A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use is common in most IEEE 802 networking technologies, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Within the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network model, MAC addresses are used in the medium access control protocol sublayer of the data link layer. As typically represented, MAC addresses are recognizable as six groups of two hexadecimal digits, separated by hyphens, colons, or without a separator.
The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a numeric identifier, usually unique, for 3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone but can also be displayed on-screen on most phones by entering the MMI Supplementary Service code *#06# on the dialpad, or alongside other system information in the settings menu on smartphone operating systems.
Mobile malware is malicious software that targets mobile phones or wireless-enabled Personal digital assistants (PDA), by causing the collapse of the system and loss or leakage of confidential information. As wireless phones and PDA networks have become more and more common and have grown in complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to ensure their safety and security against electronic attacks in the form of viruses or other malware.
Electronic serial numbers (ESNs) were created by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to uniquely identify mobile devices, from the days of AMPS in the United States starting in the early 1980s. The administrative role was taken over by the Telecommunications Industry Association in 1997 and is still maintained by them. ESNs are currently mainly used with CDMA phones, compared to International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers used by all GSM phones.
A mobile equipment identifier (MEID) is a globally unique number identifying a physical piece of CDMA2000 mobile station equipment. The number format is defined by the 3GPP2 report S.R0048 but in practical terms, it can be seen as an IMEI but with hexadecimal digits.
A Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) is a database of mobile equipment identifiers. Such an identifier is assigned to each SIM slot of the mobile device.
Apple ID is a user account by Apple for their devices and software. Apple IDs contain the user's personal data and settings. When an Apple ID is used to log in to an Apple device, the device will automatically use the data and settings associated with the Apple ID.
In computing, a SHSH blob is a digital signature that Apple generates and uses to personalize IPSW firmware files for each iOS device. SHSH blobs are part of Apple's protocol designed to ensure that only trusted software is installed on the device, generally only allowing the newest iOS version to be installable. Apple's public name for this process is System Software Authorization. The term “SHSH blob” is unofficial and based on abbreviations for signed hash and binary large object. An alternative term, ECID SHSH, refers to the device's ECID, a unique identification number embedded in its hardware)
AirPlay is a proprietary wireless communication protocol stack/suite developed by Apple Inc. that allows streaming between devices of audio, video, device screens, and photos, together with related metadata. Originally implemented only in Apple's software and devices, it was called AirTunes and used for audio only. Apple has since licensed the AirPlay protocol stack as a third-party software component technology to manufacturers that build products compatible with Apple's devices.
Apple Wallet is a digital wallet developed by Apple Inc. and included with iOS and watchOS that allows users to store Wallet passes such as coupons, boarding passes, student ID cards, government ID cards, business credentials, resort passes, car keys, home keys, event tickets, public transportation passes, store cards, and – starting with iOS 8.1 – credit cards, and debit cards for use via Apple Pay.
iBeacon is a protocol developed by Apple and introduced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2013. Various vendors have since made iBeacon-compatible hardware transmitters – typically called beacons – a class of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The technology enables smartphones, tablets and other devices to perform actions when in proximity to an iBeacon.
OS X Yosemite is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.
tvOS is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generation, it is based on the iOS operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts.
iOS 11 is the eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2017, and was released on September 19, 2017. It was succeeded by iOS 12 on September 17, 2018.
Find My is an asset tracking service made by Apple Inc. that enables users to track the location of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS devices, AirPods, AirTags and a number of supported third-party accessories through a connected iCloud account. Users can also share their GPS locations to others with Apple devices and view the location of others who choose to share their location. Find My was released alongside iOS 13 on September 19, 2019, merging the functions of the former Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single app. On watchOS, Find My is separated into three different applications: Find Devices, Find People and Find Items.
The iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple has had a wide range of bugs and security issues discovered throughout its lifespan, including security exploits discovered in most versions of the operating system related to the practice of jailbreaking, bypassing the user's lock screen, issues relating to battery drain, crash bugs encountered when sending photos or certain Unicode characters via text messages sent through the Messages application, and general bugs and security issues later fixed in newer versions of the operating system.
iOS 16 is the sixteenth major release of Apple's iOS mobile operating system for the iPhone. It is the successor of iOS 15, and was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2022, alongside iPadOS 16, and released on September 12, 2022. It was succeeded by iOS 17 on September 18, 2023.
