Tag Archives: iCloud

Apple in Trouble After High-Profile iCloud Hack

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Apple is now in deep trouble after its cloud service iCloud was mercilessly hacked and then used to victimize  none other than WIRED Magazine news writer Matt Honan.

Instead of getting fancy….the hackers simply called Apple and deceived them into giving them a “temporary password”

apple-hackintosh

Password in hand, the hackers exploited iCloud security holes,  and retrieved Matt’s Google and Twitter passwords. Then, they simply exploited vulnerabilities in Apple’s Find My iPhone and Find My Mac  apps.  One they gained remote access, the hackers wasted no time in completely erasing contents in Matt’s iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air.

Google also got into the hacking tangle, when the hackers, hungry for more, deleted his Google and Gmail account.

So, why would a perfectly friend tech writer get hacked? It’s assumed that the hackers ( still not identified ) broke into Honan’s iCloud in order to get access to Honan’s massive 15K Twitter followers.

hackersIt didn’t stop there… the hackers also realized that Honan had linked his Twitter account to Gizmodo’s account…. they were able to send spam tweets to some 415,000 people…

Amazon also got a nasty surprise…. the hacker was able to get the temporary password by accessing Amazon’s file of Matt’s Credit Card number; thus the hacker was able to get Apple into thinking that the request for the password was legitimate.

Microsoft Launches SkyDrive Apps for PC and Mac

skydriveMicrosoft has released SkyDrive apps for both PC and Mac. These small 5MB clients quickly and efficiently install — within no time, the SkyDrive apps will be installed in your computer. The apps work on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8; however, Microsoft did not neglect the Apple side and does support Mac installation.

Download the SkyDrive app for Mac and PC right now!

For both Mac and PC, the SkyDrive app will modify your Finder and Explorer respectively…thus, it is now easier than ever to upload your computer files to SkyDrive. Simply drag and drop the file to the SkyDrive folder in your Explorer or Finder.

Here are some screenshots of the new app:

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In addition, SkyDrive website saw some major modifications:

  • Paid Storage( 7 GB free, + 20 GB for $10 a year, +50 GB for $25 year, and +100GB for $50 a year) Note: For current SkyDrive users, upgrade your 7GB to 25 GB for free.  A limited time offer.skydrive_storageskydrive_upgrade
  • Remote Fetching: You can now fetch files from your computers remotely

© Copyright 2012 Premier Microsoft. No part of this writing may be copied or used without permission. Email at premierMSFT@hotmail.com.

Microsoft, Windows, and SkyDrive are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Microsoft and the Microsoft group of companies in the U.S. and other countries.

SkyDrive: Wave 5 ( Comprehensive Review)

We also reviewed Wave 4 of SkyDrive…

Performance: image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22 (improvement of 1 star from previous)

Features: image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22( an improvement of 2 stars from previous)

Security:image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22( same value as previous)

Exclusive Premier Microsoft Review

SkyDrive photosHere it is. The latest build, the long-awaited Wave 5 of Microsoft SkyDrive. So, you’ve come for the verdict on Microsoft’s latest cloud-storage hosting service. The team at Premier Microsoft had a blast capturing screenshots of the beautiful UI and richly integrated navigation. Simply amazing. In this exclusive and exhaustive review, we will give you plenty of screenshots and give you the final word… Does SkyDrive Wave 5 really live to the hype…

Performance

SkyDrive photosIt’s hard to argue that SkyDrive is nothing less than snappy…all actions work quickly and with little delay…from writing a caption to creating a new document, Microsoft SkyDrive is all about performance.

Lost connections

In case of a lost internet connection, all tasks are suspended within the browser… and all data is securely cached…SkyDrive error

A lost internet connection… no problem… SkyDrive will identify which specific files are getting problems. skydrive article

The “Retry” option is also shown to retry specific files… or if you know the problem is resolved, the “Retry All” option allows all the uploads to resume.

Features

File-name collisions

SkyDrive replace both

SkyDrive will notify you that the a file with that name is already present in your Docs… then, SkyDrive will kindly help you with your dilemma: Replace the existing with the newly-uploaded or Keep both files.Amazing. Smart. and Effort-less. Just one powerful feature of SkyDrive.

Sharing and posting

Before hand, you had to go through quirky dialogs and confusing steps to share items with your bros. The new wave of SkyDrive smooths out the process with a streamlined and clear UI.

skydrive new wavew7

It’s easier than ever to get public, a view-only, or a view-edit link. From there copy that link and share with your friends…

Want to share the doc or pic with all your folks on the social… simply, select a social service and Facebook Share, Tweet, or LinkedIn share to your heart’s content.

skydrive new wave9

Uploading docs/photos

In wave 4 of SkyDrive, life was also nice. Back then, you installed the Silverlight plugin, refreshed the browser, and were all set… in wave 5, Microsoft has integrated the uploading process natively into SkyDrive’s web code… no Silverlight required.

SkyDrive new file

The overall progress bar ( not to be confused with Wave 4’s individual bar) is a nice touch… but the greatest praise comes from the minimalist UI… you can easily minimize the Uploading Dialog, and let SkyDrive do the uploading while you take care of other important things.

skydrive article 4

Creating docs

Once again, Microsoft has done something good, better… creating documents is as easy as tapping the “Create” icon, typing in the name of your file, and then clicking “Create” on the prompt( as shown below) …easy, simple, beautiful.

skydrive new wav4

Right-click functionality

SkyDrive right-clickThe ads say: “You know can right-click like a pro…” well, that’s actually true… this functionality was actually very missed and our team was very glad to have it back. Easily right-click files and folders, revealing a handful nifty options…works like a charm!

Moving files

Moving files is now easy as 1,2,3. Right-click on the file to be moved and select “Move To”

skydrive move to

Arranging photos

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Creating a folder

Creating folders can now be done entirely within the same page… after clicking the “New Folder”, add a title to the folder as shown below… once again, as simple as can be… Microsoft deserves some kudos for the improvement.

skydrive new wave5

Security

SkyDrive has revamped its security…Microsoft has made its file-storage service as secure and robust as can be…

SkyDrive and its parent website…Windows Live… will now advise users of protecting their Live ID passwords as they proceed to exist the Live services.

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SkyDrive also gives you a good picture of your Password security before you even hand your precious data to the good folks at Microsoft…

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SkyDrive has to make sure you are actually a human…another great example of protecting your data from botnets and hackers.

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Overall: image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22image_thumb22

Excellent. There is nothing bad about this release of SkyDrive…simple controls, things work speedily and as expected, plenty of functionality, and simplicity for those who need to in and get out back to their lives. Visit: http://skydrive.com

Related articles

SkyDrive ( Comprehensive Review)

Performance: imageimageimageimage

Features: imageimageimage

Security:imageimageimageimageimage

Exclusive Premier Microsoft Review

SkyDrive in many ways has been the neglected child of Microsoft services. imageIt really wasn’t worth reviewing… until now…the new version of SkyDrive is every bit worth reviewing…

Packed with plenty of features, fast performance, and clear UI, Windows Live SkyDrive is the easiest and best file-sharing service available.

imageSkyDrive does a fantastic job in the photo department, preserving resolution and maintaining the original aspect ratio.

 

Pictures can be easily uploaded to SkyDrive with Microsoft’s proprietary Silverlight –powered uploaded, as shown below.

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Simply drag and drop the pictures into the Uploader and SkyDrive takes care of the rest.

 

imagePictures display plenty of details for all you “micro-managers.” For instance, for the picture on the right, SkyDrive displays Date Modified, Date Taken, Path, Date Added, File Name, Dimensions, and Size. This detail plane can be scrolled to reveal more extras such as Comments and  Tagging which is displayed below.                                   

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As far as files, creating documents is a snap; SkyDrive allows you to set the destination folder and set the Privacy Controls for that specific file( Note: If you send the file to a Folder, the Folder’s Privacy Controls will override the controls for the file itself.)

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imageAll files can be easily edited on the fly with Microsoft Word Web App. This fast online utility can do some basic editing on all supported files. The Web App even includes powerful Picture Tools. Don’t expect the WebApp to replace Word… but it sure beats trying to frantically edit an online document and failing at it. With the Web Apps, documents can edited anywhere online; Microsoft has revamped its Web Apps to support file collaboration and simultaneous editing. The Web Apps can even show you who and when edited a section of your online document.

imageSecurity doesn’t fail in the least… all files are password protected. Like all Windows Live services, SkyDrive uses Unique IDs , Retype Password Prompts, and “You’ve Tried to Sign in Too many Times” prompts and imagenot but not least …. “Enter the Characters you See”( either Video or Audio)

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Reviewed by the Premier Microsoft Team.

Important Note: All Screenshots taken by Premier Microsoft. SkyDrive is a proprietary web file-sharing service developed by Microsoft Corporation.