Apple iOS 12 is Here! How to Update, Best New Features & More

Apple released its iOS 12 update at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, Sept. 17. Update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 12 right now.

Device compatibility

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch runs iOS 11, it will run iOS 12. That means all iPhones starting from the iPhone 5S onward.

Smoother and faster

The headlining feature of iOS 12 isn't something that can be explained through screenshots. It's something you have to experience on your own. Instead of cramming countless new features into iOS 12 and adding to some of the already perplexing (and frustrating!) bugs we all experience, Apple is using iOS 12 to focus on improving the overall performance of its iOS device lineup across the board.

Apps should open faster, scrolling should be smoother and crashes should be fewer.

Best new features

Siri gets smarter, but you'll work harder -- at first. Siri Shortcuts are tasks you can create and trigger with a custom command to do things like send a text, play a podcast and get directions to your favorite ice cream shop.

Cut down on screen time: New tools in iOS 12 show you how often you pick up your phone, how many notifications you receive, and how much time you spend using various apps. Trust us: It's scary to see hard numbers for how long you spend on your phone.

Better notification management: One of the main reasons we reach for our phones so often is the sheer number of alerts we receive. iOS 12 has new tools to cut back on unnecessary alerts.

Minor tweaks to Messages, but a big change to FaceTime: After a couple years of adding a lot to the Messages app, the biggest change this year is a new camera tool. FaceTime was supposed to add group calls for up to 32 people, but Apple decided to remove the feature from iOS 12 for the time being. We should still see group FaceTime later this year, though.

Create an Animoji of your own: Memoji is a word you're going to hear a lot this fall. A Memoji is an animated emoji iPhone X users can create and use just like last year's Animoji characters.

Closing apps goes old school: Apple changed the process of force-closing apps on the iPhone X, adding in extra steps. With iOS 12, things are getting back to normal.

You have a built-in tape measure: Need to measure a table or some other object? Apple is adding a new app, Measure, in iOS 12. The app uses augmented reality to measure real-world objects. It's pretty cool.

Ransomware Takes Down Flight Boards at U.K. Airport

Bristol Airport has blamed a ransomware attack for causing a blackout of flight information screens for two days over the weekend.

The airport said that the attack started Friday morning, taking out several computers over the airport network, including its in-house display screens which provide details about the arrival and departure information of flights.

The attack forced the airport officials to take down its systems and use whiteboards and paper posters to announce check-in and arrival information for flights going through the airport and luggage pickup points for all Friday, Saturday, and the subsequent night.

"We are currently experiencing technical problems with our flight information screens," a post on the Bristol Airport's official Twitter feed read on Friday.

"Flights are unaffected and details of check-in desks, boarding gates, and arrival/departure times will be made over the public address system. Additional staff are on hand to assist passengers."

The airport also urged passengers to arrive early and "allow extra time for check-in and boarding processes," though this two days technical meltdown caused delays in baggage handling, with customers needed to wait longer than one hour for their bags.

However, no flight delays were reportedly caused due to the cyber attack.

An airport spokesman said that the information screens went offline due to a so-called "ransomware" attack, though he confirmed that no "ransom" had been paid to get the airport systems working again.

Affected systems and flight information screens were finally restored on Sunday, officials said.

"We are grateful to passengers for their patience while we have been working to resolve issues with flight information this weekend. Digital screens are now live in arrivals and departures. Work will continue to restore complete site-wide coverage as soon as possible," the airport tweeted on Sunday.

At the moment, it is not clear how the ransomware got into the airport systems. Bristol is carrying out an investigation to find out what happened.

Apple Watch Series 4 Has ECG Heart Monitor & All Day Battery

If your heart's beating faster, the new Apple Watch Series 4 will be able to tell. The latest Apple Watch packs several new features, with the most obvious change on its surface: a redesigned face to put much more screen on your wrist.

The tech giant on Wednesday unveiled its new Apple Watch Series 4 from the Steve Jobs Theater in its Apple Park headquarters. The new watch has a larger face, and features its own Electrocardiogram and Fall Detection. It'll also have new speakers and a processor chip that boasts much faster speeds for the watch.

It'll start at $399 for the Series 4 model, $499 for the LTE model. Preorders will start on Sept. 14, and the watches will be available on Sept. 21.

The watch's accelerometer and gyroscope has improved so that the watch can now predict if the person wearing it is falling. If there's an accident, the watch can prompt a call to emergency services, for example.

"Fall detection is a feature that we hope you never need but it's really nice to know it's there," Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer said.

The speakers are now also 50 percent louder, while the screen is 30 percent larger. Its new chip, the S4, will have the watch performing twice as fast. With the larger screen, you can have up to 8 shortcuts on the screen for apps. The speakers will now be 50 percent louder for phone calls and interacting with Siri. The battery life boasts 18 hours, and outdoor workout time has increased to 6 hours, Apple said.

The feature that received the most applause in the crowd came in response to the electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) feature, which allows wearers to have a heart sensor on their wrists.

"The biggest feature add to Watch besides the larger viewable image area was its heart health features, in particular, its ability to perform an ECG and also can detect AFib. Add that to fall detection and notification and I can see kids buying one for their parents and grandparents," Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, said.

It'll come in three colors for its aluminum finish, in silver, gold and space gray. The stainless steel versions have polished black and space black, as well as a new gold color.

British Airways Hacked – 380,000 Payment Cards Compromised

British Airways has confirmed a data breach that exposed personal details and credit-card numbers of up to 380,000 customers and lasted for more than two weeks.

In a statement released by British Airways on Thursday, customers booking flights on its website (ba.com) and British Airways mobile app between late 21 August and 5 September were compromised.

The airline advised customers who made bookings during that 15 days period and believe they may have been affected by this incident to "contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their recommended advice."

British Airways stated on its Twitter account that personal details stolen in the breach included their customers' names and addresses, along with their financial information, but the company assured its customers that the hackers did not get away with their passport numbers or travel details.

The company also said that saved cards on its website and mobile app are not compromised in the breach. Only cards that have been used by you to make booking payments during the affected period are stolen.

"We are investigating, as a matter of urgency, the theft of customer data from our website and our mobile app," the company said in a statement. "The stolen data did not include travel or passport details."

Although the statement released by the did not mention the number of affected customers, the company's spokesperson confirmed to the media that some 380,000 payment cards were compromised in the breach.

Also currently, it is not clear how the data breach occurred, but some media outlets are reporting that the breach was identified when "a third party noticed some unusual activity" and informed the company about it.

British Airways also informed the police and the Information Commissioner and currently reaching out to affected customers directly.

However, the company assured its customers that the security breach has now been resolved, and its website is working normally and is now safe for passengers to check-in online, and book flights online.

The National Crime Agency is aware of the British Airways data breach and is "working with partners to assess the best course of action."

Winter is Coming... Free Credit Freezes for all Consumers!

Starting September 21, 2018, credit freezes will now be free for all Americans.

Most U.S. consumers have a credit report, whether they know it or not AND whether they use it or not. These reports are generated by the three major credit reporting agencies, or CRAs, based on activity associated with buying and borrowing. When you first start out, you might have “no credit” and therefore not have a credit report, but multiple lender requests into your credit background can generate a report in your name.

For many years, credit reports were a good way to keep tabs on your financial identity; if someone had stolen your identity and tried to open new accounts or lines of credit, you might find that information on there. At the same time, people who were already victims of identity theft have been urged to put “freezes” or “alerts” on their credit reports to keep thieves from opening more accounts in their names.

Freezes mean that the CRA cannot release your credit report to a lender, which is supposed to prevent a new account from being opened. The problem for many consumers is that freezing your account incurred a small fee, one that ranged from $2 to $10 depending on the agency. “Thawing” your account if you wanted to open a legitimate credit line also could result in a fee, as did refreezing once the process is finished.

Now, Congress has been called upon to take action in light of the recent Equifax data breach. This single event exposed more than 148 million consumers’ complete identities to hackers. As a result, Equifax offered free credit freezes for a limited time, but lawmakers came up with another solution. Thanks in part to grassroots advocacy efforts, the House has passed a bill that will waive the credit freeze fee for all consumers from all three credit reporting agencies.

This bill, which has been signed into law by the White House, will not go into effect until September 21st, so in the meantime, consumers need to remain vigilant about protecting themselves:

1. If you haven’t already done so, Equifax is still offering free credit freezes until the law goes into effect. Signing up for a freeze is simple and instructions are on their website.
2. Regardless of whether you have freezes in place, monitoring your credit reports routinely is important for protecting yourself from identity theft crimes. You are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. You can find out more at annualcreditreport.com.
3. Checking over account statements and using strong passwords on all of your accounts can help minimize the risk and the long-term effects of identity theft.