Big Sur Update and VPN
There are a lot of cool new improvements after the latest big sur update. Too bad it put users’ security and privacy at risk due to poorly implemented APIs.
VPN and firewall users were hit the hardest since the new macOS update allowed native Apple apps (up to 56 of them) to bypass those security solutions.
Big Sur Update Top Highlights
All new look
You’ll first notice that everything looks … different. Big Sur isn’t a substantial visual overhaul, but there are small design tweaks that make the interface look a little more iPad-esque. Corners, whether you’re looking at apps or the dock, are rounded. App icons are a squircle shape instead of round. Colors are bolder, grays are darker, and various icons and menus have been compressed to take up less room (looking at you, Finder). Overall, the entire operating system looks closer to a mobile OS and a great deal more modern.
A Control Center, Plus Widgets!
A part of this redesign includes the Control Center. Yep, that’s right: The Control Center from the iPhone and iPad is now on the Mac. It’s the icon with two toggles in the Menu bar on the top right. Tap it and you can get quick access to settings for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, Do Not Disturb, sound, and current media playback.
You can’t move things around here, but you can add some extras to make the Control Center even more useful. Click the Apple icon, then System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar and scroll down to Other Modules to add Accessibility Shortcuts, Battery, and Fast User Switching. It’s here where you can also choose what items you want to show in the Menu bar itself, including the battery percentage.
Improved Safari Browser
Apple says Big Sur brings the “biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003.” It’s speedier than ever (50 percent faster than Chrome, according to Apple), and you can finally watch 4K HDR content on YouTube and Netflix. If you’re like me and have dozens of tabs open at any given time, you’ll like that you can now hover over a tab to see a preview of what’s there. Plus, Safari now shows favicons in the tabs, so it’s much easier to find the tab you’re hunting for.
If you encounter a web page in another language, now you can use Siri’s built-in translator to turn it into one of seven languages. Just go up to the menus at the top of the screen and click View > Translate > Translate to English.
The Safari Start Page got a makeover too. Instead of just showing your favorite or frequently visited websites, you’ll also see a Privacy Report for how many trackers Safari has blocked. Also present are Siri Suggestions and access to your Reading List, and you can change the background to something more colorful. (You can remove some of these widgets by tapping the edit icon on the bottom right of Safari’s start page.)
Widgets aren’t new to macOS, but the ones that debuted on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are now available through the Notification Center. Just tap the top-right corner (or the clock) and you’ll find the new widget pane. Tap Edit Widgets to move them around, remove them, or add new ones in various sizes. Unlike on the iPhone, you can’t put widgets wherever you want; they only stay in this hidden area.
Speaking of the Privacy Report, if you click the shield icon to the left of the URL, you’ll see how many tracking scripts on that web page Safari prevented from tracking you. Safari can also alert you if any saved passwords are compromised in a data breach, and you can restrict extensions so they don’t needlessly collect data. (They’re also now searchable in the Mac App Store.)
New Maps
In an effort to get you to use its maps instead of the competition’s, Apple has revamped the Maps app on the Mac, porting many new features that first showed up in iOS 14’s version of Maps. There’s Look Around, Apple’s answer to Google’s Street View; Guides, in case you’re looking for the best coffee spots nearby; and cycling and navigation, though that’s limited to a handful of cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
You can make your own guide if you’re planning a trip (maybe in 2021), send directions from Mac to iPhone, and any saved Favorite locations are now far easier to access. It’s a much-needed update.
Upgraded Messages
Apple excels at providing users with a robust product ecosystem. If you have an iPhone, an Apple Watch is a must-have accessory for keeping up with notifications and tracking your fitness. If you have an iPhone, it’s easier to share files between it and a Mac with the AirDrop feature, plus you can continue conversations on multiple devices through the Messages app, which is on both desktop and mobile platforms. But until now, the Mac version of the Messages app has offered the bare minimum functionality, only letting you send and receive messages. That’s no longer the case.
Big Sur greatly upgrades Messages to bring in several new features from iOS 14. You can pin conversations to the top of your threads—that includes group messages—and you can add message effects like balloons or confetti for some pizzazz. The update lets you create Memoji on the Mac now too, which means you can send them from the Mac app, or you can click the icon on the left of the text field and click #images to send GIFs.
Group messaging is more powerful, with the ability to respond to folks in a thread (potentially reducing the number of pings). And if you’re feeling inundated with notifications, you can set it so you receive alerts only when someone says your name.
Other Updates
There are several smaller updates in Big Sur. Head to Apple’s macOS 11 web page to see the full list, but here are a few standouts.
- iPhone and iPad Apps on Macs with the M1 Chip: This applies only if you have one of the new MacBooks with Apple’s own M1 chip. You’re able to download some iPhone and iPad apps! Just search for an app in the Mac App Store, and you’ll see a new tab to find iPhone and iPad apps. Not every app is available—developers have to opt in to desktop support, and it could take months or longer for some to bring their apps over.
- Better Spotlight Search: Spotlight, the Mac’s search tool, is now faster, and you can preview many of the results right from the Spotlight interface, including web pages, weather, and files.
- Nutrition Label in the App Store: Before downloading an app on the App Store, you’ll find a Nutrition Label of sorts at the bottom. It shows a preview of data the developer will collect via the app and other data that may be used to track you. Developers have to provide this information starting December 8.
- Automatic AirPods Switching: If you have AirPods and they’re connected to multiple Apple devices, the earbuds can now automatically switch to your Mac when it’s turned on. You’ll see a banner notification asking for permission.
Take your time to get to know many of these helpful new features. If you have an iPhone or iPad, check out our guide on all the new features in iOS and iPadOS 14. And if you own an Apple Watch, we’ve got a roundup of all the new goodies in watchOS 7.
Big Sur Update Images
Big Sur Video Intro
Big Sur Update and VPN FAQs
So What Did VPN Users Have Against Big Sur Update?
They had a very good reason to be mad about it. We already said it allowed Apple’s applications to bypass VPNs, but what does that mean?
Basically, that if you would have used an app like FaceTime or iCloud while connected to a VPN, it could have bypassed the VPN tunnel.
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What are the basic issues or problems with Big Sur Update?
The traffic that would have been routed through those apps wouldn’t have been encrypted anymore. That means Apple would have gotten access to sensitive information like your IP address and where you used the apps from.
Not only that, but cybercriminals could have also spied on your traffic when you used those apps on unsecured public WiFi. Since there would be no more encryption to make the data unreadable, they could have easily eavesdropped on it.
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How Was Big Sur Able to Do That?
It all came down to one key: ContentFilterExclusionList, which is part of the NetworkExtension API that security programs use. The key basically forces said programs to exclude data belonging to Apple’s services.
If you’d like to take a look at this key, it’s in the info.plist file. Here’s where you can find it:
- /System/Library/Frameworks/NetworkExtension.framework/Versions/A/Resources
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Here’s How Else Big Sur Compromised Users’ Data
As if Apple’s apps bypassing VPNs weren’t bad enough, they were also able to bypass firewalls.
What does that mean for you?
That a hacker wouldn’t need to waste their time trying to find a security hole in a program like Little Snitch anymore. Instead, they could have bypassed the security software entirely by finding a vulnerability they could exploit in one of the 56 apps that could now bypass the firewall.
And a simple security flaw would have been enough to let them trigger arbitrary code (run any commands they want) through malicious apps or infects your device with malware. Unfortunately, that scenario was closer to reality than we would have liked since Apple recently announced they patched some serious iOS vulnerabilities which hackers “actively exploited.”
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Is it Safe to Use a VPN with Big Sur?
Yes, it actually is. You just need to use a VPN that won’t leak your data when you use one of Apple’s applications.
Is that possible, though?
It is if you use a VPN that doesn’t rely on the NetworkExtension APIs.
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Need help finding a VPN like that?
No problem – you can actually find out more about them by reading ProPrivacy’s guide to the best Mac VPNs. They interviewed some of the providers on the list to make sure their apps aren’t susceptible to the Big Sur issue. What’s more, the VPNs in that guide are regularly tested to make sure they offer great security and fast speeds.
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Did Apple Fix This Problem?
Yes, they fixed this issue when they released Big Sur Update 11.2. In this latest change, Apple deactivated the troublesome ContentFilterExclusionList key. So its apps now work well with VPNs, and don’t bypass them anymore.
So be sure to update to Big Sur 11.2 if you haven’t already. Even if you’re using a VPN that doesn’t leak your data when you use Apple services, it’s still a good idea to update to the new version. You don’t need to worry about hackers potentially exploiting security vulnerabilities in your firewall anymore.
Plus, Big Sur 11.2 comes with other improvements too. If you’d like to read about them, just follow this link.
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Did Apple Do This on Purpose?
We doubt that. Apple silently making VPNs and firewalls useless so that hackers and government surveillance agencies can spy on their users sounds like an awesome plot so some conspiracy-themed action movie.
But, in real-life, it sounds very far-fetched.
We honestly believe Apple just made a mistake. A serious one, don’t get us wrong, but a mistake nonetheless.
Why do we think that?
Because Apple’s own built-in VPN still worked with Big Sur (didn’t suffer any leaks).
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Sure, you could say that Apple did that to make people use their VPNs.
Okay, how about this then?
Most retailers and companies that sell computers require them to have working VPN support (not just built-in VPNs). If Apple were to intentionally disable that support, they’d lose a really big chunk of a profitable market. That’s probably not something they’d be interested in.
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Did Big Sur Update Affect You?
Did it cause your VPN to leak private information, or were you lucky enough to have used a service that’s actually leak-proof? Also, what’s your take on how Apple handled implementing Big Sur – was this just a mistake on their part, or was it intentional?
Please let us know what you think in the comments below. And if you found the information in this article helpful, please share it with other people.
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- Windows 8
- Windows 10
- Linux Debian
- Linux Fedora
- Ubuntu 20.04
Big Sur Update Overview
| License | Free |
| Version | 11.2.1 |
| Latest update | 12th Nov’20 |
| Size |
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| OS |
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| Language | English |
| Downloads | 25.375 |
| Developer | Apple |
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