Apple Watch Fall Detection

If Apple Watch detects a hard fall, it can help connect you to emergency services if needed.

Here's how it works

If Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 4 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra or later detects a hard fall while you're wearing your watch, it taps you on the wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert. You can choose to contact emergency services or dismiss the alert by pressing the Digital Crown, tapping Close in the upper-left corner, or tapping "I'm OK."

If your Apple Watch detects that you're moving, it waits for you to respond to the alert and won't automatically call emergency services. If your watch detects that you've been immobile for about a minute, it will make the call automatically.1

How to remove someone from a group text message

Tap the group message that has the contact you want to remove.

1. Tap the group icons at the top of the thread.

2. Tap the gray arrow icon to the right of the contacts, then swipe left over the name of the person you want to remove.

3. Tap Remove, then tap Done.

If you can't add or remove someone in a group message

• You can only remove someone if the group has four or more people, and everyone is using an Apple device, like an iPhone or iPad.

• You can only add someone to a group message if they're using an Apple device. If you want to add someone to a group message but they're using a non-Apple device, you need to create a new group message. That message will use SMS/MMS by default since someone is using a non-Apple device.

• You can only add someone to a group message that already includes three or more people. You can't add someone to a messages conversation that you're already having with just one other person.

resetting login password and impact on keychain

Resetting a password is different than changing a password while logged into the user account. Administrator reset of a user login password creates a new keychain and thereby can disconnect user from services tied to saved passwords (email, website, etc.), and it is generally advised to avoid except if necessary and after exhausting other options. Can be sort of like breaking your car window because you cannot find your key. -rws

When a user resets their login password, macOS automatically creates a new login keychain to keep the account and login keychain passwords in sync. macOS archives the old login keychain so that if a user remembers the old password, they can unlock and access the archived login keychain items.

Importing keychain entries (if password is later determined), is a tedious process of manually importing (copy/paste) keychain entries one at a time. -rws

Phishing - Don't be fooled by big brands

No matter how robust your firewalls and filters, phishing attempts - i.e., messages designed to dupe you into divulging information, enacting transactions, or downloading malware - can still very easily land in your inbox. 

What is a phishing attack?

A phishing attack is where a threat actor sends a fraudulent communication that appears to come from a trusted sender. If successful, the victim is coaxed into taking a specific action, such as disclosing information or clicking on a link to execute malware.

What is the goal of a phishing attack?

Phishing attacks are usually designed to coax the victim into disclosing valuable information (e.g., bank details or login credentials), to execute financial transactions, or to launch malicious scripts (e.g., to trigger a ransomware attack).

What tools are used to commit a phishing attack

A few of the types of tools used by hackers in phishing campaigns include the following:

• Domain name permutation engines to help them generate convincing-looking domains where their bogus service will be hosted. 
• Legitimate email services (e.g., Gmail for Business) to manage the sending of messages. 
• Email extractor tools to harvest large volumes of email addresses. 
• Spam assessment tools that make it easier for scammers to create and edit messages in such a way that they avoid getting caught in spam filters. 
• Tools like BeEF and SET to generate convincing login portals, steal credentials, and send mass phishing emails.
• ChatGPT to automate the creation of phishing emails.

1. Phishing is the single most common form of cyber crime. An estimated 3.4 billion emails a day are sent by cyber criminals, designed to look like they come from trusted senders. This is over a trillion phishing emails per year. 

2. Email impersonation accounts for an estimated 1.2% of all email traffic globally. 

3. Around 36% of all data breaches involve phishing. 

Spear Phishing 

Definition: Sending messages - ostensibly from a known or trusted party - to induce specifically targeted individuals to reveal information to take specific actions. 

30. Spear phishing campaigns make up only 0.1% of all email-based phishing attacks, but they are responsible for 66% of all breaches. 

31. 50% of large organizations were targeted with spear phishing in 2022, receiving an average of five spear-phishing emails a day. 

Whaling

Definition: Also known as big phishing and CEO-fraud, this involves using precisely-engineered spoofing emails to trick senior figures within organizations into disclosing credentials, money, or information. 

Common Features of Scams 

A large proportion of attackers use fake messages that look as if they are from well-known companies. A growing number of attackers also seem to be putting AI to work to make their messages sound more convincing.   

Top Phishing Brands 

33. 55% of phishing attacks use established brand names to build credibility in their messages. 

Phishing Trigger Words 

36. The most frequently-used keywords used by phishing scammers in email subject lines:

• Invoice 

• New

• Message

• Required

• File

• Request

• Action

• Document

• Verification 

• eFax

• VM