Mac Facts

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Your Apple Watch finds your iPhone!!

I love this feature and have definitely used it to find my phone inside and out of my home!

1. Swipe Up from the bottom of your Apple Watch - this is a bit tricky, yet after a few attempts you will get it.

2. Tap the small iPhone icon 

3. A sound will play on your phone - keep tapping until you find it!!

Extensions/Plugins/Add-ons

I have listened to podcasts touting ‘Honey’, yet not mentioning the security risks of the the Honey extension/plugin/add-on. Honey can read and change a limited amount of data in your browser. Many extensions/plugins/add-ons are prone to malware attacks and could collect your private data for various purposes, in fact, many browser extension/plugin/add-on, like Honey, have the potential for abuse.

I consider any extensions/plugins/add-ons a security risk to your browser as many hackers are attacking websites through installed extensions/plugins/add-ons. Widely used extensions/plugins/add-ons are Flash (which is antiquated and lacks any security) Honey, Acrobat Reader, HP and other printer Print services

An extension/plugin/add-on is a piece of software that acts as an add-on to a web browser (Safari, Firefox, Crome..) and gives the browser additional functionality. Extensions/plugins/add-ons can allow a web browser to display additional content it was not originally designed to display. Once a user installs an extension/plugin/add-on, it can have full access to the computer. Most extensions/plugins/add-ons are prone to abuse and security attacks. Some questionable companies may create extensions/plugins/add-ons and introduce malicious code that opens your computer to adware, malware, and virus attacks. Others may keep track of your online activity and collect personal information that they could sell to a third party or use for other purposes.

Extensions/plugins/add-ons security

Some extension/plugin/add-ons have access to the entire browser, including HTTPS content and also to the operating system. This means that extension/plugin/add-ons may:

• see login/password credentials in clear text, even over HTTPS (secure) connections
• send back the credentials to any website
• modify the web pages seen by the user 
• add/delete/modify files on the computer 
• run executables, (executables are applications that run after plugin is installed that you may not see or want)
• some plugins have been created to steal credentials or insert advertising in web pages
• some extensions/plugins/add-ons require relatively extensive permissions of your system and are able to perform actions including reading (or, in some cases, even changing) all data on the websites that a user visits. More of an issue is the fact that many required extension/plugin/add-on permissions are not always really necessary for the tasks they are supposed to be able to perform

To check for extensions/plugins/add-ons in Safari on your Mac

1. Launch Safari
2. Click Safari next to the Apple in the upper left corner
3. Click Preferences
4. Click Extensions tab in the far left
5. Uninstall any unwanted extensions 

Updates and not installing Catalina or Big Sur

I am not a fan of Catalina nor Big Sur…yet!!! Quite a few clients have accidentally installed Catalina or Big Sur. yet if you want to install Catalina or Big Sur, please contact me so we can chat about the impact on your computer and applications after installing Catalina and Big Sur. For example, if you have Office for Mac 2008 or 2011 they will not work on Catalina or Big Sur. Updating to Catalina or Big Sur may affect any 3rd party applications you use such as Quicken, or Adobe products. 

So now there are updates to run and there is Catalina or Big Sur waiting to be installed.

Updates VS Upgrade

UPGRADE means upgrading your current operating system. By clicking on UPGRADE NOW you will begin the installation of a new operating system.

UPDATE means installing any important updates pushed out by Apple. Such as security updates, which should be installed immediately.

Follow these steps to install all security or application updates only.

Click on System Preferences 

Click Software Updates.

DO NOT CHOOSE UPGRADE NOW! 

CHOOSE More info (small blue font) under ‘Another update(s) is available’.

Veriszon Customers Must Opt Out of 'new' Customer Experience'

I received this email from a client who is a Verizon customer. This email states verizon will be using the websites you visit and the apps you use to target you!  It is an automatic opt in!!! Meaning every verizon customer will have their websites and apps monitored! What a violation of your privacy!
YOU MUST OPT OUT!

You’re in controlYou will be part of Custom Experience unless you opt out. You can opt out at any time on the My Verizon site or your My Verizon app by accessing privacy preferences.

email:

Introducing Verizon Custom Experience. It’s your experience, tailored to your interests.Hi,At Verizon, we believe being America’s most reliable network comes with a responsibility to safeguard and protect your information. Your privacy is important to us, and we want to let you know about a new choice you have regarding how we use your information.We’d like to introduce Verizon Custom Experience, a program designed to provide you more personalized experiences with Verizon. You will be part of Custom Experience unless you opt out.How it worksThe program uses information about websites you visit and apps you use on your mobile device to help us better understand your interests. This helps us personalize our communications with you, give you more relevant product and service recommendations, and develop plans, services and offers that are more appealing to you.To be very clear, this information is used only by Verizon; we do not sell this information to others for them to use for their own advertising.You’re in controlYou will be part of Custom Experience unless you opt out. You can opt out at any time on the My Verizon site or your My Verizon app by accessing privacy preferences.

Equifax and FaceBook

Here is the info on how FaceBook got caught helping itself to your contact list and it’s penalty. You all know how I feel about FB and their lack of security and violating your privacy!

Also Equifax has been hacked.

Equifax Hack

The bad news: Nearly half of all Americans were affected by the 2017 Equifax data breach, in which hackers stole personal data for more than 147 million people: credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other identifying information.

The good news: As part of a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, the people whose data was stolen can get some compensation: 10 years of free credit monitoring, or maybe $125, depending on how badly you were affected. The payout could be as much as $20,000 if you can prove your identity was stolen and you suffered because of it.

To check your eligibility to receive $125: 

https://eligibility.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/en/eligibility

FaceBook

Facebook Under Investigation for Helping Itself to 1.5 Million Users’ Email Contact Lists

Facebook handed over your personal information to a third party, which violated a federal consent decree that requires the company to seek your permission first. That’s bad enough. But that party was a Kremlin-funded data scientist, who took the private info of 87 million people and sold it to Cambridge Analytica, which harvested the data to help sway the 2016 election. It is also known that Facebook’s top two executives, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, knew about the Russian trolls buying election ads and hate groups spreading fake news on their website in early 2016. 

Now they face the music, though not really: Facebook announced in an earnings report last week that it expects to be fined $3 to $5 billion by the FTC for privacy violations!

Let your battery be a battery

I use my Mac during the day and at night I either put my Mac to sleep or shut down, connect my charger, turn it over and it charges overnight to be ready to use again. Do not charge your computer continuously. Let your battery be a battery. Charge, use, charge again. Don't worry, a message will pop up when your battery is low.

Charge it, use it, and charge it again

Adjust text size on your iPhone and iPad

Recently, I misplaced my glasses and was unable to read my texts. Luckily, the text on your iPhone and your iPad can be adjusted. The text size will be adjusted in your iMessages, as well as, other Apps that support ‘Dynamic Type’. Type refers to the type of data that is being used and not the actual typing on your keyboards.

Go to:

Settings

General 

Text Size

Drag the slider bar to adjust text size

Downloads

Finding your latest download in the download folder can be difficult.

Change the ‘Arrange by’ setting in Finder to quickly find your latest download:

Open Finder

Click on ‘View’ in the upper bar

Choose ‘Arrange by’

Choose ‘Date Added’

The latest download will be at the top!

Emailing a PDF of a Pages Document

As we know, our Windows friends are unable to open a Pages document even though Mac users with Pages can open most MS Word documents with little or no issue.

One solution is to create a Pages document and send as a PDF:

1. Create a new Pages document or open a current document

2. Click File…….then Print

3. The print box will opens- in the lower left corner you will see PDF

4. Click PDF and menu options include ‘Mail PDF' or 'Send in Mail'

5. A new email will open automagically with the PDF in the email

6. Add recipients….send. Most users can open a PDF or copy/paste into their MS Word.

***** Only users that use the Mail Application (the postage stamp icon) can email from Pages. 

Passwords

Anyone that has worked with me to reset passwords knows how I feel about not knowing your passwords!! I recently met with someone who has lost a loved one and was not able to get into the computer, iCloud, or any account on line. 

The important message here is collect all your passwords somewhere. Whether your passwords are in Notes, on a sheet of paper, or in a book, make a printed version, date it and give it to someone you trust. If you change any passwords repeat the process again! Your Apple ID password and your password for your computer should also be included. 

A few items about passwords.

1. Your Apple ID password should not be used as any other password. Remember most Apple IDs are associated with a credit card. 
2. Do not change your Apple ID password unless absolutely necessary, If you do, you must change it in all your devices.
3. All bank/credit cards that you check on line should have a unique password.
4. Save all passwords somewhere!!! I save my passwords in Notes so I can have access anywhere in the world via iCloud