The “Air” line of MacBooks keep all the convenience and quality-of-life upgrades that have landed in the more expensive MacBooks, like 4 million pixel retina displays and fingerprint Touch ID access, but it’s all crammed into a smaller, lighter model. The MacBook Air is 2.8 lbs, compared to the MacBook Pro’s 3.02 lbs. With 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Air might not let you run Adobe After Effects with the lightning quickness you want, but you’ll be able to indulge in basic photo manipulation and most other consumer-level computer work with ease.
For more computer literate people, this comes with SSD storage, with all the extra speed and reliability that entails. There’s also a backlit keyboard, a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, and two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, as well as a new battery that can last up to 11 hours (according to marketing materials).
Basically, this is a fully functioning computer shoved into a case with the size and portability of a Chromebook, which is sort of incredible on its own. We’re not sure how long this deal will last; all we know is there’s never been a better one. (Okay, fine, we know it was once $899, instead of $899.99, but we’re not sure that two-thirds the price of a pack of Jolly Ranchers is a deal-breaker when you’re buying a laptop).
Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.
Joshua Sargent is an editor for Hearst Newspapers. Email him at josh.sargent@hearst.com.
Security researchers have discovered this week a new ransomware strain targeting macOS users.
Named OSX.EvilQuest, this ransomware is different from previous macOS ransomware threats because besides encrypting the victim’s files, EvilQuest also installs a keylogger, a reverse shell, and steals cryptocurrency wallet-related files from infected hosts.
“Armed with these capabilities, the attacker can main full control over an infected host,” said Patrick Wardle, Principal Security Researcher at Jamf. This means that even if victims paid, the attacker would still have access to their computer and continue to steal files and keyboard strokes.
Wardle is currently one of the many macOS security researchers who are analyzing this new threat.
Others who are also investigating EvilQuest include Thomas Reed, Director of Mac & Mobile at Malwarebytes, and Phil Stokes, macOS security researcher at SentinelOne.
Reed and Stokes are currently looking for a weakness or bug in the ransomware’s encryption scheme that could be exploited to create a decryptor and help infected victims recover their files without paying the ransom.
EvilQuest is distributed via pirated software
But the researcher who first spotted the new EvilQuest ransomware is K7 Lab security researcher Dinesh Devadoss.
Devadoss tweeted about his finding yesterday, June 29. However, new evidence surfaced in the meantime has revealed that EvilQuest has been, in reality, distributed in the wild since the start of June 2020.
Reed told ZDNet in a phone call today that Malwarebytes has found EvilQuest hidden inside pirated macOS software uploaded on torrent portals and online forums.
Devadoos has spotted EvilQuest hidden in a software package called Google Software Update, Wardle has found samples of EvilQuest inside a pirated version of popular DJ software Mixed In Key, and Reed has spotted it hidden inside the macOS security tool called Little Snitch.
Russian forum spreading pirated macOS app infected with OSX.EvilQuest
Image: ZDNet via Malwarebytes
However, Reed told us he believes the ransomware is most likely more broadly distributed, leveraging many more other apps, and not just these three.
Wardle, who published an in-depth technical analysis of EvilQuest earlier today, said the malware is pretty straightforward, as it moves to encrypt the user’s files as soon as it’s executed.
Once the file encryption scheme ends, a popup is shown to the user, letting the victim know they’ve been infected and their files encrypted.
Image: Dinesh Devadoss
The victim is directed to open a ransom note in the form of a text file that has been placed on their desktop, which looks like the one below:
Image: Patrick Wardle
Stokes told ZDNet the ransomware will encrypt any files with the following file extensions:
After the encryption process ends, the ransomware installs a keylogger to record all the user’s keystrokes, a reverse shell so the attacker can connect to the infected host and run custom commands, and will also look to steal the following types of files, usually employed by cryptocurrency wallet applications.
“wallet.pdf”
“wallet.png”
“key.png”
“*.p12”
In his own analysis of EvilQuest, Reed also noted that the ransomware also attempts to modify files specific to Google Chrome’s update mechanism, and use the files as a form of persistence on infected hosts.
“These [Chrome update] files had the content of the patch file prepended to them, which of course would mean that the malicious code would run when any of these files is executed,” Reed said. “However, Chrome will see that the files have been modified, and will replace the modified files with clean copies as soon as it runs, so it’s unclear what the purpose here is.”
Wardle, who has created several open-source macOS security tools, said that a tool he released in 2016, named RansomWhere, can detect and stop EvilQuest from running. Reed also said that Malwarebytes for Mac was also updated to detect and stop this ransomware before it does any damage.
EvilQuest is the third ransomware strain that has exclusively targeted macOS users after KeRanger and Patcher. Another macOS ransomware strain called Mabouia only existed at a theoretical level and was never released in the real world.
FILE – In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, file photo, a guest looks at the Touch Bar on a MacBook … [+]computer shown in a demo room following the announcement of new products at Apple headquarters, in Cupertino, Calif. Higher-end models of Apple’s MacBook Pro now come with a narrow touch screen above the regular keyboard for quick access to common settings and tasks. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 28 update: As has long been suspected, this will see the iPad and Mac platforms converge in terms of look and functionality. WWDC shows the direction Apple would prefer to happen, and its a bias towards the iPad. Charles Tumiotto Jackson for MacO’Clock takes a closer look at the moves to bring the interfaces together, which would make apps more portable:
“Pretty much everything new about the macOS redesign looks like a version of iOS to me. The rounded corners everywhere, especially on the dock, the new icons, the control center… Pretty much everything now looks like the interface of an iPad.”
One of the biggest differences remains Apple’s control over the iPad platform compared to Mac. But as we’re about to see, that is starting to change.
June 29 update: Apple already has significant experience with ARM hardware, both in designing the silicon and integrating it with operating systems, thanks to the iPhone and iPad. The latter, especially the iPad Pro, will have given management the confidence that the Mac platform would retain the power of Intel alongside the potential of a tighter design.
That’s already on show, withthe team at MSPowerUser highlighting the differencebetween Apple’s Developer Transition kit (a Mac Mini running MacOS on an A12Z ARM processor previously used in the iPad Pro) and Microsoft’s ARM powered Surface Pro X:
“The first thing developers did when they received it was run some benchmarks, and the results are rather embarrassing for Microsoft and Qualcomm.
“Multiple Geekbench results have indicated that the Developer Transition Kit features average single-core and multi-core scores of 811 and 2,871, respectively. This compares rather favourably to a single-core score of 726 and a multi-core score of 2,831 for Microsoft’s Surface Pro X power by the Microsoft-tweaked 3.0GHz SQ1 system-on-a-chip (SoC).”
Remember this is an early public build of the OS, and a Mac Mini running a repurposed processor. Expect more gains to be found over the next year .
People try the Microsoft Surface Pro X, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark … [+]Lennihan)
We’ve seen this recently with Basecamp’s Hey email app and the problems it has navigating Apple’s App Store policies, especially around the functionality of the app that Apple wanted to see and Basecamp’s use of an external payment service that was not Apple’s (where Apple collects thirty percent of the revenue).
This was a high-profile case, but not a unique case. Apple has set its own rules for entry into the App Store, from earning income through the functionality, to the look and style of your apps. And the App Store is the only way to reach and interact with Apple’s customer base (something that is under antitrust investigation by the EU Commission),
That stands in contrast to the Mac platform.
Yes there is a Mac App Store where developers can submit their apps into Apple’s ecosystem… but the Mac platform is far more open to loading in applications from other sources, it’s far more open to different payment systems, and it’s far more open to making different decisions than Apple would make.
As Tim Cook continues to redefine what it means to be a Mac, one of the most noticeable influences is the iPad. Not only has the iPad Pro moved towards the ethos of a MacBook with the release of a Magic Keyboard and touchpad for the tablet, the user interface of both MacOS and iPadOS have a growing similarity.
An iPad Pro is reviewed after an event announcing new products Tuesday Oct. 30, 2018, in the … [+]Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Apple may never complete that journey, but it has already taken steps down that route, with the latest happening during last week’s WWDC. Apple has confirmed that Boot Camp will not be available on Mac ARM machines. When these computers arrive, they will not support Bootcamp. This is the software that allows alternative operating systems to run on the Mac hardware. Instead the only route will be to use virtual machines that run inside MacOS. Tom Warren for The Verge:
“ Apple later confirmed it’s not planning to support Boot Camp on ARM-based Macs in a Daring Fireball podcast. “We’re not direct booting an alternate operating system,” says Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering. “Purely virtualization is the route. These hypervisors can be very efficient, so the need to direct boot shouldn’t really be the concern.” “
Boot Camp is a vital tool for many, and Apple’s reassurances of ‘shouldn’t really be the concern’ will be welcome if you are explicitly using your Mac in the way that Apple intended. But that is not everyone. The Mac platform – especially but not limited to those in the ‘Pro’ class – are workhorse machines with specific needs. Apple’s push towards its future could easily push those users away from the platform, just as the move from 32-bit to 64-bit was smooth for most but a business critical mistake for others.
The confirmation of MacOS for ARM is not yet a week old but Apple is already removing a key feature. The change clearly benefits Apple, and gives Apple more control over the platform.
Is this the only move that Apple will make? The mood music from MacOS is that ‘things are changing’ and in the case of Apple’s software policies over Hey, ‘these app store rules are fixed.’ How far Apple will ‘lock down’ MacOS remains to be seen. Will it remain much as it is, or will Tim Cook and his team push forwards to the business model that has proven successful on the iPhone and iPad?
Month-end deals on Apple hardware offer savings on budget-friendly devices, from a 2020 MacBook Air for $899 to closeout deals on Apple Watch styles and Mac mini computers.
Month-end Mac and Apple Watch deals
June savings offer up cash discounts on Apple hardware, with the deals below delivering the lowest prices on new and closeout models. Shopping for a 2020 MacBook Air with the new Magic Keyboard? Save $100 instantly at Amazon and B&H, with MacBook Air prices as low as $899.
Those that prefer desktop computing can also save $120 on the 2018 Mac mini at B&H with free expedited shipping within the contiguous U.S. Limited supply is available at the reduced price and the deal may sell out or change at any time.
Rounding out our list of Apple deals for June 29 is a fresh markdown on the Apple Watch Series 3 at Amazon. Now priced at $169 for the 38mm GPS model in your choice of Space Gray Aluminum or Silver Aluminum, this deal reflects a $30 discount of Apple’s $199 MSRP. It’s also $10 cheaper than the previous low price at Amazon last week.
2020 MacBook Air deals
Mac mini for $679
Apple Watch on sale for $169
Apple Watch 3 (38mm, GPS) Space Gray Case, Black Sport Band: $169($30 off)
Apple Watch 3 (38mm, GPS) Silver Case, White Sport Band: $169($30 off)
AppleInsider and Apple Authorized Resellers are also running additional exclusive deals on hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in bonus discounts on AppleCare, Office 365 and more. These offers are as follows:
As we wait for the iPhone 12 review embargo to lift later today, more pictures are circulating of the devices in real-world lighting conditions, providing a better look at the different colors available. Leaker DuanRui has shared images on Twitter of the iPhone 12 in white, black, blue, green, and (PRODUCT)RED. The black and white colors are similar to the iPhone 11 colors, but the other…
While the terms and conditions for Apple’s new “Developer Transition Kit” forbid developers from running benchmarks on the modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip, it appears that results are beginning to surface anyhow.
Geekbench results uploaded so far suggest that the A12Z-based Mac mini has average single-core and multi-core scores of 811 and 2,781 respectively. Keep in mind that Geekbench is running through Apple’s translation layer Rosetta 2, so an impact on performance is to be expected. Apple also appears to be slightly underclocking the A12Z chip in the Mac mini to 2.4GHz versus nearly 2.5GHz in the latest iPad Pro models.
It’s also worth noting that Rosetta 2 appears to only use the A12Z chip’s four “performance” cores and not its four “efficiency” cores.
By comparison, iPad Pro models with the A12Z chip have average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,118 and 4,625 respectively. This is native performance, of course, based on Arm architecture.
Currently hosted on Kickstarter is a Raspberry Pi project called CrowPi2; a device its creator describes as a “STEAM Education platform and Raspberry Pi laptop” (sic). With 50 days to go at the time of writing, it has achieved more than $150,000 in pledged donation from 580 backers.
The project, created by Elecrow, aims to deliver a working product by August 2020 with the basic kit costing about $170 (circa £140/AU$250), and with various optional extras capable of almost doubling the price. Surprisingly, the most expensive bundle (the Advanced Kit) is also by far the most popular.
Available in three color schemes, the CrowPi2 laptop is a surprisingly well designed product – at least on paper. It also has a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, which is superior to models than feature in more expensive laptops like the Dell XPS 13 or the Apple MacBook Pro 16, both of which sport a 720p HD webcam.
Raspberry Pi powered
The CrowPi2 has an 11.6-inch full HD IPS display and its removable keyboard hides a myriad of nifty features, like a customized design bin (we call it a secret compartment) for components or a power bank/laptop battery charger.
The most basic kit comes with a RFID card + tag, 9G servo, stepper motor, IR receiver and remote controller, moisture sensor, DC motor with mini fan, micro HDMI and a full sized HDMI connector.
There’s also a card reader, 32GB SD card preloaded with an OS, pack of components and – because the $100,000 goal was reached – an earphone with microphone.
Note, it doesn’t come with a Raspberry Pi module (you have to provide your own) but it is compatible with a wide range of operating systems; Windows 10 IOT, CenOS, KALI, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, Raspbian etc.
Amazon is currently offering the Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro Core i9 2.3GHz/16GB/1TB for $2,499 shipped in both Space Gray and Silver. Also available for the same pice at B&H. Saving you $300 compared to the going rate, today’s offer matches our previous mention for the Amazon low. Centered around Apple’s refreshed Magic keyboard and a larger Retina display, the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes outfitted with 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM, as well as an enhanced AMD Radeon Pro GPU. As accustomed for the Pro line these days, you’ll find four Thunderbolt 3 ports plus the Touch Bar, which has been upgraded this time around to add physical escape and power buttons. Check out our hands-on review for additional details. Head below for more.
Use some of your savings to outfit your new MacBook Pro in Apple’s official 16-inch Leather Sleeve. It’s comprised of high-quality European Leather and filled with an interior soft microfiber lining for keeping your machine protected on-the-go. Dive into our hands-on review for a closer look.
The Apple 16″ MacBook Pro features a 16″ Retina Display, a Magic Keyboard with a redesigned scissor mechanism, a six-speaker high-fidelity sound system, and an advanced thermal design. This MacBook Pro also features an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics card, a 7nm mobile discrete GPU designed for pro users. With 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM, pro users will be able to tackle GPU-intensive tasks with this MacBook Pro.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! Especially English native speakers welcome!
Currently wanted: German-English-Translator – Details here
Apple recently announced that it would be eventually transitioning the entire product lineup to ARM right from the iPhone all the way to the Mac Pro. Since then, the internet has been abuzz with the kind of interoperability benefits that this unified architecture model would entail. Apple has been able to somewhat bridge the gap between iPad OS and Mac via Catalyst, but what if there is just a single codebase that can adapt according to the usage scenario?
According to known leaker Mauri QHD, Apple is working on a prototype iPhone running macOS that will offer Project Linda/Samsung Dex-like functionality. Mauri QHD seems to be pretty confident about this insider info and is sure that Apple would choose either of the implementation for the final product, which apparently is not too far away.
While we have no way of verifying this particular info, come to think of it, an iPhone running full-fledged macOS is not a far-fetched concept anymore assuming that Apple is also trying to make macOS touch-friendly. That being said, this is not be first of its kind. There have been several attempts to provide a seamless transition between mobile and laptop/desktop experiences but none have been really successful so far.
Windows 10 Mobile offered the Continuum feature wherein a compatible phone such as the HP Elite x3 can connect wirelessly or via USB-C to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and run supported UWP apps on a larger canvas. However, Continuum was just a glorified phone screen and though the desktop looked familiar, it’s functionality was far from it. Eventually, Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows 10 Mobile and shifted focus to porting Windows 10 for ARM processors.
Samsung has been offering DeX Mode on Galaxy devices for quite some time now, and it has become quite feature-rich over time including the ability to now run as an app within Windows or macOS. DeX, though very useful, does suffer from several limitations such as not all apps scaling properly to bigger screens, no real multi-tasking, and the inability to run heavier apps.
Samsung DeX does support VMware and also briefly offered Linux on DeX, which allowed users to download and run a full Ubuntu distro from within DeX. Though Linux on DeX seemed fairly capable, Samsung terminated its development citing incompatibility with One UI 2.0 and a general lack of developer interest.
Razer too showed off its Project Linda prototype at CES 2018 that essentially allowed users to dock-in a Razer Phone into a Blade Stealth-like laptop chassis and enjoy a bigger screen Android experience.
Apple is known for letting technologies mature and the company takes its own time to perfect things. If Apple is indeed working on porting macOS to the iPhone, we may see, for perhaps the first time, a seamless transition between mobile and desktop. Just dock the iPhone to a display and behold, a fully functional macOS desktop without too much of a compromise.
Of course, this feature may not appear on the upcoming iPhone 12 or even the one after that. That being said, Apple’s SoCs are among the fastest out there and by the time this project comes to fruition, we would be seeing very capable Apple Silicon that can easily take on some of the 15W processors of today. Apple would also have to develop frameworks that allow apps to utilize the capabilities of both macOS and iOS/iPad OS in a way that would efficiently blur the line between devices.
While it is only natural that Apple would look towards eventually developing this synergy between mobile and desktop, this particular news still needs to be taken with a pinch of the proverbial salt.
13-inch 2020 MacBook Pro. At the very least, you might want to put your MacBook purchase on hold.
Credit: Apple
This week Apple killed the MacBook until further notice.
Apple couched it as a “transition” away from Intel but the net effect is the same: any Intel-based MacBook Pro or MacBook Air you buy from here on out is ultimately dead in the water.
Here’s some simple advice: don’t buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.
People who know a lot about Mac hardware are offering that advice too.
“There’s a practical, real reason why you shouldn’t drop $1,500 or $4,500 on a new Mac: You’ll be abandoned.” —PC World, June 22, 2020
I would offer this as a rough analogy: would you buy a Windows phone? Yeah, it’ll work and run some apps but it’s a dead platform — and good luck getting any support. That kind of scenario may be in the not-too-distant-future for Intel-based Macs.
I asked PC World’s Ung about Apple’s transition to its A Series processors.
“I would be concerned that longer term—even if Apple doesn’t dump Intel-based Macs overboard as quickly as it did PowerPC Macs—optimizations won’t flow as fast since it will be a legacy platform,” he told me in an email.
That bothers me too. There is little incentive for Apple to optimize going forward, i.e., less need to ensure Intel processors run smoothly, efficiently on macOS.
If I bought*, for instance, a 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, there would always be that nagging feeling that a glitch or overheating or slow performance or buggy software would be due to a lack of support and/or focus from Apple.
I could wrong. But, then again, I could be right. That doubt alone kills the deal.
Barring unexpected snafus in the transition of the Mac to Apple’s processors, buying an Intel-based MacBook doesn’t make any sense.
“Intel Macs will soon be those curiosities sitting at the corner Mac Repair shop yellowing in the sun with the PowerPC macs,” Ung told me.
——
*Until Apple’s announcement, I was planning to buy the high-end 2020 Core i7 MacBook Pro 13. I’ll wait for the ARM Macs.
