O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: quarantine

  • Apple pulls Vybe Together from App Store, states app promoted secret parties during ongoing pandemic

    You really can’t argue with Apple’s decision to yank this one from the App Store.

    Apple has pulled an iOS app from its App Store that encouraged users to organize secret underground parties despite social distancing measures and U.S. pandemic restrictions.

    The app, which was called “Vybe Together,” billed itself as a place to organize and attend secret parties, its now-defunct website stating that users should “Get your rebel on. Get your party on.”

    Users could act as organizers and approve other users who wanted to attend their event. Approved invites would receive the event’s address two hours before the event was slated to begin.

    Per The Verge, the app had a few thousand users as well as thousands more who had requested access prior to Apple’s pulling it from the App Store. The app had also been promoted on TikTok before its account on the short-form video sharing platform was banned.

    Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, indoor gatherings of people from different households as well as parties have become clear violations of pandemic restrictions. The app’s website FAQ acknowledged the danger of the pandemic, but said the app was designed to promote “small gatherings” rather than “large scale parties.” Even so, the app also promoted “gatherings every weekend” on TikTok, including New Year’s Eve parties.

    The app had 25 ratings on the ‌App Store‌ before it was removed, and its Instagram page had under 1,000 followers. Before it was banned from the photo-sharing platform, Vybe Together’s account had a single text post which read: “Blown out of proportion by the media. We DO NOT CONDONE LARGE GATHERINGS.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available, and please stay safe on your end.

    Via MacRumors and The Verge

  • Apple Maps begin rolling out Coronavirus updates, with default searches highlighting nearby hospitals and restaurants with food delivery

    This could definitely come in handy, especially during the Coronavirus quarantine.

    Apple has altered how Apple Maps displays nearby search results during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the app now focusing on providing quicker access to food deliveries, pharmacies, and grocery locations close to the user. 

    The change, which was discovered by German web site iPhone-Ticker.de, noted that as of Tuesday, the list, which generally includes restaurants, fast food, rapid transit, cafes, and supermarkets, among other frequently-needed items, had changed. 

    Tapping the search box now prioritizes default searches for pharmacies, hospitals, and urgent care sites near the top of the list. In some classes, the app will also display restaurants that offer food delivery as higher than other restaurants on the list.

    This could definitely come in handy, especially for those under official orders to stay at home, not go outside, and practice social distancing. In many areas affected by the rules, food deliveries are preferred over restaurants, with the latter likely to be delivery-only or shut down entirely. 

    The change is slowly rolling out to users around the world, and not everyone is seeing the altered list at this time. 

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

    Via AppleInsider and iPhone-Ticker.de

  • Apple advises U.S. retail locations to remain closed until early May, will advise on reopening as conditions change

    As expected, we’re in this for the long haul.

    Per an internal memo Apple sent to employees the company has advised that retail store closures in the U.S. will remain until early May. Select stores outside of the U.S. could open as early as the first half of April.

    Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien informed employees that the company is monitoring conditions for each facility daily, and that Apple will advise as to reopening dates based on guidance from local governments and public health experts.

    Apple’s employees have been encouraged to share their challenges with work-from-home procedures, especially since many of them are juggling work with homeschooling their children during the quarantine.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and Bloomberg

  • Apple releases Security Update 2011-003, removes Mac Defender malware

    Beating the expected arrival date (the Mac OS X 10.6.8 update had been anticipated to take care of this), Apple has released Security Update 2011-003, which adds malware detection and removal for the “MAC Defender” scam and delivers a daily update mechanism for updating subsequent malware definitions.

    Per AppleInsider, the 2.3 megabyte security update for Mac OS X 10.6.7 is available as a direct download or via Mac OS X’s Software Update feature. Installing the update does not require a system reboot.

    The update adds malware discovery and removal for MAC Defender and all of its known variants, using the simple malware file quarantine feature that was first added to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

    The Mac OS X file quarantine feature examines external files downloaded within Mail, iChat, Safari or other file quarantine-aware applications, warning users of downloads that match the definition of malware.

    In addition to adding a definition for the latest “MAC Defender” trojan horse to warn users that the download should be deleted, the new security update adds a daily malware definitions check to make subsequent malware attempts even easier for Apple to protect it users from.

    Users can opt out of the daily malware definitions update check by unchecking the new “Automatically update safe downloads list” checkbox in Security Preferences.

    If you’ve tried the update and have any feedback to offer, let us know.