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hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
so its DNS that resolves the web site text address into an IP adress. typically your DNS query is not encrypted. Your DNS will make several jumps for a none local web site. even if you run a VPN; does your vpn providor own their own DNS servers... NO.
Luckily this is easily remedied.
 

Freeangel1

Suspended
Jan 13, 2020
1,191
1,755
WOW! not only is Big Sur a BIG BLOATED PIG at 12GB in SIZE!

But you confirm what I suspected all along. SPYING on its users.

I am going back to Catalina. Enough Said.

Or running a studio workstation completely off the internet.
 
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leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,495
19,632
WOW! not only is Big Sur a BIG BLOATED PIG at 12GB in SIZE!

But you confirm what I suspected all along. SPYING on its users.

I am going back to Catalina. Enough Said.

Or running a studio workstation completely off the internet.

Anything Big Sur does, Catalina does too. Apple has been doing malware checks for years. Did you even read the thread?
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,584
52,324
In a van down by the river
BW,

The forum regulars won’t lead you astray. If there is a problem, they will let you know. Trust the regulars with tech help. If you can’t, there isn’t much sense in making threads asking for help.
 

jeyf

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2009
2,173
1,044
reference DNS security
Luckily this is easily remedied.
not as easy as you think:
-your internet providor could intercept your DNS request and direct ait to their own DNS that they log
-does your personal fire wall, router, the MBP cash frequemt DNS activity

-do you have a work or subscription VPN
-how well managed are these, maybe they dont even know
-is your work place looking
 

jeyf

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2009
2,173
1,044
Luckily this is easily remedied.
yes
i make my irish setter wear one all the time
Tin-Foil-Hat-for-Humans-by-Archie-McPhee.jpg
 

hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
reference DNS security
not as easy as you think:
-your internet providor could intercept your DNS request and direct ait to their own DNS that they log
DNS interception is widely considered provider malpractice. If you use DNSSEC it prevents from getting answers from a rogue DNS.

-does your personal fire wall, router, the MBP cash frequemt DNS activity
I have my private DNS, however it's not needed to maintain a basic level of DNS privacy.
 

BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
What is your alternative, however? Windows and ChromeOS most certainly do this. Are you planning a Linux flight if this proves to be so?

I cannot find any solid evidence of keystroke logging being preformed by Apple themselves on macOS. That article is pretty weak.
Thank you Retta283!

I'm looking at the alternatives that you've mentioned. I'm looking for more articles that give 100% accurate information on how Microsoft/Google compare to Apple in terms of user privacy.

Once again, I'm sorry if I come across as annoying, but I'm trying to deal with some serious life stressors so my thinking is really all over the place!
 
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leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,495
19,632
Thank you Retta283!

I'm looking at the alternatives that you've mentioned. I'm looking for more articles that give 100% accurate information on how Microsoft/Google compare to Apple in terms of user privacy.

Once again, I'm sorry if I come across as annoying, but I'm trying to deal with some serious life stressors so my thinking is really all over the place!

Well, look at it from this perspective.
Microsoft and google use their operating systems and products to target you with advertising. Apple does it too, but only on iOS abs only to a limited degree.
 

jeyf

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2009
2,173
1,044
cats out of the bag
everyone is doing it
No way to tell. No one leak is exploited any more than the next.
 

BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
Well, look at it from this perspective.
Microsoft and google use their operating systems and products to target you with advertising. Apple does it too, but only on iOS abs only to a limited degree.
Thank you Leman.

I'm still trying to process all of the information that's been posted in this thread!

I had no idea that Apple setup macOS BigSur to report back to Apple as a way of protecting its users. When I first heard that macOS BigSur was sending user data back to Apple I immediately had the "knee jerk reaction" that it was a way for Apple to monitor users running macOS BigSur and this is why I was so worried.

EDIT:

I just wanted to say I appreciate the patience the people who have posted in this thread have given me. I'm trying to deal with some serious life issues and this may be why I've been feeling so much anxiety about this problem.
 

BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
Re: LittleSnitch
I've been re-reading this thread over and over and somehow I missed this post!

I've got Little Snitch so does this mean Little Snitch is able to work and block ALL apps from connecting to the Internet or is it something we need to wait for Apple to implement in macOS Big Sur???
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,584
52,324
In a van down by the river
I've been re-reading this thread over and over and somehow I missed this post!

I've got Little Snitch so does this mean Little Snitch is able to work and block ALL apps from connecting to the Internet or is it something we need to wait for Apple to implement in macOS Big Sur???
Apple apps have to be able to contact Apple to make sure the app is correctly signed and authentic (i.e. not hacked).
 
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hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
Starting with imminent release of 11.2, currently whitelisted (bypassing Little Snitch or other software firewalls) Apple services running on Big Sur will no longer bypass them and will behave just like any other service trying to connect to the internet. You will be able to block any communication to Apple servers if you fancy.
 

BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
Apple apps have to be able to contact Apple to make sure the app is correctly signed and authentic (i.e. not hacked).
Thank you Apple_Robert!

I'm still doing research on this and I'll report back what I find.

I think just reading the title: "Your Computer Isn't Yours" really scared me as it gave me the idea that everything I do on my Mac is being monitored by Apple... 😢 😢 😢
 

theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
Based on all of the OP's threads I can surmise that she is an international woman of mystery working for MI6, CIA, Interpol and Spetsnaz and I sympathise with the constant worries.

Just bear in mind though that if you do not allow Apple to do the checks it is doing by blocking using a firewall, you are exposing yourself to far worse than Apple knowing which developer's apps you are opening.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,597
11,282
A lot of enabled by default Apple data collection services are hidden under Quick Setup button on initial MacOS setup. Most people will glance over that but it didn't get by me and I turned them all off. Part of the reason why my 'memory usage' on bootup is so low at ~3GB compared to others.
 

BeautifulWoman_1984

Contributor
Original poster
Sep 5, 2016
536
70
Based on all of the OP's threads I can surmise that she is an international woman of mystery working for MI6, CIA, Interpol and Spetsnaz and I sympathise with the constant worries.

Just bear in mind though that if you do not allow Apple to do the checks it is doing by blocking using a firewall, you are exposing yourself to far worse than Apple knowing which developer's apps you are opening.
Thank you TheSeb!

I can assure you I'm not doing anything illegal... I just want to maintain my privacy and security since I do so much of my work and finances on my devices.

What do you mean by "if you do not allow Apple to do the checks it is doing by blocking using a firewall, you are exposing yourself to far worse than Apple knowing which developer's apps you are opening." ???

Are you saying that by blocking the Apple checks using a firewall I'd be giving more of my user information to developers that create 3rd party Apps?

I trust Apple much more than even developers that create the most popular 3rd party Apps for MacOS like Dropbox, Evernote and Adobe Reader...
 

me22

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2012
83
66
I think just reading the title: "Your Computer Isn't Yours" really scared me as it gave me the idea that everything I do on my Mac is being monitored by Apple... 😢 😢 😢
This is often called clickbait or sensationalism. It exists to take advantage of your emotions in order to either further an agenda, get you to click ads, or reinforce their own paranoias.

This thread contains an extremely serious problem for me so I don't see what's so comedic ☹️ ☹️ ☹️ ?
This thread is full of people explaining what is happening and why it's not a serious problem for you, and a bunch of post of you seemingly ignoring the explanations.

The points are that:

a) what gets sent back to Apple is a minimal amount of data used to improve the security of your computer, and potentially protect your privacy
b) this is not new to Big Sur
c) Big Sur has changed the way other apps can monitor Apple's own software, but not necesarilly because Apple is trying to hide something nefarious (it's more likely an attempt to again improve the security of your computer and prtect your privacy)

It's ok to be skeptical, but there is no evidence to support that they are actually doing anything worse than they claim to be doing, so try not to imagine the worst case scenario. Try to think about it logically. What does Apple stand to gain from tracking your keystrokes (not much... some random words you type between switching apps)? Do you think they are transferring gigabytes of your data (that would be very costly and tough to sift though... have you ever tried to organize all your old files)? Would it be a PR nightmare if they were caught doing so (most definitely... and no, blocking little snitch doesn't mean they'd get away with it)?

On a personal privacy note, the people who have read this thread know more about you than Apple does.
 
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