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Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

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Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#381

Post by mark_l_watson »

Engineering-MD wrote: post #283
mark_l_watson wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am running APple's betas for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS right now - I really appreciate their implementing yet more privacy. re: non-encrypted iCloud storage: I agree with you. I keep medical and financial data encrypted (e.g., their Pages app supports encrypting documents, and you can encrypt PDFs, etc.) but I would rather they did this for me. That said, for the 90% of my files that I would post on a street corner, I…

But how secure is encrypted pages and PDF? My understanding was it is not useful against a determined attacker and anyone able to access your iCloud will be in this category.

The encryption used to open a file is secure while the password that controls permissions to print, etc. is not secure.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#382

Post by ksec »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #167
nabla9 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is in crossfire: (a) There is pressure from many governments to give backdoor for surveillance. Or just comply with subpoenas that are against human rights. (b) Complying with local laws generates PR damage. It makes privacy and ethics as a brand strategy look disingenuous. The solution is, of course, to generate truly secure system where Apple can't make backdoors. Those services may not be available in some c…

This is something Apple is increasingly working on. For example, in Fall 2020 they actually revised their CPU designs (including older CPUs) with a new Secure Enclave design that uses mailboxes to more securely store the number authentication attempts inside the secure enclave. The goal of this is to make it so that even if the FBI had an incident similar to 2016, Apple would not be able to fulfill their request to m…

That is only true as far as your on devices Data. They still have to provide everything they have on iCloud.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#383

Post by ksec »

jameshart wrote: post #224
mikeiz404 wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense or anything but what’s the point of making this comment outside of showing that you were right? Good prediction.

(Fair question. I just found it amusing. I'm annoyed it got voted to the top. For substantive discussion, people should look down page)

Dont. You should be proud. I made numerous prediction that turns out to be right when everyone else is calling you crazy. You should enjoy the moment of victory. And I do remember reading your comment at the time, so it is great you link it back.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#384

Post by ksec »

______- wrote: post #71
headmelted wrote: post #45

I've been trying to point this out to people but YouTube personalities have a louder voice than anyone else so you end up with bad information. Props to Apple for offering an (albeit low entropy) onion router on their own infrastructure. I can't imagine this is going to win them any friends in government circles but it's definitely a step in the right direction. I'd also really like to see Apple come clean about the…

> I'd also really like to see Apple come clean about the iCloud backup encryption debacle Are you referring to this article?: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusiv... It's why I only use my Apple ID for grabbing apps from the app store. I have disabled all the `cloud storage` features of iCloud. iCloud is a privacy nightmare.

iCloud E2E would be great, even if they offer it at double their current Storage price.

But I would be happy with iOS Time Capsule. Or even sell E2E Backup solution only with an iOS Time Capsule. Great way to increase their Services Revenue.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#385

Post by Grustaf »

pwinnski wrote: post #336
Grustaf wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do they want that though? They can still remember you, right, since you’re logged in?

Not all media sites require one to be logged in. However, there are many reasons why a video service might want each user to be individually identifiable by IP. - Many media items are contractually region-locked - The same user from too many simultaneous IPs might mean shared credentials, a perceived loss of revenue - The same user from geographically disparate IPs might also mean shared credentials, even if not simu…

We were talking about video streaming services though, they usually require a log in, and in any case they’ll have a cookie so they know who you are.

Region locking is fine right, that’s exactly what Cloud+ provides, same thing with your third point.

As to the second one, I don’t know how big the simulated regions are but i suppose it will look like different houses at least. I’m sure netflix will think of something though.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#386

Post by danpalmer »

wolverine876 wrote: post #339
hammock wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any thoughts on PIA vs Mullvad?

PIA is owned by the person who owns Freenode, afaik. I would certainly look into that before trusting them.

Yeah I used them for years before they were bought so had a lot of trust then. With the recent Freenode issues I'm not sure if I'll renew, but they do seem like one of the few VPN providers that understands privacy and isn't trying to sell shady security-theatre with poorly justified arguments.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#388

Post by ryankrage77 »

permo-w wrote: post #379
nucleardog wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And when you do so it does flash a message along the lines of “Disconnecting nearby wifi until tomorrow”. Which makes it pretty clear it’s not a wifi kill switch but just a “my current connection is shit, let me use cellular” button.

yeah, but even so, it’s one of these occasions where an os symbol has been altered to change behaviour without the user’s consent or control it’s not quite as egregious, but it reminds me of how a lot of desktop apps now just minimise to tray rather than actually ending the process when you click the close button. discord is probably the worst offender for that, since it’s not (that I’m aware) a customisable behaviou…

Discords behaviour is customisable (at least on Windows).

Settings > app settings - Window settings > close button - minimize to tray.

Turning this off causes Discord to quit completely when clicking the red X in the top right.

Re: Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

#389

Post by defaultname »

permo-w wrote: post #379
nucleardog wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And when you do so it does flash a message along the lines of “Disconnecting nearby wifi until tomorrow”. Which makes it pretty clear it’s not a wifi kill switch but just a “my current connection is shit, let me use cellular” button.

yeah, but even so, it’s one of these occasions where an os symbol has been altered to change behaviour without the user’s consent or control it’s not quite as egregious, but it reminds me of how a lot of desktop apps now just minimise to tray rather than actually ending the process when you click the close button. discord is probably the worst offender for that, since it’s not (that I’m aware) a customisable behaviou…

The control center wifi control always worked this way. It wasn't "altered", that is a primary feature of its functionality.

Apple gains nothing from your WiFi re-engaging. But many users do because, as another comment mentioned, people turn it off in control center because their connection is temporarily shit, or more likely just accidentally. Then they get to end of month and they have a monster cell overage.

Someone was using control center wrong (despite it very clearly indicating the use of the button). It's a learning experience.

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