New iCloud update lets you restore lost data

Accidentally deleted a file or contact you needed on iCloud? No worries, you can now retrieve those. iCloud gets a new feature that lets you restore files, Contacts, or data from Reminders and Calendar. You can access the restore features through iCloud.com account. Head over to Settings on the site and rifle through the new Advanced section. There will be links there for restoring files, contacts, calendars, and reminders.

You get 30 days to retrieve a file you deleted from iCloud Drive using the Restore Files feature. After that you can’t get it back. For Restore Contacts, you can pick which backup archive you want back. Just remember that restoring this will replace your contacts on all your iOS and Mac devices. However, before the restoration happens, there will also be a backup of your existing contacts so in case you want those back, you can get those back. For Restore Calendars or Reminders, you’ll need to manually restore sharing privileges if you had reminders you’ve shared with others before. Scheduled events where you invited others will get cancelled and recreated. You might want to let others know this is happening when they get the event notification once again.  Your existing Calendars or Reminders will also be backed up in case you need access to these once you restored a previous backup.

Source: Macworld

Microsoft Office for iOS now allows storing files on iCloud

True to its current motto of being the 'productivity company,' Microsoft has continuously improved the experience of Office 365 users using the apps on non-PC or Microsoft devices. The latest update to Microsoft Office for iOS allows users of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to save their files on iCloud (as well as the de facto OneDrive).

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Various iCloud services currently down

It seems that various iCloud-dependent services from Apple are currently down or not working. After getting complaints from users on Twitter, we checked Apple's System Status page and sure enough, various iCloud related services are currently unavailable. We'll keep monitoring the situation and update status as soon as we know more.

Update on Monday, September 29, 2014 at 10:05PM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Everything seems to be back to normal now at 10:15 PM

Breaking: Apple dispels iCloud and Find My iPhone security breach

One day after news of various private nude photos of celebrities, athletes and models were stolen by hackers and posted online, Apple's released a statement based on their findings. While various media cited an iCloud or Find My iPhone hack was behind the massive invasion of privacy, it appears as if social engineering, password fraud were the methods used to gain access to these accounts. Below is Apple's statement:

We wanted to provide an update to our investigation into the theft of photos of certain celebrities. When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source. Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved. 

To protect against this type of attack, we advise all users to always use a strong password and enable two-step verification. Both of these are addressed on our website at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4232. 

Source:Apple