I know most of us are smart enough, But just in case.
Warning! Viral prank crashing smartphones and tablets - Stop it with this trick
By Mark Jones, Komando.com
14,059
photo courtesy of shutterstock
Apple has a reputation for having strong privacy and security standards. The tech giant even fought for user's privacy earlier this year when the FBI wanted help breaking into an alleged San Bernardino shooter's iPhone.
However, it looks like someone has now found a way to wreak havoc with Apple gadgets.
There is a malicious video being passed around the internet that will cause any iOS gadget to crash. It doesn't matter if it's an iPhone, iPad or iPod, they are all susceptible to this bug.
How the bug works
What's happening is victims are being sent a link to a video that is only about three seconds in length. It's an .mp4 video that shows someone standing next to a bed and has the word 'Honey' written on the screen.
The video is actually a corrupt file that begins a memory leak when opened in Safari. A memory leak is a failure in a program to release discarded memory, causing flawed performance or the gadget to fail altogether.
If you play this corrupt video, your iOS gadget will slow to a crawl and eventually freeze so that it no longer functions. It works fast too, as it only takes about 30 seconds to lock up your device.
At this time Apple does not know what causes the glitch. The video is thought to be hosted on a Russian social networking site.
How to fix the problem
The good news is that if your gadget freezes from watching this video, there appear to be no long-term effects. The fix is also very quick and simple.
All you need to do to unlock your gadget is a force reboot. This should eliminate the problem and return your gadget to full functionality.
Here is how to force a reboot:
Apple is working on finding a solution to this bug. A patch will be rolled out if a solution is found. In the meantime, be cautious of any unknown Safari pages and links.
Warning! Viral prank crashing smartphones and tablets - Stop it with this trick
By Mark Jones, Komando.com
14,059
photo courtesy of shutterstock
Apple has a reputation for having strong privacy and security standards. The tech giant even fought for user's privacy earlier this year when the FBI wanted help breaking into an alleged San Bernardino shooter's iPhone.
However, it looks like someone has now found a way to wreak havoc with Apple gadgets.
There is a malicious video being passed around the internet that will cause any iOS gadget to crash. It doesn't matter if it's an iPhone, iPad or iPod, they are all susceptible to this bug.
How the bug works
What's happening is victims are being sent a link to a video that is only about three seconds in length. It's an .mp4 video that shows someone standing next to a bed and has the word 'Honey' written on the screen.
The video is actually a corrupt file that begins a memory leak when opened in Safari. A memory leak is a failure in a program to release discarded memory, causing flawed performance or the gadget to fail altogether.
If you play this corrupt video, your iOS gadget will slow to a crawl and eventually freeze so that it no longer functions. It works fast too, as it only takes about 30 seconds to lock up your device.
At this time Apple does not know what causes the glitch. The video is thought to be hosted on a Russian social networking site.
How to fix the problem
The good news is that if your gadget freezes from watching this video, there appear to be no long-term effects. The fix is also very quick and simple.
All you need to do to unlock your gadget is a force reboot. This should eliminate the problem and return your gadget to full functionality.
Here is how to force a reboot:
- Older iPhones - On iPhone models before the 7 and 7 Plus, to perform a forced reboot just press and hold the home and lock/power buttons at the same time for at least 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus - Apple changed the way to do a forced reboot on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. On these models, you press and hold the volume and lock/power buttons at the same time for at least 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
- iPads and iPod Touch - Press and hold the home and lock/power buttons at the same time for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.
Apple is working on finding a solution to this bug. A patch will be rolled out if a solution is found. In the meantime, be cautious of any unknown Safari pages and links.
