provides answers. What is the regreSSHion vulnerability and how could it impact your Mac? And the number of features coming in macOS Sequoia that Intel Macs won't support may surprise you.
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Episode 350: Attack Surfaces
June 27th, 2024 | 29 mins 6 secs
Apple drops one of its financial services that it only introduced last year. More countries can now participate in Apple's self-service repair program. Installed Chrome browser extensions could be more dangerous than Google is letting on. And in a new white paper, Apple declares its dedication to long-range privacy and security using some "squishy" language and we have some thoughts.
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Episode 349: Security & Privacy Enhancements in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia
June 20th, 2024 | 28 mins 9 secs
Microsoft recalls Recall. An Arc browser impostor contains malware. We'll tell you which older devices will be able to run Apple's newest operating systems, and we discuss the security and privacy improvements Apple has announced for its upcoming OS releases.
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Episode 348: Apple’s Forthcoming AI Operating Systems
June 13th, 2024 | 29 mins 56 secs
We discuss Apple's announcements made it Its Worldwide Developers Conference, Keynote, and what to expect when new operating systems are officially released in the fall.
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Episode 347: Top 10 Common Online Scams, and What to Look Out for
June 6th, 2024 | 29 mins 32 secs
This week's Intego Mac podcast features a special report on the top 10 internet scams that everyone should know about, to protect the security of their data, their money, and their privacy.
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Episode 346: Facebook and AI, Chromebook with AI, and Apple's Coming AI
May 30th, 2024 | 28 mins 33 secs
Japan and India are interested in reining in Apple's App Stores, not unlike the EU and UK have already done. Facebook says it will train its AI on user data and opting out may not be very easy. Chromebook Plus gets on board with AI joining Microsoft in adding pressure to Apple's forthcoming WWDC announcements.
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Episode 345: What caused “deleted” photos to reappear on Apple devices?
May 23rd, 2024 | 29 mins 11 secs
Apple releases a fix for the zombie photos bug. But we wonder what may have caused deleted photos to reappear. Microsoft announces an AI feature for its users that takes screenshots continuously. And we've got a quick hands-on look at the new iPad Pro.
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Episode 344: App Store Fraud, Apple’s “Crush!” Ad, and GPT 4o
May 16th, 2024 | 29 mins 18 secs
Could Apple be getting back into the car business? A rumored alliance with a car company suggests that it's possible. The next generation of ChatGPT was announced as OpenAI continues to push the uncanny envelope. And are zombie photos and other presumed-deleted files reappearing on Apple devices?
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Episode 343: Apple “Let Loose”: iPad Pro gets M4 and OLED
May 9th, 2024 | 28 mins 12 secs
We look at what Apple let loose at this week's Apple event: the M4 chip, updated iPads, and the Apple Pencil Pro.
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Episode 342: Apple ID Lockout, AirTag Stalking Laws, and Weak Default Passwords Banned
May 2nd, 2024 | 29 mins 53 secs
Apple has yet to explain why many users were recently compelled to log into their Apple ID because they were blocked without apparent cause. States are tightening laws about stalking, because the laws on the books may not cover AirTag and other similar trackers. And what can and what should the government do to prevent the use of weak default device passwords?
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Episode 341: Is TikTok Safe?
April 25th, 2024 | 31 mins 28 secs
What does the future look like for TikTok now that it has less than a year to avoid being banned in the US. And is the platform safe to use? After two data breaches, Roku introduces so-called two factor authentication. Are Roku users safer? And the rumors say new iPads will be announced next week. Anything else? We'll have a quick preview of Apple's "Let Loose" event.
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Episode 340: How Hackers Can Take Over Your Phone by SIM Swapping
April 18th, 2024 | 29 mins 6 secs
The popular streaming service Roku was hit with its second data breach this year, and the info of hundreds of thousands of users was exposed. Another Google service has met its end, we'll tell you about the newest resident of the Google graveyard. And take a deep dive into how hackers use SIM swapping attacks and how you can stop them.
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Episode 339: Patches, Data Breaches, and Too Many Messaging Protocols
April 11th, 2024 | 29 mins 56 secs
Both Apple and Microsoft have patched a lot of security vulnerabilities in updates to their operating systems. A new scam uses AI to put the squeeze on victims. Info from a years-old AT&T data breach has been made public and data from 10s of millions of users has been exposed. And Apple has said that the RCS messaging protocol is coming to its operating systems later this year. Just how many messaging protocols is too many?