Do you own an iPhone? Emergency announcement from Apple

iPhone: This is how Apple will protect iPhone users from theft. How the new settings will work. What users advise. All details on xristika.gr.

Apple is preparing new regulations to protect iPhone users if their devices are stolen.

The changes come as a result of a report by the Wall Street Journal, which stated that the new practice of thieves is tracking iPhone users to find out their security code, before taking over the device. This way, not only do they steal the iPhone, but they gain access to the user's Apple accounts, which means they can steal money and control photos and videos stored in iCloud. When their password falls into the wrong hands, victims don't have many options to protect themselves.

To protect users from this type of attack, Apple is launching a new Stolen Device Protection setting, which will be available with the next software update, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, users must enable it if they want to protect their personal and financial data on iPhone.

iPhone: How the app works

By obtaining a security code – usually a string of 4 or 6 numbers – thieves can access a lot of user data and make significant changes to their account.

With Stolen Device Protection enabled, iPhone disables some settings when the device is away from its usual locations — such as the user's home or workplace.

For example, with settings so far, a thief can use a security code to change a user's password to their Apple account and lock them out of it.

In this way, thieves can disable the “Find My iPhone” setting and “clean” the mobile phone in order to sell it.

With setting Protect stolen devicesIf anyone wants to change their Apple ID password when the device is away from their usual locations, then The lock is required to be unlocked by facial or fingerprint recognition (Face ID – Touch ID).

Then an hour must pass before this command is executed. After that time, facial or fingerprint recognition is also required. Only when all this is done, it becomes possible to change the password.

In practice, while protecting stolen devices, Apple Requires biometrics and a one-hour delay When the device is away from the user's home — not just its security code — for a series of actions, such as changing the Apple ID password, changing the trusted phone number, adding or removing Face ID or Touch ID, or turning off Find My iPhone I turn off stolen device protection.

However, The Wall Street Journal recommends that users take the following precautions:

– Don't let strangers see your password writing. When you're in a crowd, move stealthily or use Face ID/Touch ID.

– Use a password that is difficult to guess.

– Adding PINs and biometrics to applications related to bank accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and payments in general.

– If your cell phone is stolen, act quickly to limit losses simply to the value of the device. Go to icloud.com/find to remotely wipe the data on your stolen device before thieves can access it.

iPhone: How you can exchange numbers by simply touching them together

iPhone: With NameDrop, you can share contacts with anyone who has an iPhone. All details on xristika.gr.

Next time you're at an event or dinner, you can exchange phone numbers with a colleague or new friend just by placing their iPhones near each other.

The feature, known as NameDrop, became available when Apple released iOS 17 in September.

NameDrop is faster than reading numbers or exchanging phones and manually typing in contact information.

Plus, you don't have to worry about typing your new contact's name wrong. It goes straight to your phone.

As CNBC reports, Apple is letting you choose what you share with someone when you use NameDrop so you don't inadvertently reveal sensitive information you may have stored on your phone, like your home address.

But the downside is that you can't share your email and phone number at the same time, and you can only NameDrop once between two phones unless you delete the contact and start over.

iPhone: How to use NameDrop in iOS 17 on iPhone to exchange contacts

• Unlock your iPhone (the feature will not work if your phone is locked).
• Place the top of one phone directly over the top of another, as pictured at the top of this story.
• Wait about three seconds and a prompt will appear on your screen.
• You can click “Download Only” or “Share” and you can click the down arrow to choose which contact information you want to send.
• You must both click “Share” to receive each other's contact information.
  If only one of you needs contact information, that person should click Receive Only. The other person still has to click the “Share” button to agree.
• If you get to this point and realize you don't want to do this either, just swipe up to exit NameDrop.
• Once you have the new contact, you will see the contact page. You can edit the contact however you like, but if it looks good to you, just tap Done at the top right.

iPhone: If It's Stolen, Do This – How to Lock It Forever

iPhones have a safety valve that most owners ignore.

An iPhone security feature allows fraudsters to gain access to the device while simultaneously preventing users from finding their stolen device.

The Wall Street Journal reveals how a device security feature called a recovery key could be exploited by “bad actors.”

Bad Actors is a locking tool that prevents device owners from using it by locking it. The Wall Street Journal reported on user Creg Frasca, who has been locked from his device since last October.

Frasca said he was willing to travel to Cupertino to prove to Apple that he owned the device, but also to pay $10,000 to regain control of his device.

This is because there are 8-year-old pictures of his daughters on the device and he does not want to lose them for any reason.

But Frasca is not the only one, as there are many users who suffer from the same problem.

Someone stole Frasca's cell phone at a Chicago bar and used the unlock code, which he likely saw before the device was stolen, to change his Apple ID password.

They later confirmed that Frasca would never be able to control his device again by activating the recovery key.

The recovery key was originally released in 2020 by Apple.

When enabled, it generates a 28-digit code, which is required every time a user wants to change their Apple ID password. However, if the user does not activate it and those who steal their device do so, the user will lose access to their account and there will be no way back.

Apple said through a spokesperson:

“We sympathize with people who have gone through this experience and take all attacks on our users seriously, no matter how rare.

We work tirelessly every day to protect our users' accounts and data, and we're always looking for additional protections against emerging threats like this.

To create your security key, you can go to your iPhone or iPad and follow these instructions:

• Go to Settings > Your Name > Password & Security
• Click Recover Account
• Activate the option
• Click Use device recovery and enter your passcode.
• Keep the recovery key written down in a safe place
• The recovery key is confirmed on the next screen

The problem with this app is that you can easily lose your recovery key, whether you have it on paper or have it stored somewhere digitally.

If that happens, say goodbye to your data if you lose your phone, once and for all. On the other hand, if you don't lose it and find a way to keep it safe and secure, in case of theft you will keep your data and passwords safe.

If you have a Recovery Key, Apple will ask you to use it, along with the phone you registered and your Apple device to do the process.

But even Apple admits that losing your recovery key means you'll be permanently locked out of your account.

In fact, places with a lot of people are a common place for something like this to happen if your device is stolen, as many people can see the code to unlock your device.

If a thief sees the code, they can easily steal your device and lock it forever.

It will then activate your recovery key and lock you out of your account forever.

So far, only one user has been able to understand Apple correctly.

The reason is that Terry Allen, after months of trying with Apple, met a good representative who took the time to ask Allen questions to confirm Allen's identity.

He then disabled the recovery key and Allen regained access to his data and photos which was the reason he spent several months of his life trying to figure it out.