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There has been a significant increase in the amount of malware targeting macOS devices over the past 12 months, new research has claimed.
A report from Atlas VPN found that the development of macOS malware surged by 1,092% in 2020 as hackers increasingly targeting Apple's computing devices, including the all-new M1 Macs.
Overall, 674,273 new malware samples were detected in 2020 - a huge rise from the previous year, when there were only 56,556 samples detected.
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The numbers show that 2020 was unfortuately a bumper year for macOS malware, with the number of new strains taking off like never before. Atlas VPN noted that if all the new malware detected since it began tracking in 2012 until 2019 was combined, this would result in 219,257 samples - far below the number seen in 2020.
From 2012 until 2019, the highest number of new malware strains ever detected was 92,570 samples in 2018, showing what a bumper year 2020 was for wannabe hackers.
“Contributing to this record surge in threats is the fact that new malicious software is now easier to engineer than ever before," noted Rachel Welch, COO of Atlas VPN.
"Nowadays, hackers don’t even need advanced programming skills since they can purchase a ready-made malware code, tailor it to their needs with a little bit of coding, and establish a completely new threat."
Alarms were raised earlier this year when the first malware native to M1-powered MacBooks was discovered in the wild, just months after the arrival of the first Apple Silicon devices.
GoSearch22.app, an M1-native version of the longstanding Pirrit virus, generates revenue by spamming users with pop-ups and adverts.
Despite the rise in macOS malware, Atlas VPN highlighted that the number of attacks targeting Windows users remained much higher. The company found a record-high of 91.05 million new Windows malware samples were discovered in 2020 - an average of 249,452 threats per day, meaning that there were over 135 times more Windows threats than there was macOS in 2020.
If you've changed your address lately and don't have direct deposit set up with the IRS, do this so you can receive your missing stimulus money or tax refund in the mail.
The third stimulus check is headed for your mailbox. If you're age 65 or older, here's what to know about qualifications, income, SSI, SSDI and retirement, and what to do if you're still missing stimulus money from the first two checks.
In a relatively short space of time, OnePlus has quickly become a household name on the mobile scene for its high-spec, well-designed handsets available at affordable prices.
Rivalling even the likes of Samsung and Apple when it comes to producing the best smartphones on the market right now, the Chinese manufacturer looks set to further shake up the competition with the launch of its latest flagship device, the OnePlus 9.
Ahead of its official announcement alongside the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus Watch on March 23, we’ve put together a list of every device we expect to see revealed at the event. This includes both confirmed appearances, and a different device we have an inkling we may hear about.
OnePlus 9 (confirmed)
Of course, the main focus of the event will be on the launch of the company’s exciting new flagship, the OnePlus 9.
Although this will mark the first time the device has been officially revealed by OnePlus itself, we’ve already got a pretty good idea of the specs and design we can expect from the OnePlus 9.
Back in 2020, we got our first look at what we believe to be the device’s final design. Images show a very clean and modern aesthetic, with a flat screen and a single punch hole selfie camera. Around the back it looks as though we can expect a triple camera setup, housed up in the top left hand corner (as was the camera positioning of the OnePlus 8T).
(Image credit: PhoneArena)
When it comes to colors, we’re less certain, with one leaker claiming to have found evidence that the OnePlus 9 will be available in Arctic Blue, Arctic Sky and Winter Mist (or Gloss black and Gloss gradient purple if bought on Verizon), while another claims that it will come in standard black, blue and purple shades.
We think the OnePlus 9 will have a 6.55-inch Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage under the hood. As per a recent official announcement, the device is also coming with 50W fast wireless charging and a 4,500mAh battery on board.
When it comes to its cameras, we know the OnePlus 9 will feature a snapper made in partnership with famed camera brand Hasselblad.
See how Hasselblad Ambassadors Cooper and Gorfer capture rich detail and true-to-life colors with Natural Color Calibration on the #OnePlus9Series, made possible by @Hasselblad.March 10, 2021
We expect the OnePlus 9 may have a 48MP main camera (outputting 12MP images), a 48MP ultra-wide one and an unknown third camera, though leaked images elsewhere suggest the device will instead have a 48MP, 50MP and 2MP camera combination, so we’re a little in the dark about we’ll end up seeing.
OnePlus 9 Pro (confirmed)
The most high spec device in the lineup is the OnePlus 9 Pro, and we’ve had many more confirmations regarding the Pro than we have the standard variant of the phone.
For starters, we know exactly what it’ll look like, thanks to official images shared by the official OnePlus Twitter account. These reveal a reflective glass design similar to the OnePlus 9, with the addition of a slightly curved screen and larger camera block featuring four lenses. It’s expected to arrive in Stellar Black, Forest Green and Morning Mist color variants.
Specially designed reflective glass elevates the #OnePlus9Pro Morning Mist to new levels of design excellence. There's nothing else like it. See even more on March 23.👉 https://t.co/18Op7zhU9l pic.twitter.com/lF07yB0TVXMarch 15, 2021
We also know the exact screen specs of the OnePlus 9 Pro. It will pack a 6.78-inch display with a QHD resolution operating at 120Hz, marking a larger size than its standard sibling. Company CEO Pete Lau also took to Twitter to confirm the other display specs we can expect from the OnePlus 9 Pro, which you can see below.
Just the rundown: LTPOQHD+ Smart 120Hz Native 10-bit color depth (1.07 billion colors)1300 nitsMEMCHDR10+March 16, 2021
Under the hood, it’ll boast the same Snapdragon 888 chipset we expect in the OnePlus 9, although there’s some debate as to whether it will pack the same 8GB of RAM or a larger 12GB. It’s anticipated to arrive with 256GB of internal storage.
As for its cameras, a confirmed quad-camera setup means we expect to see a 48MP, 50MP, 8MP and 2MP combination on the OnePlus 9 Pro. A seemingly official piece of information suggests the device will have a tilt-shift camera mode, which was corroborated by Marques Brownlee in a recent tweet.
OnePlus: Hey Marques you know how you keep telling us to improve our phone cameras?Me: YupOnePlus: You’ve seen this Hasselblad partnership we’ve teased?Me: YupOnePlus: Want to test OnePlus 9 Pro super duper early? Just don’t take it out of this caseMe: Bet pic.twitter.com/uCpvjaajlIMarch 10, 2021
We anticipate the OnePlus 9 Pro will come with the same battery capabilities as the OnePlus 9. It’s also worth noting that the company has confirmed both devices will arrive with a charger in the box – an interesting departure from the recent practises of Apple and Samsung.
OnePlus Watch (confirmed)
The company’s first smartwatch effort, the OnePlus Watch, has also been confirmed to launch alongside the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro on March 23.
Many of you said you wanted a watch, and as you might have heard over the weekend—we're making one, to be released early next year. Wishes do come true.🎁 https://t.co/H1Fqv9srXjDecember 22, 2020
Unlike its phones, though, OnePlus hasn’t let slip all that much information regarding its smartwatch debut. Leaks have suggested it will have a circular screen, which means it won’t have too much in common with the Oppo Watch (which has a square display), despite the two companies often launching similar devices.
It has, however, been confirmed that the OnePlus Watch won’t run wear OS, Google's smartwatch operating system. It will instead run a different software, perhaps its own.
This comes from an official OnePlus forum post, which also suggests the device will have an 'affordable price point', a 'fashionable design' and a 'best-in-class user experience'. It’s worth taking those claims with a pinch of salt, of course.
OnePlus 9R (rumored)
While not confirmed to appear at the March 23 event, a recent announcement regarding a more affordable entry in the OnePlus series suggests we could see a third phone launch alongside the OnePlus Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro.
We had expected the rumored third phone in the upcoming lineup to be dubbed the OnePlus 9 Lite or OnePlus 9E, but the company has revealed it will in fact be called the OnePlus 9R – but it’s only launching India, as far as we can tell.
The device was confirmed by CEO Pete Lau in an interview with News 18, and alongside the name of the device, Lau seemingly suggested it was an India-exclusive handset.
Naturally, of the three devices, this one has been the subject of the fewest leaks. The only confirmed information regarding the OnePlus 9R is that it will almost definitely be the cheapest of the three smartphones, with Lau describing it as a "premium-tier device at a more affordable price point in India".
"Featuring the latest technologies that we see as must-have features of a flagship, the OnePlus 9R is targeted to empower users with smooth scrolling, immersive gaming controls and a superior viewing experience effectively bringing our flagship experience to more users," Lau added.
Being a more affordable option, then, we can expect the OnePlus 9R to offer slightly lower-spec features in most departments. It’s anticipated that its display, for example, will be the same 6.55-inch Full HD+ screen as the OnePlus 9, but with a slightly lower 90Hz refresh rate.
The OnePlus 9R is thought to have a 64MP main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide one, though it's not clear whether it’ll have two lenses or three. As for its processor, we expect a Snapdragon 690 chipset, along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, meaning it’ll likely be slightly less powerful than the standard model despite having the same RAM and internal storage.
Interestingly, the OnePlus 9R looks set to come with a 5,000mAh battery, which is slightly bigger than the expected batteries on its bigger brothers. Whether this means the OnePlus 9R maintains better battery life at the expense of greater weight remains to be seen, though we’d expect this to be the trade-off.
As we’ve mentioned, the only confirmation we’ve had regarding the OnePlus 9R is it’s name, official initial launch location and more affordable – so we’re hoping to hear more come March 23.
OnePlus Band (rumored)
Another device we’d like to see at the OnePlus 9 launch event is the OnePlus Band, currently only available in China and India.
In our review, we said this fitness tracker comes pretty close to greatness considering it marks OnePlus’ first attempt at cracking the fitness industry, so we’d love to see it become available in other markets such as the US, UK or Australia.
This isn’t guaranteed, though, and it may be that the OnePlus Watch is the only wearable we hear news about during the company’s big March 23 launch.
