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Mac apps often request some kind of “permissions” during their installation. Since Apple expanded macOS Mojave’s Security and Privacy permissions, requests have only increased. What does this mean when an app wants “Accessibility permission?” Should you grant apps these permissions?
AccessibilityThis permission is the most commonly requested, so our description starts here.
Accessibility permissions give apps extremely broad access to your Mac. Apps with this permission can access the entire system and control other apps. It’s like Full Disk Access plus Automation.
This was created for apps that help people with disabilities. Soon, other apps started asking for the same access. Some developers treat it as a blanket permission. It means the app will always have the access it needs. The app might not even need broad access, but developers request it to keep macOS from obstructing their app.
Malware could exploit this access to log activity or inject attacks. That’s why Accessibility permissions require a special feature. The user must turn on an app’s Accessibility access manually in System Preferences.
Here are some examples of what apps do with their access:
TextExpander inserts text, images, and other content into any document.
Alfred allows clipboard monitoring, snippet expansion, and simulating key events.
Dropbox updates the Finder UI with badges and progress icons.
LocationThis allows apps to request your current location. Because your Mac lacks a GPS chip, it accesses a database of Wi-Fi router locations. With this, Location Services grabs your location. Your IP address can also help estimate your location.
Camera and MicrophoneThese permissions are nearly the same. As the name says, they allow access to the FaceTime camera and microphone. System permissions, which also control file access, handle it. This prevents the application from accessing these resources unless explicitly permitted.
PhotosPermits the application to access the Photos database. This is different than accessing the camera. It’s also not as broad as accessing all the photo files on your Mac. It only permits access to the Photos.app database. If you have photos stored outside the chúng tôi database, the app will not get permission to access them with this setting.
Calendar, Reminders, and ContactsLike Camera and Microphone, these permissions provide the same control mechanisms over different areas of your Mac.
Contacts permission includes any contact information stored in chúng tôi Typically, messaging and email apps use this to access your contacts to send messages or identify senders.
Reminders allows access to the content of the Reminders app. This is used by ToDo apps and task managers to integrate with Apple’s default system.
Calendar permits access to the content of events in chúng tôi Schedule apps use this to view and edit calendar events.
AutomationThis allows apps to control other apps. Normally, macOS “sandboxes” applications. This limits what the apps can touch. By default, apps can only access their own data. Automation lowers the sandbox walls slightly, permitting an app to change how other apps work. Automation permissions grant access to specific apps, not every app.
Full Disk AccessThis permission allows apps to read, write, and modify files anywhere on your disk. Essentially, this permission provides arbitrary access to files throughout the system. It includes data in Mail, Messages, Time Machine backups, Home, and certain admin settings for all users on the Mac. This access is also included in the Accessibility permissions, so few apps request it.
AnalyticsControls how much data an application sends “home” to its developers. This can include metadata, as well as your Mac’s hardware and software configuration, your location, and iCloud data. The permissions allow you to decide who can get the data.
Advertising ConclusionPermissions allow you to control what happens on your Mac. By requiring a user okay before accessing sensitive data, macOS works with you to keep access limited. Carefully consider what you’re giving up before giving an application permissions on your Mac. You should only allow it with trusted apps.
Alexander Fox
Alexander Fox is a tech and science writer based in Philadelphia, PA with one cat, three Macs and more USB cables than he could ever use.
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Signal App Review: Privacy And Permissions Explained
The dreaded move has finally been completed — starting February 8th, WhatsApp will share all its user statistics with its parent company, Facebook. Facebook, despite being the leading social media service in history, hasn’t had the cleanest of records when it comes to data security and transparency. So, it’s hardly surprising that the entire tech community is concerned with WhatsApp’s new policy.
Amidst the chaos and confusion, a privacy-centric messaging app — Signal — has started making rounds as the worthiest alternative to WhatsApp. It doesn’t compromise on features and promises to give you the peace of mind you most definitely deserve. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the messaging application — discuss the privacy options it provides and the permissions it asks for.
Related: How Does Signal Make Money?
The origin of Signal
Before we go deeper into the app and check out its privacy features, let’s take a step back and learn when and why Signal was created in the first place.
So, if you were concerned about trusting a “new” unproven application, we’d like to assure you that Signal is far from the newest kid on the block. It has a proven track record for being a reliable messenger service and is proudly endorsed by the likes of Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, and Jack Dorsey.
Related: Is Signal Actually Safe?
How Private is Signal?
Signal isn’t the most pleasant-looking app out there and it could certainly use some polish. However, when it comes to keeping your chats private, there’s hardly a better service out there. Listed below is Signal’s cheat-sheet that helps it give you maximum privacy.
End-to-End Encryption
This is considered to be the gold standard in the world of encryption protocols. Having E2EE makes sure the message you send can only be read by the intended recipient. No one else — including the messenger developers or the government — is allowed to snoop. Additionally, Signal happily encrypts your profile info, call history, and more — something no other messenger provides.
WhatsApp also provides E2EE, of course, but that’s only for messages and calls. The logs it generates through limitless tracking is still up for sale.
Peer review system
Having E2EE is awesome, but making the source code transparent and letting independent developers review them is truly out of the world. Unlike WhatsApp, Signal has a peer-review system, which makes sure nothing unethical is taking place. Even if Signal wished to implement something dodgy, the security experts and independent developers would be able to sniff it out in an instant by analyzing the open-source code.
No Telemetry
Signal — the open-source genius — only requires your phone number to get up and running. It doesn’t create your profile and send it up to the cloud. It stores all of your personal data on your device and no one — not even the developers — is allowed to access your stuff.
Greed-free model
Greed is often the driving factor behind big privacy breaches. So, it’s indeed encouraging that Signal doesn’t have a revenue model like Facebook’s WhatsApp. This open-source messenger service runs purely on donations from fans, which means that it won’t be selling sensitive information to unknown third-parties just to increase its stack of cash.
Related: Who Owns Signal App?
What permissions must you grant Signal?
Signal doesn’t need a lot of permissions to get going, and it follows a strict policy when it comes to safeguarding the information you provide. You, of course, have to put in your contact number to get started, but you might not even need it in the future.
Below is the list of permissions that Signal may “bug” you for.
This is an optional permission and it doesn’t come into play until you ask Signal to show you the list of friends that are already on the platform. Even if you allow Signal to check out your contacts, rest assured that all information is cryptographically hashed before transmission takes place.
Phone calls
Signal comes with the ability to make phone calls through VoIP. Allow Signal to make and manage phone calls to use the service.
Gallery and camera
Another optional permission that doesn’t affect the way you use Signal, at all. Partial access is still not available on Android, so, you’ll need to give Signal access to your entire gallery. However, since no third-party transaction is involved, your data remains as secure as possible.
The same goes for your camera as well. Grant access to your camera to send quick snaps over Signal.
Location
Similar to the gallery information, you will need to allow Signal to fetch your location if you wish to share it with another Signal user. It’s optional, of course, and you should feel free not to use this feature.
Support information
Is Signal the right tool for you?
After years of reigning supreme, WhatsApp believes it has enough firepower to bring its userbase over to the dark side. The service is used by pretty much everyone we come across, which can make the transition to a different messenger service quite challenging. Still, if you are someone who knows a thing or two about privacy and security on the internet, you must take the leap and switch to a messenger service that’s yet to sell its soul.
As we have seen, Signal is an open-source, peer-reviewed, donation-driven messenger application that can take care of all your needs. Not only does it encrypt the messages you send, but it also masks even the most minute details such as profile information, call history, and more.
Signal, in its current form, is a transparent, easy-to-use, feature-rich messenger service that doesn’t have the reach of WhatsApp. If you are willing to compromise on reach and focus solely on improved privacy and security, Signal is most definitely the go-to option. Else, for convenience and familiarity, consider sticking with the current champions, WhatsApp.
Related: How to Delete Whatsapp Account and All Your Whatsapp Data
What Isand Do You Need It?
While certain elements of the Windows operating system (such as the system kernel) are vital for it to work, other parts are less important. If you’re trying to lower your system resources, you may wish to consider disabling some unnecessary system services and processes, although you’ll need to understand them first.
One fairly simple-to-understand process is chúng tôi As the name suggests, chúng tôi (or chúng tôi is a component of Windows 10’s search features—in particular, the search tool that was originally part of the Cortana personal assistant. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
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What Is chúng tôi (or chúng tôi and Should You Disable It?chúng tôi is the process that allows the search bar on your taskbar to work. chúng tôi was previously combined with Cortana, the Windows 10 personal assistant, but was removed from Cortana in the Windows 19 19H1 update in April 2023 and renamed chúng tôi to distinguish it from other components.
As it stands now, chúng tôi is a typically low-resource process that sits in the background. It uses some resources, however, to ensure that when you press the search bar in the bottom left, the search menu appears almost instantly, allowing you to search your PC or the web, open certain apps, or change your PC settings.
This is a very basic search tool that relies on other processes (such as the Windows Search Indexer) to manage file indexing or web searches, allowing Windows to quickly pull up files and installed apps when you search for them. As a Windows system process, chúng tôi (or chúng tôi is entirely safe to run and use.
How to Hide the Search Bar on Windows 10Before you consider disabling chúng tôi (or chúng tôi on Windows, you may prefer to hide the search bar instead. This ensures that Windows’ search features remain active and available, but the search bar itself is hidden. The chúng tôi (or chúng tôi process will remain paused but enabled.
How to Manually Stop the Windows 10 Search Bar ProcessThe Windows 10 search bar (SearchApp.exe or chúng tôi is always running on your PC, even if you hide the search bar from view. Should it become unstable at any point, however, you’ll need to stop the process and restart it.
For instance, if the search menu itself repeatedly freezes, you may need to end the process to fix the problem. You can do this using Windows Task Manager or by using Windows PowerShell.
Using Task ManagerTask Manager will ask you to confirm that you want to stop the process—select End process to do this.
Once you’ve ended the running process, select the search bar again. Windows will reopen the chúng tôi (or chúng tôi process, restoring the search bar’s functions.
Using Windows PowerShellAnother way to quickly disable a broken search bar process on Windows 10 is to use the Windows PowerShell.
In the new PowerShell window, type taskkill /f /im chúng tôi (if your version of Windows uses the chúng tôi process) or taskkill /f /im chúng tôi (if your version of Windows uses SearchApp.exe), then select the Enter key on your keyboard.
Running the taskkill command will end the search bar process. To restore it, select the search bar—Windows will restart the process automatically.
How to Disable chúng tôi or chúng tôi on Windows 10The steps above should help you to hide or stop the running search bar process—but only temporarily. If you want to stop chúng tôi or chúng tôi from running, you’ll need to use the Windows PowerShell to take ownership of and then rename the executable file to stop it running.
Disabling the Search Bar ProcessWith the chúng tôi (or chúng tôi process stopped and renamed, the search bar will no longer function. You’ll need to follow the steps above to enter the correct folder, then type mv chúng tôi chúng tôi or mv chúng tôi chúng tôi depending on your version of Windows.
Running these commands will stop Windows from opening the search bar process—in effect, disabling it completely. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible (at present) to remove the app using Windows PowerShell or other tools, so this remains the best method for stopping it from working on your PC.
Resolving Search Issues on Windows 10If you prefer to use the Windows search bar to search your PC or the web, you’ll need to leave the chúng tôi process running on your PC. If you’d prefer to limit the amount of data Microsoft records on you, however, it may be best to disable it fully using the methods listed above.
Common Print Security Threats And How To Protect Against Them
Converting what you have on the screen to a physical document on paper is a convenient way to store and share information. You can see and feel the information, mark the paper if there is a need for corrections, and store it securely if you need to. Print offers convenience and easy access to your information even without electricity. With this convenience in print, there are common Print security threats. This article will show you some common print security threats and how to protect against them.
With the world becoming increasingly digital, print security is taking more of a back seat. We usually think of security breaches as happening to our digital devices; however, security breaches can still happen in print and print devices.
Common Print Security ThreatsPrint information can be vulnerable whether in digital form or on paper. Here are some common print security risks and how to minimize or eliminate them.
Misplaced printed documents
Forgetting printed documents in the print tray
Data in motion attack
Printer hacking
Stealing the device
Unsafe device or document disposal
Paper jams
Outsourced print jobs
Faulty printing device
Protecting your data against some common print security threats 1] Misplaced printed documentsMisplacing documents after they are printed can be a common way to have sensitive information seen by others. Whether it is at the print shop, your office, or anywhere in between like public transportation, restaurants or anywhere you may stop.
Solution
Important printed documents should be treated carefully just like their digital counterparts. If the documents are very important, try to get them to their destination as quickly as possible and without any unimportant stope in-between.
2] Forgetting printed documents in the print trayYou may share an office space with lots of people, but this does not mean that all persons share the same level of clearance for every data in the office. There may be one network printer that is shared by all and this can be a weak link where sensitive data can get seen by others. This can be even more likely if parts or all of the documents printed are forgotten in the printer tray. It could be also the fact that the printer is far from you so that when the document is sent it is in the printer until you can get there physically. This could allow others to read or even record the document while you are trying to get to it.
Solution
If you work with very sensitive data, they should be printed on a separate printer than those used for more common information. These printers should also be located in places that not everyone has access to. It would also be good to get printers that require physical confirmation before they print out that information. This means that not everyone can access the print, even if it is held by the printer.
3] Data in motion attackSolution
Make sure that the printed and other devices (routers, ports, etc.), are regularly updated. Get the latest driver and firmware updates from the manufacturer. Ensure that WI-FI is password protected and guess WI-FI is separate from the company’s WI-FI. Ensure that sensitive data is encrypted.
4] Printer hackingPrinters and other printing devices are usually weak links in your network. They can be hacked remotely or physically if they are not adequately protected. Without proper access control, persons can hack the devices physically.
Solution
Protect your network devices with proper software and firmware updates. It is also good practice to protect them physically with locks and keys. Ensure that you have proper access control. Printers that are used for sensitive information should be kept where only authorized persons can access them with proper access devices.
5] Stealing the deviceWithout proper security and access control for devices, they can be physically stolen. If the device is physically stolen, persons can have access to the data, stored passwords, user names, and other sensitive information that is on the printer.
Solution
Practice proper access control for your property. Treat printers just like you would protect your computer. Keep printers and other devices locked so that unauthorized persons cannot access them. The mistake people sometimes make is thinking that a printer alone is useless to people. However, the right person with the right set of tools can get information from a printer. And as previously mentioned, unprotected printers can be a gateway to other devices on your network.
6] Unsafe device or document disposalWhen devices have reached their end of life, they are sometimes disposed of in ways that anyone can access them. A discarded printer may still have enough information that a knowledgeable hacker could use. Documents that are to be disposed of because the data is no longer needed or possibly because of a misprint, may still contain enough sensitive data that can be used by malicious persons.
Solution
Ensure that the printing device is properly disposed of. You may need to have the memory removed and check for printed documents that may be in the printer. Check to see if your manufacturer or a reputable company would dispose of the device for you. It is also good to invest in a good paper shredder that will be used to destroy documents before disposing of them. If you dispose of large volumes of documents with sensitive data, it may be a good idea to assign persons for this job.
7] Paper jamsPaper jams are ways that sensitive data can be left in a printer. You may not be able to remove it yourself but the person who does may not have the clearance to see the data that is on the document. paper jams may leave parts of even whole documents in a printer without you even noticing it.
Solution
Whenever you print, make sure that you know the number of pages that are to be in the document. Also ensure that if there is a paper jam, and the information is sensitive, supervise the person who is clearing the jam. If the printer needs to go for repair, make sure that the company is reputable. If the repair is in-house ensure that the person repairing is reputable.
Read: Cancel jammed or stuck Print Job queue in Windows
8] Outsourced print jobsIf you have print jobs that are too large for your organization to print, you may have to outsource them. This means that your sensitive data will be seen by others outside of your organization. This means that your information is at risk and you do not have a lot of control over what will happen to it.
Solution
If you have a lot of sensitive data to print, it may be a good idea to invest in printing equipment. If this is not possible at the moment, make sure to outsource your printing to reputable companies. Ensure that you have a proper paper trail of which company printed so that you know where the information is leaked if it should happen.
Read: What is Double Printing or Ghost Printing? Cause and Remediation
9] Faulty printing deviceYour organization may have a printer that is malfunctioning and this can cause a security breach. If this printer is shared by multiple persons, the type of malfunction could cause sensitive data to be unintentionally shared. For example, a printer that is double printing/ghost printing could print ghost print sensitive data from a previous print job onto other print jobs. Printers that double print/ghost print may leave sensitive data on internal parts due to the type of ghost print/double print. This could be seen when the printer is opened for repair.
Solution
Keep printers that print sensitive information separate from other printers. If that is not possible, make sure that malfunctioning printers are repaired promptly. Ensure that printer repairs are done by reputable persons.
Read: Scanner and Printer won’t work at the same time
What threats can printers pose?Ensure that the printer is updated as often as possible, and update the firmware and driver. Make sure that the other devices on the network are also updated regularly. Printers that will be used to print sensitive information should be isolated from the main network, they should also be physically protected from unauthorized persons.
How can you secure print documents?Some manufacturers of printers have a secure print feature built into their printers. The secure print allows users to choose to secure print certain documents or all documents. With secure print enabled for some or all documents. The printer will not release a print job until a pin is entered. If you print sensitive data in an environment where the printer is used by multiple persons, it would be wise to invest in one of these printers.
Multiple Ports On Your Pc: What Do They Do For You?
While the examples here focus on desktop PCs, most of these connections are available on various laptop PCs as well.
For an examination of common and not-so-common connections that you may find on your system’s motherboard, see “Motherboard Port Guide: Solving Your Connector Mystery.”
Schizophrenic USBUSB used to be simple. You had USB 2.0 and… that was it. USB 1.0 connections existed for a brief time, but once USB 2.0 came along, with substantially better throughput, it became widely adopted. As with any widely adopted standard, variants appeared. Let’s look at some flavors of USB you might find, and how they might vary.
USB 2.0 is the standard port type. These days, mice, keyboards, hard drives, optical drives, printers, and just about anything else can be found in a USB 2.0 flavor to plug into one of these ports. Even with the emergence of USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB), USB 2.0 is still the most versatile connection.
This particular type of USB port ships on certain recent Asus-manufactured motherboards. This is a standard USB 2.0 port, and can be used as a normal connection to USB 2.0 devices. However, it’s also able to auto-install a BIOS. You need to copy a special BIOS flash program to a USB flash memory key, as well as the BIOS you want to install. Then press a button next to the port when the system is powered up, and the BIOS auto-installs. This is a pretty geeky feature, tailor-made for hard-core enthusiasts who may have gotten themselves into trouble with severe overclocking or other tweaks.
These types of ports are available on motherboards made by Asus, Gigabyte and possibly other manufacturers. It increases the available trickle current out of the USB port to charge up mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This is in response to devices like Apple’s iPad, which requires more current to charge than the normal USB 2.0 port might supply to charge in a reasonable amount of time.
USB 3.0 is the latest version of USB, and is also known as SuperSpeed USB. It increases maximum throughput to 5 gigabits per second (625MB per second.) Most PCs implement USB 3.0 through a discrete chip built onto the motherboard, but some AMD chipsets have USB 3.0 built into the PC’s core logic. Intel will be building USB 3.0 into its core logic in its next-generation Ivy Bridge chipsets.
USB 3.0 is backward-compatible, so you can plug in USB 2.0 devices, but you’ll get only USB 2.0 speeds. Also, USB 3.0 cables are different than earlier USB cables, so be sure to get the right cable type for your USB 3.0 device, if your spiffy SuperSpeed USB gizmo didn’t include a cable in the box.
Next: eSATA, Audio, and Networking
eSATA: Redundant, but UsefulEnter eSATA or external SATA. The latest eSATA connections can handle 6gbps SATA drives and connections, which is a little faster than USB 3.0. A variety of external SATA enclosures exist that support various RAID formats if you’re looking for redundant storage.
Networking ConnectionsThe most obvious networking connection on desktop PCs is the ubiquitous ethernet jack.
Gigabit ethernet is built into most systems today, and if you have a wired house, there’s currently no faster network connection available, though that may change if 802.11ac wireless networking becomes a reality.
Some motherboards support wireless connectivity. Those that do now ship with 802.11n Wi-Fi on board, which does allow for throughput up to 600 megabits per second. And you can even occasionally find Bluetooth on board, as this image indicates. This allows easier integration with Bluetooth-capable devices, such as smartphones.
The Sound and the Fury: Audio ConnectionsThe most commonly used audio connections are the analog minijacks on the back of the PC. If you’re one of those rare folk with a multichannel PC speaker setup, you’ll use three or four output connections–typically green, black, orange, and gray–to your speaker setup for multichannel audio. The pink one is the microphone input and the blue jack is the line input.
Next: Display Connectors
Display Connectors: Past, Present, and FutureOf all the types of connectors, monitor connections seem to have the longest lifespan. It always surprises me when I unpack a Dell monitor to find the VGA cable pre-attached. What century is this again?
Systems supporting integrated graphics often still have VGA connectors. Most monitors shipping today still offer VGA as a connection as well, though we’re finally seeing some displays without that ancient analog connector. I see very few discrete graphics cards with VGA any longer, though most still ship with a DVI-to-VGA dongle should you need it.
DVI (digital visual interface) first appeared in 1999, while VGA emerged over a decade earlier, in 1987. However, both DVI and VGA will ride off into the sunset together in 2023. DVI was the first widely adopted digital connection for PC monitors, and will be superseded by DisplayPort.
DisplayPort seems redundant, given the existence of HDMI. But DisplayPort brings a few wrinkles to the table for PC monitors, wrinkles not available with HDMI. Licensing is one aspect–DisplayPort is licensed through the industry standards body VESA, and is royalty-free. With DisplayPort 1.2, you can daisy-chain up to two high-bandwidth monitors, and the standard will support DisplayPort hubs for connecting even more monitors. DisplayPort also supports bit rates up to twice the throughput of HDMI, enabling support for very-high-resolution displays.
DisplayPort can also carry audio signals, up to eight channels total, with an aggregate bandwidth of 49 megabits per second.
Mini-DisplayPort was originally popularized by Apple, but is included as part of DisplayPort 1.2. It’s common on current-generation graphics cards built with AMD Radeon HD 6000 and HD 7000 series graphics cards.
Next: The Past and the Future
Showing Their AgeA number of connectors still show up in a few systems, even though they’re rarely used by most home PC users. Some of these are more useful for businesses, which may need them to support older hardware still used to help run some applications.
FireWire, or IEEE 1394, is also still fairly common, though rarer on the newest motherboards. It’s useful if you have older camcorders or pro audio gear.
The nine-pin serial port is almost impossible to find any longer; this picture is from an old Pentium 4-based motherboard. Despite that scarcity, a number of laboratory instruments, point-of-sale devices, and other hardware in some businesses require serial connections. In fact, you’ll find serial-port pinouts available on many recent-generation motherboards, but no way to actually connect them. You can buy PCI bracket adapters with serial ports that plug into these motherboard connectors, and a few boards do ship with those adapters.
Future ConnectionsWe haven’t shown some connections you’ll likely see in PCs this coming year, or may already exist on some Apple Mac OS systems. One example is Thunderbolt, the new high-speed serial interface that has appeared on some Apple systems. It’s likely that we’ll see Thunderbolt ports on upcoming Ivy Bridge-based systems running Windows later this year.
So what type of oddball connector is on the back of your system? Drop by and tell us what’s on the back of your PC that we haven’t mentioned.
What Are Tf Cards (And How Do They Differ From Micro Sd Cards)?
There is a confusing variety of memory cards in use today—SD cards, Micro SD cards, Mini SD cards, and SDHC cards. The TF Card is a curious outlier in this lineup. Here’s how they differ from other cards and why you might use one.
Why Do SD Cards Have So Many Names?SD (Secure Digital) cards are storage devices developed by Secure Digital Association. Formed as a joint venture between SanDisk, Panasonic, and Toshiba, SDA is tasked with creating semiconductor flash memories (like SSD hard drives).
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As the technology evolved, these flash memory cards started being used with various devices, from MP3 players to mobile phones to GPS devices. As a result, newer versions of the SD card got larger capacities. These capacities were denoted by suffixes like HC (High Capacity), XC (eXtended Capacity), and UC (Ultra Capacity).
As this includes all cards with storage space over 2 GB, most SD cards you see in use today will have one of these suffixes attached to their names. Micro SDHC cards are the most prevalent, with the top-capacity versions being SDXC cards.
What Is a TF Card Used For?As mobile devices grew increasingly popular, it became clear that the future of computing had to target that segment. But SD memory cards, even Mini SD cards, were too large for the rapidly shrinking cell phone. So a new standard had to be developed.
SanDisk and Motorola worked together to create T-Flash cards, which boasted capacities of up to 512 MB in a size smaller than a fingernail. A trademark dispute with T-mobile led to the name becoming TransFlash card, which was often shortened to just TF card.
As the first Motorola phone rolled out with the brand new TF card, interest rose in the technology. The SD Association ultimately acquired the standard, rechristening it to the Micro SD card.
This resulted in the release of the world’s smallest memory cards, suitable for use with gadgets of all kinds. Apart from Android and iOS smartphones, Micro SD cards were adopted by things like video game consoles and dashcams.
How Are Micro SD Cards Different?Micro SD cards and TF cards have the same functionality. Most of the SD cards used today are Micro SD cards, thanks to the popularity of smartphones and digital cameras.
A TF memory card is simply an older version of the Micro SD, with generally lower capacity. They use the same SD card slot – any card reader (including internal card readers in laptops) that accepts a Micro SD card will also take a TF card without any issues.
Micro SD cards will usually perform better than TF cards because SDA is continuously developing them. Be it storage capacity or read-write speeds, Micro SD cards have come a long way, leaving the older TF cards in the dust.
Can You Still Buy TF Cards?Finding an SD card without the official Micro SD branding today is difficult. The introduction of HC and XC memory cards completely transformed the market, and most memory cards you can buy today have storage capacities of over 8 GB.
As such, there’s no reason for any manufacturer to continue selling outdated TF cards, which were released before high-capacity memory cards were a thing. The only way to get a TF card today is if you already own one from its initial launch.
How Do TF Cards Differ From SD Cards?TF cards are just the name of an early iteration of the Micro SD card. It uses the same slot, works the same way, and even has a similar form factor.
The only difference lies in technical specifications. This is because Micro SD cards have continued to get updates from the SD association, while the only TF cards in circulation are the ones sold in the early days.
If you still possess a TF card, you can continue using it with any smartphone or card reader without any hassle. However, remember that their performance will not be on par with any modern Micro SD card, and it would be a good idea to upgrade.
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