Montana iPhone Users, Take Advantage of the Latest Update

Just this week, we learned about what's being called, "The Mother of all data breaches." The breach is said to have leaked 26 billion records according to a report by Cybernews, and it affected popular companies that many Montanans use--like LinkedIn.

Read More: Warning: Montanans Need to Be Aware of Big Data Leak

Data breaches can wreak a lot of havoc. I've had two friends recently who have had their personal information leaked. For one of them, their mortgage lender was hacked, for the other, it was their bank.

If you do learn of a data leak, the first thing to do is to update your password. But there may be other precautions needed.

But leaks aren't the only problem. Sometimes your information might be stolen along with your whole device. That's why Apple's latest update has a feature you might want to enable.

Why You'll Want the Most Recent iPhone Update

Apple's most recent update, iOS 17.3, includes a feature called Stolen Device Protection. According to the AP, Apple added this feature to the latest update because "anecdotal evidence suggests phone thefts are surging."

Stolen Device Protection makes it a lot harder for a thief to use your phone, or erase it, because when the feature is turned on Apple will require Face ID and Touch ID for many key features. This is tied to your location settings, so if you're not at home or work, for example, the feature will ask for Face ID or Touch ID before completing certain tasks (like a full reset).

How to Turn On Stolen Device Protection

First, make sure you have the latest update installed. Then, you can turn on the feature in the settings. Here's a quick video with instructions, or written instructions are below:

1. Download iOS 17.3
2. Settings
3. Face ID & Passcode
4. Enter your passcode
5. Scroll to find Stolen Device Protection
6. Toggle to On