MarcForrest.com

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  • Rumored iPhone 17 Pro Features: What to Expect from Apple’s Next Flagship

    Although iOS 26 is still rolling out, rumors about the iPhone 17 Pro are already swirling. MacRumors reports a host of design and hardware changes that may debut on Apple’s 2026 flagship.

    Design changes

    • A lighter aluminum frame could replace the titanium shell on current models
    • An anti-reflective display might reduce glare in bright conditions
    • A redesigned Dynamic Island and rectangular camera bump are expected.

    Under the hood

    Rumors point to an A19 Pro chip with better efficiency, plus 12 GB of RAM, longer battery life and 25 W wireless charging. Connectivity upgrades could include a custom Wi-Fi 7 chip for faster wireless speeds.

    Camera and cooling

    Apple may upgrade the front camera to 24 MP and the telephoto camera to 48 MP, along with support for dual video recording and 8K video. A vapor-chamber cooling system could keep temperatures down during extended use.

    While these features are still speculative, they hint at a device designed for professionals who demand high performance.

  • Why storing passwords on iOS is UNSAFE!

    I came across this tweet earlier this week from @BrentLindeque who shared a story about a friend of his who had their bank accounts cleaned out after being robbed of her iPhone.

    The guys who stole the phone forced her to give them her pin code to the phone. Usually this wouldn’t be an issue, because most of the new iPhones are “protected” by facial recognition, right.

    But, a while back Apple released an update which picks up if you wearing a mask (yay, thanks Covid) and then immediately prompts you to put in a pin code. See the problem?

    One of the other newer features of iOS is that it has the ability to save all your passwords on your device. You are usually prompted when signing into an app or website on the device, and asks you if you want to save your password. To access the full list of passwords, you need to do an authentication process either by Biometrics/Facial recognition or if that fails, ie, you wearing your Covid mask, YOU HAVE TO PUT IN YOUR PIN. Which then exposes every single password on your phone!!

    This is a massive security flaw if someone gets your phone, and knows your password, and then has access to every single one of your passwords.

    So, how do we fix this? 3 quick suggestions:

    1. Delete all the passwords saved in your device. Yes it’s a nice to have, but rather use a dedicated Password Manager like LastPass or 1Password. Both of these are MUCH more secure being protected by a Master Password AND 2 Factor Authentication
    2. Enable 2 Factor on everything. More and more sites are offering 2 Factor authentication with apps like Authy or Google Authenticator. Hoping that sooner, all sites will offer this
    3. Change your 4 digit pin code to either an alpha-numeric passcode or even a 6 digit pincode. A four-digit PIN can be used to create 10,000 different combinations, while a six-digit PIN can be used to create one million

    I know this may be a small part of security and we may not all fall victim to the horrendous torment the lady went through in the above story, but it is still rather scary how easy it is to lose almost everything just by knowing a 4 digit pin code!!

  • How to Buy and Stake Terra LUNA in South Africa

    How to Buy and Stake Terra LUNA in South Africa

    I’ve always been a fan of exciting blockchain projects so when I stumbled across a new network called Terra, and the token it offers called Luna, I had to do more digging after having a brief read about it.
    Below is some more info about the project from CoinMarketCap

    What Is Terra (LUNA)

    Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems. According to its white paper, Terra combines the price stability and wide adoption of fiat currencies with the censorship-resistance of Bitcoin (BTC) and offers fast and affordable settlements.

    Development on Terra began in January 2018, and its mainnet officially launched in April 2019. As of September 2020, it offers stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, South Korean won, Mongolian tugrik and the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies — and it intends to roll out additional options.

    Terra's native token, LUNA, is used to stabilize the price of the protocol's stablecoins. LUNA holders are also able to submit and vote on governance proposals.

    So I started looking into how I could get my hands on some Luna tokens in South Africa. None of the popular exchanges like VALR & LUNO list Luna on their exchanges, so you would need to buy on an international exchange like Binance.

    1. First you need to deposit ZAR into VALR or LUNO to enable you to buy Bitcoin. Once you have bought your Bitcoin you will need to transfer it to an exchange that supports Luna
    2. I prefer using Binance as an international exchange as it has hundreds of coins & tokens to purchase or trade (eg Wave and XRP)
    3. Once you have setup your Binance account you can go to the LUNA/BTC Trading page. They also offer a LUNA/BNB, LUNA/USDT, LUNA//BUSD & LUNA/EUR pairs
    4. Once you have your LUNA safely tucked away on Binance, you can opt to leave it there and just keep accumulating, or there is another option called staking.
      Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation (similar to mining) on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. On these blockchains, anyone with a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency can validate transactions and earn Staking rewards.
    5. To stake your LUNA, you will need to move it out of Binance onto the Terra Network Blockchain. This may sound a bit daunting, but I promise it’s pretty easy
    6. First off, you will need to create a Terra Wallet. This is done using the Terra Station software. You do not need to sign up or give any details as this is a completely decentralized exchange. Make sure you save your keywords when signing up to the new wallet. You will need these in the future should you wish to restore your Wallet
      You can download the Chrome Extension (which I find the easiest to use or download the actual software)
      You can go to https://station.terra.money/ website, where you can connect a Terra Wallet. To do this click on Connect in the top left hand side of the page.
    7. Once you have created your wallet, you will see it in the top left of your page (instead of the Connect Button)
      The address format is always in the format of “terraxxxxx”
      You will need to copy this address and keep it handy while you log into Binance
    8. You will need to go to the Withdraw section of your LUNA wallet in Binance. You can do this by clicking Wallet->Spot and then search for your LUNA coins
    9. In the address section paste your address you copied in Step 7
      You need to leave the Memo Section empty. You may get an error after clicking submit, but you can ignore that. I have seen a few people say the transfer did not come through when they put a Memo in.
    10. After a few minutes you should get a notification in your Terra Station console that the coins are there and are available. From here there are a couple of things you can do. I mentioned earlier about Staking. There are a number of Validators you can stake your LUNA with.
    11. Click on the Staking Menu item on the left, and then select your preffered Validator. There are hundreds and each one gives a brief explanation of why you should choose them

    12. Once you have staked your LUNA, you will start receveing rewards. Based on the number of LUNA you have staked and the time you have left them with the Validator, your rewards can be pretty good!

    While LUNA is still a fairly new project there is loads of potential for this platform. There is a lot of additional project such as Mirror & Anchor which all offer various benefits

  • How to extract all the numbers from a Whatsapp Group

    I came across this quick & easy way to extract numbers from a Whatsapp Group. Whatsapp doesn’t have a simple way to export group info, even if you are an admin, so this is a bit of a hack, but can be done quite quickly following the steps below.

    1. Make sure you have linked your mobile WhatsApp to Whatsapp Web. This is pretty easy by going to https://web.whatsapp.com/ and follow the steps for logging in. Make sure you are using Chrome to load Whatsapp web.
    2. Go to the group you want to view the numbers of and click in the header of the group
    3. You will see a list of all the numbers in the group on the right-hand side of the page.
      On the page (usually, works over some typed text) right click and you should see a menu item called “Inspect”

      You should see a whole bunch of HTML code appear on the right-hand side or bottom of the page.
    4. Do a Ctrl-F (Control Find) and search for keyword infinite-list. This is the start of the list of all the numbers in the group. You should see that part of the code highlighted in Yellow. If you have a large list of people, scroll to the bottom of the list before the next step
    5. Right click on this line and go to Copy, Copy Element
    6. Open a new tab in Chrome and then go to https://conextractor.herokuapp.com/
    7. Click paste inside the box on the page. Check the Re-Captcha box, and click on the submit button (red button on the right-hand side)
    8. You will then see a text file download appear in your browser, called Contact-List.txt
      Open this in Notepad, and you will see all the numbers from the group in there

    It might seem a bit of a run-around, but it works really well especially if you have a larger group. I did ask the developer if they could add the Whatsapp Name as well, so hopefully, they do that.

  • Review: Xiaomi Mi5 (With Review Video)

    Review: Xiaomi Mi5 (With Review Video)

    So earlier this year I had the opportunity to review the awesome Xiaomi Mi4 device, which I was very impressed with. So when I heard the Mi5 had landed in South Africa, I got in touch with the team and asked them if I could take it for a spin.

    I tried something a bit different this time round and did a little intro video/unboxing/First Impressions video of the Mi5. Check it out below and then I will carry on with the rest of the written review.
    PS. This is first attempt, so would love to hear your thoughts by commenting on the YouTube video. Also please for more videos like this coming soon!!

    Once again, I was not disappointed with the Mi5. It almost feels, as it should, like the big brother version of the Mi4. The phone has “grown up” with a larger device, a better 5.15″ Full HD screen and a few extra features. One of the most notable additions is the new hardware home button/finger print sensor. That was one of the things missing on the Mi4, so I am glad they have introduced it on this model. Also included on this model is the ability to run Dual Sim, allowing you the flexibility to choose your network provider for your calls & data.

    The phone sports a Quad Core Max 1.8GHz CPU, with 3GB Ram & 32GB internal Memory. It’s great to see the latest version of the Android OS, Android 6 Marshmallow, as the stock OS, which includes a number of awesome new features.

    Another new addition, which makes life a whole LOT easier is the new USB-C port, which allows you to plug-in your USB cable into the phone anyway. No more guessing which way the cable has to go in when it’s dark! The camera has also got a fantastic upgrade to a full 13MP camera, with 4 axis image stabilizer, on the back and a decent 4MP selfie camera on the front.

    Overall the Mi5 is a genuinely great device, and priced at R7999, available from www.miaafrica.com/za, and from Makro, DionWired, Game, Takealot and Incredible Connection, it comes in a lot cheaper than devices of similar stature. You can also get the phone on Contract through Vodacom on the U Choose Flexi package at R399 a month. For the full specs and more info about the Mi5 visit http://www.miaafrica.com/za