If you use an iPhone or a Mac computer and you receive a message with a strange link to GitHub, do not open it.
It could be a "message bomb" that is circulating through Apple's devices and is able to temporarily paralyze them and force you to restart them ... even if you have not clicked on the malicious link it contains.
It is a bug (computer failure) that the software developer Abraham Masri revealed on Twitter. He called it "ChaiOS".
"This text message freezes the recipient's device and may force it to restart it, do not use it for malicious purposes," the informant posted on the social network.
According to Marsi and after tests made by several users, the message is capable of infecting almost all models of phones and computers that use the iOS operating system, from iOS 10 to the fifth beta version of iOS 11.2.5, the penultimate one launched the company.
If the message comes through a Mac, it is capable of dropping Safari, Apple's browser, and causing slowdowns.
The text is circulating through the Apple messaging application, iMessage, and contains the following link: iabem97.github.io/chaiOS
It is a public access link that is linked to GitHub, a digital platform to host projects.
Is your iPhone slower? Apple recognizes for the first time that it deliberately slows its phones
5 tricks to prevent the iOS 11 operating system from eating the iPhone's battery
At the moment the reasons that cause the problem are unknown.
Masri said that "always reports on technological errors" and added on Twitter that "Apple should take more seriously" this type of failure.
"A nuisance"
However, some specialists say that the problem, although annoying, should not alarm users.
The security expert Graham Cluley alerted on his blog about the bug and said that, indeed, the message is able to block the screen and cause "peculiar behavior" in the terminal.
The bug "generates confusion on the device and iMessages decides to close it, it's not nice, but it's more of a nuisance than anything that could steal your data or have a hacker access your files."
4 problems of the new iPhone X, the most expensive in the history of Apple
Apple has not yet ruled on this.
Marsi said that it would disable the GitHub link to which the message is linked, but warned that other people can use the bug to create a new link that causes the same problems.
He also assured that it is not the first time that he denounces Apple's mistakes, and he told the specialized Buzzfeed media that on another occasion he warned about an error that disabled the cell phone screen and that the company explained that they did not think it was a problem. serious.
This is not the first time that failures of this type occur that affect Apple customers.
In November, the company had to apologize for an error that allowed access to any Mac computer without a password.
The username that gives access to any Mac computer without password and has Apple working against the clock to remedy it
What to do if the "message bomb" came to you?
Do not click on the link.
Delete the entire conversation.
Always use the most recent version of iOS.
If the fault forces you to restart, restore the device to the factory settings (within the "Settings" menu).
You can also block GitHub (within "Restrictions"), although that will not be effective if they host the code on another website.
If Apple releases a security patch to handle this bug, install it as soon as possible.