- 🗒️✅ Your Security Checklist
- 🏆🎖️ Test Your Security Skills
- 🤖 Security Friday: AI Edition 📡
- 🙈 AI Fail of the Week 👎
- 🍎📱 Security Updates from Apple 🍎
If you take nothing else from this newsletter, just do these three things to protect yourself:
- Use a strong password for your password manager. It seems obvious, but when creating the master password for your password manager, you should use a strong password that is easy to remember and difficult for computers to guess.
- Turn off personalized ads. Apple can curate ads to your personal interests, but we recommend turning them off to further protect your privacy.
- Enable iCloud Private Relay. If you subscribe to iCloud+, iCloud Private Relay can keep your connection private when browsing the web in Safari.
What should you do in the following scenario?
You ask ChatGPT for advice on which antivirus software you should use. It gives you a list of what it says are the best options. What should you do? 🤔
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Blindly select the top choice.
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Ask ChatGPT for more information about each choice.
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Research each option carefully.
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Consult with a security expert for advice.
Scroll to the bottom to see how you did!
How You Might Be Using AI Without Knowing It
These days, "AI" has become quite the buzzword. You'd think it's a completely new technology, but the truth is, AI has been around for much longer than you’d think, in ways that you wouldn't ordinarily think about. From Clippy to Siri, we've been using artificial intelligence for a long time without even realizing it, though it was never as advanced or energy-intensive as modern AI like ChatGPT or Claude. While autocorrect, social media algorithms, and smart assistants all rely on some form of AI, the landscape has changed in recent years. The days of Clippy running solely off the power of your computer are behind us as modern AI gobbles up huge swathes of electricity from data centers to function. Check out our article to find out all the ways you've been unexpectedly using artificial intelligence in your daily life.
AI & the Environment: How Bad Is It?
It's no secret that AI is having a major impact on the environment. Data centers that power artificial intelligence use massive amounts of electricity as well as water to cool the servers and other equipment. The International Energy Agency estimated that global use of AI in 2022 consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh), while the Environmental and Energy Study Institute claims that data centers can use up to 5 million gallons of water every day. The impact of AI on the environment is something that we probably won't fully understand for decades to come, but we do know that it's doing more harm than good at the moment. Some may argue that there are countless other technologies that negatively affect the environment in the same way that AI does. After all, streaming movies and TV shows, browsing social media, searching Google, or attending a Zoom video conference all produce just as much, if not more, CO2 than asking ChatGPT a question. Does that mean we should just ignore the consequences and use AI whenever we want, however we want? Not exactly. AI has yet to prove that it can make a significant improvement to everyday life in the way other technologies have, so until then, if you can get by without it, we see no reason to change your habits.
How to Identify AI-Generated Images
Artificial intelligence has gotten incredibly good at generating realistic images: it can be difficult to distinguish between what is real and what's not. Thankfully, it's not impossible. Despite the prevalence of AI-generated photos and videos, there are still ways that you can pinpoint when something was created artificially. We've created a handy guide that you can go to when you suspect you've come across an AI-generated image. Some telltale signs include looking at human subjects' fingers and eyes, any text in the image, lighting and shadows, etc. You should also pay attention to the quality of photos and videos. Photos often look unnaturally high quality with details that wouldn't normally show up in a photo. Videos often appear lower quality to hide imperfections. In general, if a video or photo shows something that appears too good to be true, it probably isn't.
Filtering Out AI-Generated Music
Along with images and videos, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to generate music. What makes AI music harder to distinguish from music made by humans is that streaming services like Spotify allow AI-generated music on their platform, without requiring any sort of AI label. You could be listening to your favorite workout playlist, and suddenly an AI-generated tune hits your eardrums. How would you know? When it comes to music, the things to pay attention to are the lyrics and the overall quality of the music. AI often uses generic-sounding lyrics and instrumentals. You can also check an artist's social media for evidence of human beings behind the music or videos of live performances. These are just a few common signs to look out for, but we recommend checking out our more in-depth guide to AI-generated music.
Can You Trust AI Search Results?
Every major search engine is implementing artificial intelligence into its results. The most common one you probably see is Google's AI overview, which appears at the top of every search results page. An AI overview commonly gives you a quick answer to your query, with links to sources so that you can verify the answer for yourself. User beware, though: sometimes, the AI overview can present incorrect information based on forum threads and social media posts. That's why it's important to always double-check the information in the AI overview, either by clicking the links provided in the overview or by combing through search results yourself. If you don't want to use AI overview or Google's AI Mode at all, you can disable them altogether. Whenever you type a query into Google, just add "-AI" to the end of your search terms, and you should get a classic version of Google search results with no AI included. This feature may be a bit buggy and might not always work for every user.
Want to Disable ChatGPT on Your iPhone? Here’s How
Apple began implementing AI into the iPhone back in iOS 18 with the introduction of Apple Intelligence. Since then, Apple Intelligence has continued to evolve but has yet to reach the heights of other large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Still, Apple has not stopped trying to improve its AI assistant, Siri. One thing it has done is partner with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence. Now, when a query is too advanced for Siri, it can be sent to ChatGPT for a more detailed answer. If you don't want ChatGPT to have access to your Siri requests, you can turn it off in the Settings app. However, this is not the last time that Apple will be partnering with a third party to improve Apple Intelligence. Recently, Apple announced a collaboration with Google to build a better version of Siri powered by Gemini, Google's large language model.
Why Is ChatGPT Infatuated with Goblins?
Frequent users of ChatGPT noticed that, seemingly out of nowhere, the latest model of the AI has picked up a habit of bringing up goblins in its replies to users. For example, ChatGPT referred to a bug in code as a "classic little goblin" and then called itself a "goblin with a flashlight" when describing how it found that bug. ChatGPT's hyperfixation with goblins became such a widespread problem that OpenAI itself had to step in and give it specific instructions to stop bringing up goblins unless otherwise prompted. If you're a heavy ChatGPT user, you should notice significantly fewer references to goblins and other mythical creatures in its responses. Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal.
- The most recent iOS and iPadOS is 26.4.2
- The most recent macOS is 26.4.1
- The most recent tvOS is 26.4
- The most recent watchOS is 26.4
- The most recent visionOS is 26.4
Read about the latest updates from Apple.
The correct answer is probably C. Research each option carefully. You shouldn't blindly follow advice from an AI, so taking the time to look into the options it suggests will allow you to determine which antivirus software is best for your needs. D. Consult with a security expert for advice is also a valid choice, and could very well be a part of your research into the programs suggested by ChatGPT.
There is far too much security and privacy news for us to cover it all. When building this newsletter, we look for scams, hacks, trouble, and news to illustrate the kinds of problems Apple enthusiasts may encounter in our private lives, and the self-defense we can practice to keep our devices, accounts, and lives secure. Our commentary focuses on practical advice for everyday people. This newsletter was written by Cullen Thomas and Rhett Intriago and edited by August Garry.
Wondering which password manager you should use? Check out:
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