Welcome to 2023! Our first issue of the year focuses on the serious security breach suffered by password management service LastPass, explaining what happened and how users should react. Adam Engst passes on a TidBITS reader’s surprising fix for installation failures that can afflict MobileDeviceUpdater, the software that lets Macs talk to USB-connected iPhones and iPads. He also shares a tip for using Live Text in iOS to scan printed cookbook and magazine recipes into the Paprika recipe management app. Notable Mac app releases this week include Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher 2.0.3, SuperDuper 3.7.2, Airfoil 5.11.4, Audio Hijack 4.0.7, Piezo 1.7.12, SoundSource 5.5.7, Quicken 6.11.1, BusyCal 2022.4.7, Pixelmator Pro 3.2.3, Default Folder X 5.7.3, Zoom 5.13, Mimestream 0.40.2, Alfred 5.0.6, and Lunar 5.9.1.
Mac users sometimes see the prompt “A software update is required to connect to your iPhone/iPad” when connecting one of those devices. What should you do if the installation fails?
Faced with the desire to import recipes from his cookbooks into Paprika, Adam Engst discovers that iOS’s Live Text feature works wonders for scanning recipe text using his iPhone’s camera.
Password management service LastPass announced that attackers stole unencrypted customer account data and encrypted usernames and passwords. This is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing for LastPass, though LastPass users shouldn’t be at significant risk—as long as they heeded the company’s advice and have strong master passwords.
Watchlist
The three Affinity graphic design apps fix a slew of bugs from the v2 release. ($69.99 new for each, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)
Fixed a few bugs in the backup utility. ($27.95 new, free update, 9.2 MB, macOS 10.10+)
The four Rogue Amoeba audio apps provide full compatibility with macOS 13.1 Ventura. ($35/64/25/39 new, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)
Brings improvements to bill payments, tax reports, investments, and accounts in the financial management app. ($35.99/51.99/77.99 annual subscription, free update, macOS 10.13+)
Calendar app gains features that simplify working with time zones. ($49.99 new, free update, 56.9 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Introduces machine learning-powered Deband feature for removing color banding and compression artifacts in images. ($39.99 new, free update, 550 MB, macOS 11+)
Addresses bugs in macOS 13 Ventura and improves the default locations of Default Folder X's Finder toolbar buttons. ($34.95 new, free update, 13.7 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Brings a wide range of improvements and bug fixes to meetings, webinars, team chats, and more. (Free, 87.5 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Improves the performance of the Mentions completion menu in the Gmail client. (Free, 11.8 MB, macOS 11+)
Unveils early access to the Alfred Gallery platform, featuring a range of downloadable workflows from the Alfred community. (£34 new, 6.4 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Adds support for macOS Shortcuts and automatic sub-zero dimming in the display brightness control utility. ($23 new, free update, 21.6 MB, macOS 11+)
