Apple has updated its online service MobileMe, adding some new features, but especially improving security with all of the web-based apps, reports “The Mac Security Blog” (http://blog.intego.com/2010/05/21/apple-updates-mobileme-making-it-more-secure/). MobileMe is the company’s US$99-per-year suite of Internet tools.
The change is the addition of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), a function used to provide encrypted communications between a user’s web browser and a remote server. Users will find that, when they load a page for a MobileMe app, the URL begins with https rather than http. This, together with the padlock icon in the browser, show that communications are secure.
This means that when a user writes an e-mail in their browser using MobileMe Mail, the content of the e-mail is sent to the server encrypted, and cannot be sniffed by anyone able to intercept network communications, either locally (such as near a wifi hotspot) or on other servers between the browser and the MobileMe server.
This is the case for all of MobileMe’s features, including Address Book, iCal, Gallery and iDisk, as well as access to the services preferences and settings. MobileMe also provides a password strength indicator to help users create secure passwords in their account settings.