{"id":3440,"date":"2017-03-27T19:16:48","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T00:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/?p=3440"},"modified":"2019-01-11T20:26:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-12T02:26:55","slug":"how-to-protect-your-icloud-account-and-apple-devices-from-hackers-both-real-and-imagined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/how-to-protect-your-icloud-account-and-apple-devices-from-hackers-both-real-and-imagined\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect your iCloud account and Apple devices from hackers both real and imagined"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, a news story at Motherboard<\/a> revealed that a group of hackers claimed to have gained access to nearly\u00c2\u00a0600 million iCloud accounts. Apple has responded<\/a> to the report saying that there is no breach of their servers, rather the attackers appear to have\u00c2\u00a0used the rather large\u00c2\u00a0password cache obtained from the\u00c2\u00a0massive Yahoo breaches of the last two years. It is likely that the hackers used other data sources to line up those passwords with Apple IDs belonging to the same people. While this means that you may not be at risk if your iCloud account was using a unique password, to be safe, you should probably\u00c2\u00a0change\u00c2\u00a0your\u00c2\u00a0password and enable two-factor authentication.<\/p>\n

Why is this security measure important? Well, aside from attackers having access to potentially private information stored in your account,\u00c2\u00a0iCloud contains a security measure that allows you to remotely erase your iPhones, iPads, and Macs if they are ever lost or stolen. This feature is called Find My iPhone (or iPad or Mac). If your account has<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0been compromised, and Find My iPhone is enabled on any of your stuff, then your devices can be wiped remotely, against your will. This is what the hackers have reportedly claimed to do if Apple does not pay their ransom by April 7th.<\/p>\n

News flash: Apple will not pay the ransom.<\/p>\n

So, for your protection, I suggest following\u00c2\u00a0these steps to allow you to keep your accounts and devices safe. Because no one wants lose all the pictures of their food they’ve taken for the last 10 years. I stole these instructions from Apple’s own support pages, so if you feel like you need more details on these, check out the original links by clicking on the links below.<\/p>\n

Change your Apple ID password<\/b><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Sign in to your\u00c2\u00a0Apple ID account page<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. In the Security section, click Change Password.<\/li>\n
  3. Enter your current password, then enter a new password and confirm the new password.<\/li>\n
  4. Click Change Password.<\/li>\n
  5. Sign in with your new Apple ID password<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0to access Apple features and services.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/HT201355<\/a><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    Turn on two-factor authentication for your Apple ID<\/b><\/div>\n

    Two-factor authentication is currently available to iCloud users with at least one device that’s using iOS\u00c2\u00a09 or OS\u00c2\u00a0X\u00c2\u00a0El\u00c2\u00a0Capitan or later.\u00c2\u00a0Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    You can follow the steps below to turn on two-factor\u00c2\u00a0authentication.<\/p>\n

    On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod\u00c2\u00a0touch with iOS\u00c2\u00a09 or later:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Go to Settings > iCloud > tap your Apple\u00c2\u00a0ID.<\/li>\n
    2. Tap Password & Security.<\/li>\n
    3. Tap Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      On your Mac with OS\u00c2\u00a0X\u00c2\u00a0El\u00c2\u00a0Capitan or later:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Go to Apple (\u00ef\u00a3\u00bf) menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Account\u00c2\u00a0Details.<\/li>\n
      2. Click Security.<\/li>\n
      3. Click Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        If you already use two-step verification,\u00c2\u00a0turn it off, then turn on two-factor authentication<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/HT204915<\/a><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        That’s it. Hopefully, everything will work smoothly and you can move on with your life, stress-free. If not, give Apple a call and they can help you ensure that Two-Factor Authentication is enabled, as well as confirming that the only devices confirmed with your account are those you own and trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Last week, a news story at Motherboard revealed that a group of hackers claimed to have gained access to nearly\u00c2\u00a0600 million iCloud accounts. Apple has responded to the report saying that there is no breach of their servers, rather the attackers appear to have\u00c2\u00a0used the rather large\u00c2\u00a0password cache obtained from the\u00c2\u00a0massive Yahoo breaches of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,5,257],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple","category-iphone-ipad","category-rat","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1960,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/rumors-of-dropboxs-demise-have-been-greatly-exaggerated\/","url_meta":{"origin":3440,"position":0},"title":"Rumors of Dropbox’s demise have been greatly exaggerated","author":"Jared Cash","date":"June 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Everywhere I turn on the Intertubes since the WWDC keynote, people are holding placards high, proclaiming the death of many 3rd-party apps. One of the most notable and most commonly mentioned apps (second only to Instapaper) is Dropbox. 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