O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Dropbox

  • Some iOS 18.4 users report bug wherein previously deleted apps resurface, random apps install for no reason

    Some iOS 18.4 users report bug wherein previously deleted apps resurface, random apps install for no reason

    This is why some people wait a little while after a major version update.

    Following the release of Apple’s iOS 18.4 update, an unknown number of users have reported the appearance of apps on their iPhones that they either previously deleted or had never installed in the first place.

    Apple released its long-awaited iOS 18.4 update on March 31, 2025, complete with new features and new Apple Intelligence and security elements. The issue, first spotted by MacRumors, demonstrated the reemergence of some apps that had been previously installed but were deleted by the user, while others seem to be entirely new installs of random apps.

    “My phone automatically started installing Squid Game,” says one user in a thread on Reddit. “Today I feel like I’m using some cheap… mobile where after the software update, some random application installed in my phone for no reason.” The majority of the unwanted apps appear to be games, while another user said Dropbox was installed on their iPhone, while another reported getting the game and recipe app, “Cooking Mama.”

    In at least most of the reported cases, users have been able to rule out typical reasons for unexpected apps appearing. It doesn’t appear, for instance, to be that they installed an app on a different device and have iOS’s automatic app installation feature turned on.

    Users have also stated that their iPhones have not been jailbroken, not have they used third-party app stores. As such, the issue appears to be a genuine bug on Apple’s part. This type of issue, though, would seem more likely to be a problem with the backend database of the App Store rather than an iOS update. To date, there have been no reports of similar bugs on older versions of iOS and Apple has yet to comment on the issue.

    If you’ve seen this bug on your end, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors, Reddit, and AppleInsider

  • That Which is Nifty: DaisyDisk 4.25

    That Which is Nifty: DaisyDisk 4.25

    In the world of disk optimization and disk cleaners for the Mac, the field has become pretty crowded. It’s easy enough to get people interested in clawing back dozens of gigabytes of hard drive space, and while a great selling point, there are currently applications out there on the market that promise to do everything at once.

    DaisyDisk 4.25, developed by Taras Brizitsky and Oleg Krupnov and a group of translators and contributors, focuses on finding large groups of file clusters, grouping them by size, and offering a quick means of dragging them to a delete icon, getting rid of them, and easily reclaiming your hard drive space. The end result is an application that quickly scans your Mac, clearly shows the files and folders that are gobbling up your drive space, and allows you to quickly trim those down.

    There’s also a gamification element to this, in that DaisyDisk keeps a running tally as to how much space you’ve cleaned up and reclaimed, pushing you to go after forgotten folders where huge files have lingered too long.

    It’s the user interface that makes things interesting but can take some getting used to. After scanning a partition, move the mouse over DaisyDisk’s image map to get an idea as to what’s consuming the most space. File previews can be brought up to get a better understanding of what you’re looking at prior to clearing large folders out without a clear idea as to what might be in them.

    DaisyDisk is able to go beyond what might be expected in that it also offers quick access to the macOS Disk Utility program for quick repairs, and it’s easy to enter your Dropbox or Google Drive credentials to see what’s chewing up space on cloud-based drives. This is a nice touch and an April update addressed login issues for cloud-based services.

    It’s DaisyDisk’s user interface that can be both compelling and a bit daunting. Its ultramodern feel gets somewhat ahead of itself, portraying your hard drive’s contents as something between a scatterplot and a pie chart, which can take some getting used to. Granted, the DaisyDisk website offers a handy 59-second tutorial video that can answer a lot of questions, and it might be advisable to check this out first so you have a clear idea as to what you’re getting into.

    The best part might be the price, and $9.99 for a well-written, focused app like DaisyDisk is hard to turn down. It doesn’t promise the moon or to paint your house while you’re sleeping, it allows you to easily see what’s occupying the most hard drive space, and it gets rid of it easily and effectively.

    And that’s hard to argue with.

    DaisyDisk 4.25 requires macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later to install and run, while legacy versions require macOS Leopard 10.5 or later to install and run.

    So, take a gander, see what you think, and please let us know what you think in the comments.

    Via daisydiskapp.com

  • CloudMensis malware now in the wild, makes use of cloud-based storage services to attack computers

    CloudMensis malware now in the wild, makes use of cloud-based storage services to attack computers

    A newly discovered malware strain for Macs, dubbed “CloudMensis,” has begun making the rounds and seems to have located a previously unknown macOS backdoor that could be used to spy on users with compromised Macs.

    Discovered by the cybersecurity firm ESET, the malware has been named CloudMensis due to the way it utilizes cloud storage services. The company discovered the first Mac was compromised Feb. 4, 2022.

    The malware uses public cloud storage services to communicate with its operators. Reports from ESET have noted that the intent of the operators is to gather information from Mac victims via exfiltrating documents and keystrokes, listing email messages and attachments and listing files from removable storage and screen captures.

    Marc-Etienne Léveillé, an ESET researcher, believes the operators may not have a firm understanding of Mac development.

    ESET researcher Marc-Etienne Léveillé offered the following statement as to the creators, their background, and what their intentions might be:

    We still do not know how CloudMensis is initially distributed and who the targets are. The general quality of the code and lack of obfuscation shows the authors may not be very familiar with Mac development and are not so advanced. Nonetheless, a lot of resources were put into making CloudMensis a powerful spying tool and a menace to potential targets.

    Reports have also suggested that this malware is a targeted operation and seems to have limited distribution so far. ESET has also expressed the idea that operators of this malware family utilize CloudMensis against specific targets that may be of interest to them.

    In addition to gathering information, CloudMensis also aims to gain control of your Mac’s code execution and administrative privileges. To accomplish this, it runs a first-stage malware that retrieves more features from a second stage in thanks to a cloud storage service. The software also uses cloud storage services such as pCloud, Yonder Disk, and Dropbox to receive commands and exfiltrate files.

    Should the malware reach its second stage, there are 39 commands it has access to, all with the intent of harvesting as much information as possible from compromised Macs. Research have stated that here the attackers have attempted to exfiltrate documents, screenshots, email attachments and other sensitive data.

    Apple has yet to offer an official comment as to CloudMensis, but for the time being, make sure your Mac is up to date with its operating system software, you’ve installed the latest security updates, and any malware prevention software you use has also been updated.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and ESET

  • Apple confirms deprecation of kernel extensions under macOS 12.3 beta that could affect Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive performance

    Apple confirms deprecation of kernel extensions under macOS 12.3 beta that could affect Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive performance

    This could be a bit of a mess.

    Following Apple’s seeding of the first beta for its macOS Monterey 12.3 operating system to the developer community for testing, in its released notes, the company confirmed that it has deprecated kernel extensions used by Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive and notes that both cloud storage services have replacements for the functionality currently in beta.

    Earlier this week, Dropbox announced that users who updated to the macOS Monterey 12.3 beta could temporarily encounter issues opening online-only files in some third-party apps on their Mac. Dropbox has yet to provide a reason for this issue, though it now seems to clearly related to the kernel extensions that enabled this functionality being deprecated by Apple.

    Through a support document and email sent to customers, Dropbox said it is actively working on full support for online-only files on macOS 12.3 and will begin rolling out an updated version of its Mac app to beta testers in March. In the meantime, Dropbox users who update to macOS Monterey 12.3 will still be able to open online-only files in Finder.

    Microsoft has also confirmed some issues between its OneDrive cloud system under the macOS Monterey 12.3 beta, and has stated the company is working on a new online-only files experience for OneDrive that is “more integrated with macOS” and “will have long-term support from Apple.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and help.dropbox.com