Your iPhone or Mac could be hacked with an iMessage
There's a new warning for Apple iPhone and Mac users about a security vulnerability that could let a hacker infiltrate your device by sending you a rogue iMessage.
CNET reports the bug was discovered by a researcher from Cisco Talos. The company warned that hackers could send a .tif file (a type of photo file, like .jpg) via iMessage that, when received, can execute a code that gives the hacker access to your device's internal storage and stored passwords.
You may think you're safe as long as you don't click on any suspicious images, but unfortunately, that's not the case.
"A malicious image file can execute remote code," CNET's Iyaz Akhtar explained. "The problem is, certain applications like iMessage automatically render images by default. Remote code execution could also be achieved through MMS messages, attachments and web pages."
The flaw has been patched in the latest version of iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, and OS X, the Mac operating system, so to protect your device, be sure and update to iOS 9.3.3 or El Capitan 10.11.6 if you haven't already.
Or you can turn off iMessage by going to Settings, then Messages, and sliding the iMessage tab to "off."
In the video below, CNET walks you through the steps to check which version of the operating system your device is running and update it if needed.