Why I Hacked Apple’s TouchID, And Still Think It Is Awesome.

 Lookout :Marc Rogers :September 23, 2013

• By now, the news is out —TouchID was hacked. In truth, none of us really expected otherwise. Fingerprint biometrics use a security credential that gets left behind everywhere you go on everything you touch.

  The fact that fingerprints can be lifted is not really up for debate— CSI technicians have been doing it for decades. The big question with TouchID was whether or not Apple could implement a design that would resist attacks using lifted fingerprints, or whether they would join the long line of manufacturers who had tried but failed to implement a completely secure solution.

  Does this mean TouchID is flawed and that it should be avoided? The answer to that isn’t as simple as you might think. Yes, TouchID has flaws, and yes, it’s possible to exploit those flaws and unlock an iPhone. But, the reality is these flaws are not something that the average consumer should worry about. Why? Because exploiting them was anything but trivial.
  
  Hacking TouchID relies upon a combination of skills, existing academic research and the patience of a Crime Scene Technician.

  First you have to obtain a suitable print. A suitable print needs to be unsmudged  and be a complete print of the correct finger that unlocks a phone. If you use your thumb to unlock it, the way Apple designed it, then you are looking for the finger which is least likely to leave a decent print on the iPhone. Try it yourself. Hold an iPhone in your hand and try the various positions that you would use the phone in. You will notice that the thumb doesn’t often come into full contact with the phone and when it does it’s usually in motion. This means they tend to be smudged. So in order to “hack” your phone a thief would have to work out which finger is correct AND lift a good clean print of the correct finger.
  

  Next you have to “lift” the print. This is the realm of CSI. You need to develop the print using one of several techniques involving the fumes from cyanoacrylate (“super glue”) and a suitable fingerprint powder before carefully (and patiently) lifting the print using fingerprint tape. It is not easy. Even with a well-defined print, it is easy to smudge the result, and you only get one shot at this: lifting the print destroys the original.

  So now what? If you got this far, the chances are you have a slightly smudged print stuck to a white card. Can you use this to unlock the phone? This used to work on some of the older readers, but not for many years now, and certainly not with this device. To crack this control you will need to create an actual fake fingerprint.

  Creating the fake fingerprint is arguably the hardest part and by no means “easy.” It is a lengthy process that takes several hours and uses over a thousand dollars worth of equipment including a high resolution camera and laser printer. First of all, you have to photograph the print, remembering to preserve scale, maintain adequate resolution and ensure you don’t skew or distort the print. Next, you have to edit the print and clean up as much of the smudging as possible. Once complete, you have two options:

  • The CCC method. Invert the print in software, and print it out onto transparency film using a laser printer set to maximum toner density. Then smear glue and glycerol on the ink side of the print and leave it to cure. Once dried you have a thin layer of rubbery dried glue that serves as your fake print.
  • I used a technique demonstrated by Tsutomu Matsumoto in his 2002 paper “The Impact of Artificial “Gummy” Fingers on Fingerprint Systems”. In this technique, you take the cleaned print image and without inverting it, print it to transparency film. Next, you take the transparency film and use it to expose some thick copper clad photosensitive PCB board that’s commonly used in amateur electrical projects. After developing the image on the PCB using special chemicals, you put the PCB through a process called “etching” which washes away all of the exposed copper leaving behind a fingerprint mold. Smear glue over this and when it dries, you have a fake fingerprint.

  

  Using fake fingerprints is a little tricky; I got the best results by sticking it to a slightly damp finger. My supposition is that this tactic improves contact by evening out any difference in electrical conductivity between this and the original finger.

  So what do we learn from all this?

  Practically, an attack is still a little bit in the realm of a John le Carré novel. It is certainly not something your average street thief would be able to do, and even then, they would have to get lucky.  Don’t forget you only get five attempts before TouchID rejects all fingerprints requiring a PIN code to unlock it. However, let’s be clear, TouchID is unlikely to withstand a targeted attack. A dedicated attacker with time and resources to observe his victim and collect data, is probably not going to see TouchID as much of a challenge. Luckily this isn’t a threat that many of us face.

  TouchID  is not a “strong” security control. It is a “convenient” security control. Today just over 50 percent of users have a PIN on their smartphones at all, and the number one reason people give for not using the PIN is that it’s inconvenient. TouchID is strong enough to protect users from casual or opportunistic attackers (with one concern I will cover later on) and it is substantially better than nothing.

  Today, we have more sensitive data than ever before on our smart devices. To be honest, many of us should treat our smartphone like a credit card because you can perform many of the same financial transactions with it.  Fingerprint security will help protect you against the three biggest threats facing smartphone users today:

  • Fingerprint security will protect your data from a street thief that grabs your phone.
  • Fingerprint security will protect you in the event you drop/forget/misplace your phone.
  • Fingerprint security could protect you against phishing attacks (if Apple allows it)

  Fingerprint security has a darker side though: we need to carefully evaluate how its data is going to be managed and the impact it will have on personal privacy.  First and foremost is the question of how fingerprint data will be managed. As Senator Al Franken pointed out to Apple in his letter dated September 19, we only have ten fingerprints and a stolen or public fingerprint could lead to lifelong challenges. Just imagine your fingerprints turning up at every crime scene in the country!

  The big questions here are:

  1. What data does Apple capture from a finger as it is enrolled?
  2. How is this data stored and how is it accessed?
  3. Can this data be used to recreate a user’s fingerprint mathematically or through visual reconstruction?

  In a similar fashion, fingerprints are viewed quite differently to passwords and PINs in the eyes of the law. For example, the police or other law enforcement officials can compel you to surrender your fingerprints, something they currently can’t do quite as easily with passwords or PINs despite some recent judicial challenges to that position.

  As a technology, fingerprint biometrics has a flaw that’s likely to be repeatedly exposed and fixed in future products. We shouldn’t let this distract us or make us think that  fingerprint biometrics should be abandoned, instead we should ensure that future products and services are designed with this in consideration. If we play to its strengths and anticipate its weaknesses, fingerprint biometrics can add great value to both security and user experience.

  What I, and many of my colleagues are waiting for (with bated breath), is TouchID enabled two-factor authentication. By combining two low to medium security tokens, such as a fingerprint and a 4 digit pin, you create something much stronger.  Each of these tokens has its flaws and each has its strengths. Two-factor authentication allows you to benefit from those strengths while mitigating some of the weaknesses.

  Imagine a banking application where on startup you use a fingerprint for convenience – it’s nice and quick and only needs to ensure the right person has started it. However as soon as you want to do something sensitive like check a balance or transfer some funds we kick it up a notch by asking for a two factor authentication – the fingerprint and a 4 digit pin. This combination is strong enough to protect the user against most scenarios from physical theft through to phishing attacks.

  If implemented correctly, TouchID enabled two-factor authentication in enterprise applications could be a good defense against phishing attacks by attackers like the Syrian Electronic Army. You can trick a user into giving up any kind of passcode but, it is much harder to trick a user into giving up his or her fingerprints from the other side of the world.

  Despite being hacked, TouchID is an exciting step forwards for smartphone security and I stand by our earlier blog on fingerprint security. Hacking TouchID gave me respect for its design and some ideas about how we can make it strong moving forward. I hope that Apple will keep in touch with the security industry as TouchID faces its inevitable growing pains. There is plenty of room for improvement, and an exciting road ahead of us if we do this right.

  For starters, Apple —can we have two-factor authentication please?

Apple Announces iPhone 5s—The Most Forward-Thinking Smartphone in the World

APPLE : 10 Sep 2013 10:38 PM 

Apple® today announced iPhone® 5s, the most forward-thinking iPhone yet, featuring an all-new A7 chip, making iPhone 5s the world’s first smartphone with 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance in the palm of your hand. iPhone 5s redefines the best smartphone experience in the world with amazing new features all packed into a remarkable thin and light design, including an all-new 8 megapixel iSight® camera with True Tone flash and introducing Touch ID™, an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your phone with just the touch of a finger

. iPhone 5s comes with iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone, engineered for 64-bit technology and featuring hundreds of great new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop®, enhanced Photos, Safari®, Siri® and iTunes Radio℠.

“iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, delivering desktop class architecture in the palm of your hand,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5s sets a new standard for smartphones, packed into its beautiful and refined design are breakthrough features that really matter to people, like Touch ID, a simple and secure way to unlock your phone with just a touch of your finger."

The all-new A7 chip in iPhone 5s brings 64-bit desktop-class architecture to a smartphone for the first time. With up to twice the CPU and graphics performance, almost everything you do on iPhone 5s is faster and better than ever, from launching apps and editing photos to playing graphic-intensive games—all while delivering great battery life. Apple also engineered iOS 7 and all the built-in apps to maximize the performance of the A7 chip. iPhone 5s is the best mobile gaming device with access to hundreds of thousands of games from the App Store℠, the A7 chip’s 64-bit architecture and support for OpenGL ES version 3.0. iPhone 5s delivers incredibly rich and complex visual effects, previously only possible on Macs, PCs and gaming consoles.

IS THE IPHONE 5S A JOBS DESIGN?

Apple's next two iPhones had already been designed before Steve Jobs died in October 2011, it has been claimed.

At a meeting with the San Francisco district attorney, George Gascón, Apple's liaison officer Michael Foulkes was reported by the San Francisco Examiner to have said the designs for the next two phones 'preceded Tim Cook [being chief executive]'.

Every iPhone 5s includes the new M7 motion coprocessor that gathers data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency. Developers can also access new CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M7, so they can create even better fitness and activity apps that go well beyond what other mobile devices offer. The M7 motion coprocessor continuously measures your motion data, even when the device is asleep, and saves battery life for pedometer or other fitness apps that use the accelerometer all day.

iPhone 5s introduces Touch ID, an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your iPhone with just the touch of a finger. Built into the home button, Touch ID uses a laser cut sapphire crystal, together with the capacitive touch sensor, to take a high-resolution image of your fingerprint and intelligently analyze it to provide accurate readings from any angle. Setting up Touch ID to recognize your fingerprint is easy, and every time you use it, it gets better. The Touch ID sensor recognizes the touch of a finger so the sensor is only activated when needed, preserving battery life. All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5s; it’s never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud®. Touch ID can also be used as a secure way to approve purchases from the iTunes Store®, App Store or iBooks Store℠.

iPhone 5s makes it even easier to take great photos with the world’s most popular camera. The all-new 8 megapixel iSight camera features a larger f/2.2 aperture and a new, larger sensor with 1.5μ pixels for better sensitivity and low-light performance, resulting in better pictures. These improvements, along with the Apple-designed image signal processor in the A7 chip and the new Camera app in iOS 7, provide up to two-times faster auto-focus, faster photo capture, automatic image and video stabilization, and better dynamic range. iPhone 5s introduces the new True Tone flash—the world’s first for any camera—that variably adjusts color and intensity for over 1,000 combinations, so photos taken with a flash appear more natural. iPhone 5s also includes a new Burst Mode, Slo-Mo video with 120 fps, a new FaceTime® HD camera for better low-light performance and audio-only FaceTime calls with iOS 7.
iPhone 5s features a remarkable thin and light, precision-crafted design that customers around the world love, including an anodized aluminum body with diamond cut chamfered edges, a stunning 4-inch Retina® display and glass inlays. iPhone 5s is available in three gorgeous metallic finishes including gold, silver and space gray. To complement iPhone 5s, Apple designed premium leather cases in six rich colors—beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and (RED)—with soft, color-matched microfiber lining.

iPhone 5s makes it even easier to connect to high-speed networks with support for up to 13 LTE¹ wireless bands, more than any other smartphone in the world. With download speeds up to 100 Mbps², you can browse, download and stream content even faster. iPhone 5s includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support for up to 150 Mbps² and Bluetooth 4.0. iPhone 5s delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi and LTE networks and up to 8 hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback.³

iPhone 5s comes with iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone, engineered to support the A7 chip’s 64-bit architecture, the new iSight camera and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. iOS 7 features a stunning new user interface, completely redesigned with an elegant color palette, distinct, functional layers and subtle motion that make it feel more alive. iOS 7 has hundreds of great new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes®.⁴

iPhone 5s customers have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 900,000 apps to iPhone, iPad® and iPod touch® users in 155 countries around the world. More than 50 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store to date, offering customers an incredible range of apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines in Newsstand, games and entertainment, business, news, sports, health and fitness and travel.

Designed specifically for iOS, iPhoto®, iMovie®, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote® are among the most popular apps in the App Store and are now available as free downloads with the purchase of iPhone 5s. iPhoto and iMovie enable you to do more than you ever thought possible with your photos and movies, and with Pages, Numbers and Keynote you can create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 5s comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model.⁵ iPhone 5s will be available from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 5s cases will be available in beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and (RED) for a suggested retail price of $39 (US) through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Authorized Apple Resellers. iPhone 5s will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on Friday, September 20. A new iPhone 4S 8GB model will also be available for free.⁵ iOS 7 will be available as a free software update starting on Wednesday, September 18 for iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation). Some features may not be available on all products.

¹ LTE is available through select carriers. Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks, check with your carrier for details.
² Based on theoretical speeds, actual speeds may vary.
³ Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
⁴ iTunes Radio will be available with the launch of iOS 7 in the US.
⁵ For qualified customers.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

How Apple Really Lost Its Lead In The '80s ?

businessinsider ;;Jay Yarow | Dec. 9, 2012, 8:26 AM

When Android surged past Apple in smartphone market share, a lot of people squawked that computer history was repeating itself.

The story of the 80s, according to these people, was that Apple pioneered the personal computing industry with the Apple computer. It then stumbled because of its closed approach while Microsoft flourished, spraying its software everywhere through low-cost personal computers.

Apple went from being the wealthy market leader to an also-ran in the blink of an eye.

It's going to happen again, too, warn these people, if Apple doesn't learn anything.

You see, the iPhone was the innovative market leader, but a cheaper alternative from Google, Android, is being sprayed all over the place. If Apple's not careful, it will one again be a broke also-ran in the blink of an eye.

It's an entertaining story, but it turns out it's not exactly accurate. The loose outline of the story is the same, but the particular details are different.

Goldman Sachs released a massive report on the warring tech giants this week. In the report it details how Apple lost in the eighties and how it's distinct from this era. It's a good story to read because it's important to see how Apple is in a completely different position this time around.

First off all, Apple was never really a market leader in the 80s. Here's a great chart looking at the computing market share.

Goldman Sachs

Apple's early success was thanks to the Apple II, which was released in 1977. Apple failed to deliver a successful follow up for seven years, says Goldman. It came out with the Apple III, which had "engineering flaws," and had to be recalled. The next computer was the Apple Lisa, which cost $9,995, making it way too expensive for the broader consumer market.

Apple didn't deliver a strong follow-up until it released the Macintosh in 1985. By then it was too late.

While Apple struggled to deliver a follow up computer, IBM desperate to break into the personal computer market, outsourced production of an operating system to Microsoft. Consumers and enterprises were familiar with the IBM brand and bought IBM computers, shunning Apple's balky offerings.

IBM, however, didn't lock in exclusivity. Microsoft started selling its OS to any PC maker, that would buy it. Thus, Microsoft's share of the computing market took off. As Microsoft grabbed market share, developers started working on applications for its OS instead of Apple's Macintosh system.

Microsoft's operating system, which was on more computers that cost less money and had better applications became the dominant computing platform for the next twenty years.

Things have changed for Apple.

Each year Apple has released a phone that is better than the phone it sold the year before. There was no seven year opportunity for a rival to release a phone that was better than the iPhone.

There is no IBM this time either. Apple, through the iPod and the Mac, was a trusted brand. The closest thing to a trusted computer brand when the iPhone launched was Microsoft and its partners, HP and Dell. Neither HP, nor Dell, had something to compete with the iPhone. Motorola was a trusted handset maker, but its Microsoft phones were nothing compared to the iPhone. 

When Google got into the smartphone game it was starting from scratch with Android. Remember, in 2007, Google was still a new company to most people. It wasn't a blue chip brand like IBM. And its first handset partner was HTC, which no one had heard of in 2008.

Then there's the developer angle. In the eighties, developers only worked on Microsoft because it was not worth it to do otherwise. Here's another fun chart from Goldman:

Screenshot

Why would a developer increase development cost by 75% to only get access to 8% more market?

Today, Apple isn't having a problem attracting developers. But, even if it did, the cost of developing for iOS and Android is much less, says Goldman, making it worth it for a developer.

Finally, there's another reason Microsoft triumphed over Apple last time. Computing devices were largely bought by corporations. And they liked IBM and its PC clones. Those corporate buyers stayed on the Microsoft platform for years because they were comfortable with it, and there were applications for it.

This is changing.

In 2000, Goldman says Microsoft powered 97% of internet connected computing devices. The majority of those PCs, 60%, were for commercial use. The remaining 40% was consumer purchases. 

Today, only 30% of internet connected computing devices are personal computers. And 85% of those purchases are now made by consumers, not corporations. Those consumers are bringing their devices to work, thus weakening Microsoft's grip on the enterprise.

Goldman Sachs

Apple is one of the most beloved consumer brands. With 85% of computing purchases coming from consumers, it is in a better position to avoid what doomed it in the eighties.

Then, there's the iPad. Apple had no such companion product in the past. Sales of the iPad reinforce sales of the iPhone, which reinforce sales of the iPad. Once people get into Apple's ecosystem, which is loaded with apps, they tend to stick around.

Without question, Apple could still get decimated. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are all selling competing tablets. Microsoft and Google have smartphone operating systems trying to beat the iPhone. Google's Android has taken huge amounts of market share.

But, if Apple gets decimated and relegated to a niche player on the cusp of going bankrupt, it's going to be for reasons that are very different than why it lost in the eighties.

Apple stops sale of iPhone 4S in China after crowd trouble

Source : The Hindu : Anand krishnan:Beijing:13 Jan 2012

The usually spotless shop windows of the sprawling Apple flagship store in the heart of Beijing were left covered in egg yolk on Friday, after Apple halted sales of its new iPhone 4S in the Chinese capital citing security fears triggered by the turnout of a huge and unruly crowd.

Hundreds of customers – joined by organised groups of scalpers – lined up for two days outside the Apple store braving freezing temperatures, to be the first to snap up the limited 4S phones going on sale.

Before the 7 am launch on Friday, scuffles broke out, witnesses said, echoing the chaotic release of the iPhone 4 last year, which saw clashes between customers and staff that left a shattered glass door in front of the store.

Friday’s scuffles were reported to have taken place between rival gangs of scalpers, who have emerged as key conduits for much of Apple’s lucrative business in China. Apple restricted sales of the phone to two per customer in Beijing and Shanghai, but scalpers have turned out in large groups in both cities to circumvent the restrictions.

Apple's restricted sales have led to its launches becoming chaotic events, often preceded by a week-long media circus and huge turnouts.

After Apple decided not to go ahead with the opening because of the huge crowd and safety fears, a mini-riot erupted, with customers and scalpers pelting the store with eggs. Dozens of police were deployed around the store on Friday morning, sealing off its entrance.

“We were unable to open our store at Sanlitun [in Beijing] due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being,” Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

She said the iPhone would be sold through the online store, authorised resellers and its local carrier, China Unicom. Apple's five stores in China – there is another store in west Beijing and three in Shanghai – had sold out the 4S, Ms. Wu said, with trouble only reported in one Beijing store.

Apple's five stores in China are reported to have the highest average revenue and highest traffic of any Apple store in the world. Last year, CEO Tim Cook said China was Apple’s fastest growing market, generating one-sixth of sales and growing four times over the previous year.

Amid the chaos of Friday's mismanaged release, a silver lining for Apple was the clear evidence of the huge popularity of its products in China, which have emerged as a status-symbol for the newly-wealthy and young urban middle-class.

Many of the more than thousand shoppers outside its store were thought to be scalpers, who dominate much of Apple’s business here despite the prevalence of many authorised resellers. Many Chinese prefer to pay an additional $100 to $150 for the $800 phone, instead of signing up to two-year contracts offered by Apple’s local carrier, China Unicom.

“We have waited two days, all for nothing,” said one scalper from northeastern Liaoning, who was among a group of dozen men hired by a local company to snap up the phones for resale.

“It has been a tough and long wait,” he said. “But I will be back tomorrow”.

For the eighth time, Steve Jobs is on the cover of TIME.

Photograph by Norman Seeff (Background digitally removed.)

An image of Steve Jobs in his living room in 1984.

Read more: http://lightbox.time.com/2011/10/06/behind-the-cover-steve-jobs/#ixzz1a0AlkRXR

I was commissioned to do a story about the young Apple team, and at the same time, a visual session with Steve Jobs. What was really remarkable was getting into the corporate offices. It was completely what I would call anti-corporate. The creative team was this large extended family—incredibly energized and enthusiastic. People seemed to relate to each other with a level of informality that was sort of extraordinary. Steve would walk in, and I would see him in the background like this benevolent father—the first thing I got from him was that he was not getting involved at all in the shoot. He was watching very intently to see what was going on but didn’t have a controlling hand in the thing.

We were just sitting, talking about creativity and everyday stuff in his living room. I was beginning to build a level of intimacy with him, and then he rushed off, and came back in and plopped down in that pose. He spontaneously sat down with a Macintosh in his lap. I got the shot the first time. We did do a few more shots later on, and he even did a few yoga poses—he lifted his leg and put it over his shoulder—and I just thought we were two guys hanging out, chatting away, and enjoying the relationship. It wasn’t like there was a conceptualization here—this was completely off the cuff, spontaneity that we never thought would become a magazine image.

Steve had a sense of humor and was very curious and appreciative of creativity in other people. I found him completely open and himself. I didn’t pick up any arrogance or superiority—he was just being himself, having a great time. It felt like, when we were hanging out, chatting in that lounge, that we were old time buddies, without any hierarchical relationship. As a photographer, I do give direction, but Steve was up for doing anything. We ended up lying on the ground, drinking beer and the images created themselves.

Related Topics: Apple, Macintosh, Obituary, Steve Jobs

view-source:http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2096251-1,00.html

Apple overtakes Microsoft as biggest tech company

Source : BS:Reuters / Seattle May 27, 2010, 11:01 IST Apple Inc shot past Microsoft Corp as the world's biggest tech company based on market value on Wednesday, the latest milestone in the resurgence of the maker of the iPhone, which nearly went out of business in the 1990s. Apple's shares rose as much 2.8 per cent on Nasdaq on Wednesday, as Microsoft shares floundered, briefly pushing its market value above $229 billion, ahead of its longtime rival. Both stocks ended down after a late-day sell-off, but Apple emerged ahead with a market value of about $222 billion, compared with Microsoft's $219 billion, according to Reuters data. Apple shares closed down 0.4 per cent at $244.11 on Nasdaq, while Microsoft fell 4 per cent to a seven-month low of $25.01. Shares of Apple are worth more than 10 times what they were 10 years ago, as it has profited from revolutionizing consumer electronics with its stylish, easy to use products such as the iPod, iPhone and MacBook laptops. The last time Apple had a higher market value than Microsoft was Dec. 19, 1989, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. Microsoft, whose operating system runs on more than 90 per cent of the world's personal computers, has not been able to match growth rates from its hey-day 1990s. Its stock is down 20 percent from 10 years ago. Apple, which struggled for many years to get its products into the mainstream, resorted to a $150 million investment from the much larger Microsoft in 1997 in order to keep it afloat. At that time, Microsoft's market value was more than five times that of Apple. Microsoft still leads Apple in sales. In the latest quarter, Microsoft reported $14.5 billion in revenue compared with Apple's $13.5 billion. Cupertino, California-based Apple is now the second-largest company on the Standard & Poor's 500 index by market value, behind energy behemoth Exxon Mobil Corp.