If you'd like some help with your Apple device, here is a website you might take a look at: Dan's Tutorials.
https://www.danstutorials.com/
I have not used his tutorials yet, but he is offering a free 30-day trial with no credit card required initially. I scrolled through the different tips, and they look to be quite helpful. If one is interested in using his tips past the initial 30 days, then an annual membership is available for only $48, which seems quite reasonable.
Jim Hamm
Zoom has become a big thing since work at home is almost a necessity. If you have been enticed to host your own Zoom meeting, here are two articles that might help.
John R Carter, Sr.
This is why we should keep the software on our computers and devices up to date with all the latest updates and patches.
Frank Croft
The subject update is available, and is a pretty hefty update -- 3.34 GB if I recall correctly. Will take awhile to
implement, also. The features included in the update are summarized in the link below.
Jim Hamm
We have a new addition to the PMUG website. When you visit the home page, at the top you will see a new message about the April meeting: “April meeting will be through Zoom. Click for more information.”
When you click there, you will see a new button: “REGISTER FOR UPCOMING ZOOM MEETING”
Click on that to enter your name, phone number, email, and a short message about the Zoom meeting you want to attend. Our secretary will then send out an email invitation with the meeting ID and password and a link to click on to instantly join the meeting. Of course, you do have to wait until the prescribed time for the meeting.
Regardless, all PMUG members will get an email invitation (in a PDF file attached to the email) to every meeting, so it really isn’t necessary for members to register for a meeting - just save the email invitation for when the meeting starts, click on the included link, and you’re in!
The Zoom meetings will be started by the organizer a few minutes early to allow people to settle in.
Also on the home page, if you scroll down, then you will see pretty much the same thing. But that information is about the April 9 and April 10 advanced training Zoom meetings. Check it out! And don’t forget to tell your friends who would like to attend our meetings, because registering is going to be the only way they can access the meeting.
John R Carter Sr
I know one of the exciting things about getting a new car is the new features. One of those features is of importance to us iPhone users. While Apple CarPlay has been getting better, and more vehicles support it, this article points out the possible down side of using CarPlay when you are the driver.
As an Air Force Pilot, I learned to do a “cross check” like the spokes of a wheel. Most of your time is spent looking straight ahead with the spokes being the different instruments. The same technique works very well while driving. Your side and rear view mirrors as well as your instrument panel are the spokes of a wheel. You should continuously be moving your eyes from your view straight ahead to the end of one of your spokes. You should NEVER spend more than a second on any spoke. We should now consider the CarPlay screen in your car as one of your spokes. If you cannot do what you want in a second, pull over and be safe!!
Frank Croft
On a forum I belong to, a member asked which VPN (Virtual Private Network) I use. For your possible interest, I posted the answer below. If, say, you're traveling and on a public wifi network at a hotel, airport, McDonalds. et al., I think using a VPN is most important so no one can 'listen' in to what you're doing on the internet.
Jim Hamm
It's sort of a hobby for me trying different VPNs, as for many years we traveled a lot in a motorhome and overseas, and a VPN was most useful for me for security reasons. I use several different ones, which include (in no particular order), NordVPN, CyberGhost, Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, VPN Unlimited, and Windscribe. I have found that Hotspot Shield is most effective in NOT reducing download speed significantly, as they all do to some degree -- some more than others. Remember, they first encrypt your data, send it, then un-encrypt it at the other end. Hence, the reduction in download speed. Also, another factor that affects your connection speed is how many servers the VPN has, where they're located, and how many people are using the service at the same time. Some VPNs will tell you the load on a particular server, and you can change servers if it seems overloaded.
If you should use DuckDuckGo as your search engine when browsing the web, here is an article discussing what it's been up to recently: https://gizmodo.com/duckduckgo-made-a-giant-list-of-jerks-tracking-you-onli-1842129900
I'm not paranoid about web trackers, but would just as soon not have them following/recording me while I'm on the internet. Using the browser "Brave" -- which I'm on now -- and the search engine DuckDuckGo, I'm reasonably protected from web trackers.
Jim Hamm
If you are -- or perhaps will be-- in the market for a home smart speaker, which should you choose -- Amazon's Echo or Apple's HomePod? This article may help you decide. Although we are Apple fans, we have Amazon's Echo at home, and I must say it is a very convenient and helpful device. The article is helpful in comparing the two choices, and Zee made the right choice in going with the Echo -- broader in its coverage whereas the HomePod is somewhat locked into the Apple ecosystem.
As one example of the use of a smart speaker, this device almost does away for the need of a radio or timer or alarm clock. “Alexa, play jazz music for me” -- and she does. Or classical or Celtic, or whatever. “Alexa, set the timer for ten minutes”, and she does. “Alexa, how much time is left on the timer”. She answers -- two minutes, or whatever. ”Alexa, what time is it?” Etc.
I hadn't thought about using Alexa to make a phone call, but after reading the article I plan to give it a try and see what happens. To reiterate -- Alexa is mighty handy to have around the house, and I'm pleased that we have several scattered around.
Jim Hamm
My personal background in electronics long ago proclaimed ARM chips as the preferred technology for computers. Apple is leaning toward this view now as well. Here is an excerpt from Apple Insider (https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/02/24/arm-mac-coming-in-first-half-of-2021-says-ming-chi-kuo}
"Apple is continuing to work on a self-designed processor for use in a future Mac, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, with the first possible release using an ARM-based chip instead of an Intel processor likely to arrive in the first half of 2021.”
"Rumors of an ARM-based Mac or MacBook have surfaced in a while, with the general theme of Apple moving away from its reliance on Intel Core processors in favor of its own silicon. According to TF Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, this could happen sooner than people may think."
With Apple declaring that it will design its own chips, that adds a new workforce to Apple. The empire is growing. How long before it’s own weight becomes a burden? So what I foresee is Apple divesting itself by splitting out new companies under its umbrella to manage that empire. Communication between groups then becomes the next major bottleneck. But with Apple now effectively managing itself over the entire world, that might not be a problem in the future.
John R Carter Sr
For your possible interest, here is a post from AMUG -- the Arizona Mac User Group here in the Valley of the Sun. In addition to discussing email clients there are links on the website that discuss a variety of other Mac-related topics. I stopped using Apple's Mail client many years ago, went to Gmail, and never looked back. On the AMUG Forum there are frequent postings of members having problems with Apple's Mail program. That's one reason I stay away from it, but many people do use and enjoy Apple's Mail Program.
Jim Hamm
The link below is from Randy Singer. Randy is an attorney and has for many years run a well respected online group for lawyers. In this email from him he talks about the email issues that some of you have had with Catalina. You are not alone. He has gathered information on a number of alternative email clients that you might want to explore....Alex (Secretary of AMUG)
"I just put up a new Web site. Apple's Mail under Catalina has a nasty bug that causes it to lose data. Some users have been looking for an alternative. I created a page listing all of the available Macintosh e-mail programs!"
Macintosh Email Software
http://www.macattorney.com/mail.html
For your possible interest, here is a helpful article from the TidBITS Newsletter that addresses how to free up storage space in iCloud, Google, and Dropbox: https://tidbits.com/2020/02/17/how-to-deal-with-running-out-of-icloud-google-and-dropbox-space/
In particular, I found the section discussing iCloud storage to be quite informative and helpful, and addressed backup and storage issues that I wasn't aware of.
Jim Hamm
Read this article to find seven more reasons to have Apple products.
Frank Croft
https://www.idropnews.com/news/7-reasons-why-apple-creates-the-most-unhackable-devices/125897/10
If you use the Chrome Browser you might read the following article about how to mute notifications and heavy ads. I've implemented the feature, but it's too soon to say whether I can tell a difference or not. But I thought it was worth a try. If you try it, don't forget to relaunch Chrome to implement the feature.
Jim Hamm
Enter the following in the URL tab: chrome://flags/#quiet-notification-prompts
Then enable Quieter notification permission prompts
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21126858/google-chrome-80-browser-notifications-ads-block-how-to
NOTE: Based on these tests, the best rated A/V apps are Kaspersky Lab, Trend Micro, and Symantec. But if you read to the end, the business version of Sophos detects 100% of all malware variants, so why isn’t it rated the best? I continue to recommend Sophos Home, but not just for that reason. The free version of Sophos does not bug you to upgrade and it handles both viruses and malware. MalwareBytes is not needed. The paid version adds extra security that really should not be needed due to macOS Catalina’s extra security against hackers and lock-outs. But get the paid version of Sophos for full protection anyway if it makes you feel safer. - John Carter.
Apple's MacOS is known to be one of the more secure operating systems out there. However, due to its increasing popularity and expanding user base, hackers and cybercriminals are starting to victimize iMacs and MacBooks more than ever.
Macs may be safer than Windows machines (for now) but they are certainly not completely immune from malicious software attacks.
This is why Mac owners are starting to rely on third-party antivirus software more and more. This not only gives them the peace of mind but most of these programs do work as advertised!
Well, except one.
AV-Test, a German-based IT security research company that regularly tests security software, has just released its latest anti-virus software evaluations.
In its latest laboratory tests, the AV-Test research team examined a total of 13 anti-virus products under MacOS Sierra - nine for home users and four for business.
The tests were conducted on identical Macs running on macOS Sierra 10.12.6. and the anti-virus products were installed as additional protections. This means the software worked in conjunction with the built-in protections of macOS Sierra.
The home products evaluated are as follows:
Avast Security 12.9
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac 6.1
Comodo Antivirus 2.2
F-Secure Safe 17.0
Intego Mac Internet Security X9 10.9
Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac 18.0
Sophos Home 1.2
Symantec Norton Security 7.5
Trend Micro Antivirus 8.0
According to their tests, six out of these nine home anti-virus programs detected all 514 malware variants the team exposed the Macs with - Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab, Sophos, Symantec and Trend Micro. If you have any of these Mac anti-virus packages installed, then you are well protected.
Intego Mac Internet Security missed a few but still attained a respectable 99.4 percent success rate. F-Secure Safe managed a somewhat good 93.8 percent success rate.
While almost all the Mac home anti-virus solutions AV-Test evaluated scored at least 93 percent, one of them failed spectacularly.
Comodo Antivirus 2.2 managed to detect only a measly 38.1 percent of the malware variants.
Yep, a mere 38.1 percent! That's worse than a failing grade, it's a total travesty if you ask me. According to AV-Test, Comodo's performance is "unacceptable."
Based on these results, if you're looking for an anti-virus program for your Mac, please avoid Comodo at all costs!
AV-Test also evaluated the system load of the anti-virus solutions it tested.
The products from Kaspersky Lab, Trend Micro, and Symantec added a load of a mere one to two additional seconds when copying and downloading files. According to AV-Test, these load times are actually unnoticeable in everyday use.
Bitdefender and Sophos Home required as much as six to 13 seconds more time while F-Secure and Intego loaded within 21 to 35 seconds.
Avast Security, while achieving a perfect score in detection, slowed down the Macs by as much 73 seconds, a time deemed as too much by AV-Test.
We're assuming that due to Comodo Antivirus' dismal detection rates, AV-Test didn't even bother to time its performance.
On the business side of things, results were more promising. AV-Test stated that ESET, SentinelOne and Sophos detected all the malware variants - a perfect 100 percent rate. Endpoint Security from McAfee was not bad at all at 99.6 percent.
All the business solutions had excellent system load rates. SentinelOne and McAfee only had one to two-second impact rates, ESET had seven while Sophos was at 10 seconds.
John R Carter, Sr.
If you use the Avast Antivirus program, you may have read that a subsidiary of Avast -- Jumpshot -- harvests data from your web browsing and sells it to advertisers. The following article explains more:
https://lifehacker.com/use-these-antivirus-and-anti-malware-apps-instead-of-av-1841264690
I've used Avast for years, and have been pleased with it. But this news makes me reconsider what AV program I might use instead. Right now I'm looking at Bitdefender Antivirus, which gets good ratings in AV tests.
Just something for you to be aware of.
Jim Hamm
One might ask "what is bandwidth, and what does it mean to me?" Here's a simple explanation, which might be helpful in understanding bandwidth.
For a computer, bandwidth consists of zero's and ones (0 & 1), how many are available to your computer, and how many can your computer "grab" at one time. At our house, Cox Cable provides a certain amount of bandwidth that is available for their customers to use. It's a finite amount, and if my computer is the only one in my area that's online, I have available many bits (zeros and ones) that I can download. If, say, there are one hundred computers online sucking up bandwidth, then the amount available to my computer has been reduced. That's why our internet download speed can vary during the day.
Now, the download speed for your computer will also vary, depending on the download speed you're paying for from your internet service provider. At our house, our download speed is nominally 100 Mbps (megabits per second). How fast is that, you might ask? The following graph (which I 'borrowed' from blogger Leo Notenboom, https://newsletter.askleo.com/), using downloading the Bible as an example, will clarify various download speeds. Remember dial-up? I do. What would have taken me 12 minutes to download the Bible, some years ago on dial-up, has dropped to 0.4 seconds. Nice improvement!
Hope all this helps in your understanding of bandwidth and download speeds. It did for me. And I hope I got the above more or less right, as I'm certainly no self-proclaimed expert in bandwidth. Any corrections or clarifications, please let me know.
This has nothing to do with the contents of the Bible. Believe in it or not as you see fit. This is about its size. You’ve probably seen one, perhaps even own one, and have a good sense for how big it feels, how hefty it is, and how long it might take to read it cover to cover.
The Bible is a fairly sizeable common frame of reference. You can download the text of The Bible from project Gutenberg as plain text, meaning the file contains only the text of The Bible in its simplest form.
A text-only copy in this digital form is 4,452,519 bytes. For our purposes, I’m going to round that up to an even 5,000,000 bytes, or five megabytes.
Five megabytes at eight bits per byte is roughly 40,000,000 bits. One Bible, 40 million bits.
Let’s compare some common bandwidth figures and see how long it would take to transfer The Bible at each of those rates.
Connection Type Common Bandwidth One Bible Download
Old, slow, dial-up 28kbps 23 minutes
Max dial-up 56kbps 12 minutes
Very basic ADSL 768kbps 52 seconds
T-1 / DS1 1.5mbps 27 seconds
High-speed ADSL (example) 24mbps 1.7 seconds
Cable (example) 100mbps 0.4 seconds
Gigabit 1gbps 0.04 seconds
Jim Hamm
If you have a smart phone and would like to try to limit what advertisers can find out about you, read the following article for some suggestions.
Jim Hamm
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-privacy-tips.html
If you use the Safari Browser on a Mac, the following article might be helpful. It lists shortcuts to help you navigate around in the browser. You may be overwhelmed at how many there are. These can be downloaded in a PDF document, or you could just copy and save them (or the ones you might really use) to Text Editor, and print them for future reference.
Jim Hamm
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/safari-shortcuts-cheat-sheet-mac/
I have had several groups now send me an email with anywhere between 10 to 60 emails in the “To” or “CC” fields. That is how emails get stolen, and phishing emails take advantage of that. Please read below about protecting email addresses.
BCC for Privacy!
Please don't put my email address in the To or CC fields of messages being sent to people I don't know!
Please protect email addresses as you would phone numbers -- unlisted phone numbers.
BCC stands for "Blind Carbon Copy." Historically, it would indicate who had received (or should receive) a copy of a memo without being listed in the "To" or "CC" fields. In the context of email, it indicates who should receive a copy of the email without being listed in the headers. If you're sending email to a number of people who do not (or should not) know each other, it is courteous to conceal their email addresses by using BCC.
Many people are protective of their email addresses. They don't care to receive email from random people on the net. Perhaps you've decided your clever joke, worthy cause, or business announcement was worth sending to them. You've also sent their email address to everyone else on the mailing.
Look at it another way, would you send your entire holiday card list out with each card you sent? Of course, some people would not like getting the list and others would not appreciate being on the list being sent everyone.
And if you're in business, would you think of giving away your contact list? That's what you're doing by including everyone in the To or CC fields. And some recipients of your mailing might consider everyone else on your list interested in similar mailings and feel free to use the list themselves.
Viruses and spam-bots are now designed to go through mail files and address books looking for potential addresses. Sending a single message individually addressed to a large list of people increases the chances that they all will be spammed or sent a virus should any one of them get infected.
Out of respect for your recipients, would you please consider not listing them each individually in your mailings? If your "mailing list" is personal, you can just use BCC for all the names. (You can send it To yourself.)
Interestingly, not using BCC when sending email to a large group who don't know each other appears to be against Google's Gmail's program policies. They list as one of the prohibited actions, "to distribute the email addresses of any person without their consent”. It is also now illegal in Europe and Canada to share a person’s email with anyone else with prior approval. That is what you are doing when you list more than one email in either the “To” or “CC” field.
Frank Croft