Do you travel with your laptop? Even if just to work and back? If so, you know that you are running the risk of it being stolen. That would be bad enough but what if the thief also got all your passwords? For the bank, your email etc. There are a couple of easy settings to make your Mac to require your master password to "un-lock" the other passwords even if it was grabbed off your desk while you were working. They will require you to enter the password a bit more often (after the computer sleeps or restarts) but it might be worth it.
Give me a call if you'd like to secure your computer a bit more securely. We can take care of it in 15 minutes over the phone.
July 20, 2006
April 10, 2006
Mac OS X update 10.4.6 Notes
Apparently there is a warning for users that employ iSync for phones and PDA's. Please read the instructions here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303411 and here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303419before doing this update.
The iSync software is replaced and Apple wants to make sure you don't lose your data or ability to sync your devices.
If you'd like help with this update, just call.
The iSync software is replaced and Apple wants to make sure you don't lose your data or ability to sync your devices.
If you'd like help with this update, just call.
March 02, 2006
Mac OS X Security Issues
The recent popularity of Macintosh and other factors have shown that there are some security risks involved with using this computer platform. Windows users have -many- more problems but we should all:
-Keep a virus protection software up to date. Especially if we share Microsoft Office files with colleagues
-Install all the latest security updates and system updates when they appear in our Software Update program. I usually advise waiting a week after they appear. If you don't get a warning from me or other support people about the update, go ahead and let it install.
-There is a setting for users of the Safari web browser that should be set:'
--open Safari preferences - Safari Menu > Preferences
--In the General pane, UN-check "Open 'safe' files after downloading" - Apparently, they are not always "safe"
-Malicious software or Macintosh basically has to ask for your password to proceed. So be wary of the password prompt if you don't know what caused it to appear. It is normal to get the prompt when you are installing software of course.
-Keep a virus protection software up to date. Especially if we share Microsoft Office files with colleagues
-Install all the latest security updates and system updates when they appear in our Software Update program. I usually advise waiting a week after they appear. If you don't get a warning from me or other support people about the update, go ahead and let it install.
-There is a setting for users of the Safari web browser that should be set:'
--open Safari preferences - Safari Menu > Preferences
--In the General pane, UN-check "Open 'safe' files after downloading" - Apparently, they are not always "safe"
-Malicious software or Macintosh basically has to ask for your password to proceed. So be wary of the password prompt if you don't know what caused it to appear. It is normal to get the prompt when you are installing software of course.
May 06, 2005
Tiger - Macintosh 10.4
The Tiger upgrade seems fine and if you are thinking of upgrading you probably can do so safely but please follow this link for an excellent article about this issue http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-778.html#lnk2. It is from TidBITS, the excellent Macintosh newsletter. The truly smart ones among us will wait for the 10.4.1 update before they bother however.
A word of caution for Palm users! Read this carefully before upgrading! I for one have gone back to using the Palm Desktop software for now exclusively. That isn't a recommendation. I was actually syncing to both the Palm software and the Mac apps before this upgrade. You can successfully move to Tiger if you follow the directions below.
iSync not properly synchronizing It appears that users will have to re-initialize any iSync-enabled devices from the data saved on their Macs after updating to Mac OS X 10.4. The new version of iSync -- 2.0 -- does not allow devices to automatically sync and retain data stored on said device. Instead, as noted by MacFixIt reader Mark B, users have two options after updating:
• reinitialize the device from the data on the computer (losing any changes made on the device since the last sync) or
• "merge" the two data sets, creating duplicates of nearly everything.
So make sure that your devices are synchronized under Mac OS X 10.3.x first (all data that is on the device is also on the computer) before updating to Mac OS X 10.4.
One reader affected by this issue writes: "Have just updated to Tiger 10.4 and tested out iSync 2.0 and MissingSync 4.0.4 with my Palm T2/SE T68i. Well, it was most annoying that iSync would reset all the past sync data. Meaning that all data will have to either re-merge or overwritten on the peripheral device."
This blurb is from the MacFixit website.
There are some more thoughts on Tiger and iSync from Jeff Gamet at http://homepage.mac.com/digiwizard/iblog/
A word of caution for Palm users! Read this carefully before upgrading! I for one have gone back to using the Palm Desktop software for now exclusively. That isn't a recommendation. I was actually syncing to both the Palm software and the Mac apps before this upgrade. You can successfully move to Tiger if you follow the directions below.
iSync not properly synchronizing It appears that users will have to re-initialize any iSync-enabled devices from the data saved on their Macs after updating to Mac OS X 10.4. The new version of iSync -- 2.0 -- does not allow devices to automatically sync and retain data stored on said device. Instead, as noted by MacFixIt reader Mark B, users have two options after updating:
• reinitialize the device from the data on the computer (losing any changes made on the device since the last sync) or
• "merge" the two data sets, creating duplicates of nearly everything.
So make sure that your devices are synchronized under Mac OS X 10.3.x first (all data that is on the device is also on the computer) before updating to Mac OS X 10.4.
One reader affected by this issue writes: "Have just updated to Tiger 10.4 and tested out iSync 2.0 and MissingSync 4.0.4 with my Palm T2/SE T68i. Well, it was most annoying that iSync would reset all the past sync data. Meaning that all data will have to either re-merge or overwritten on the peripheral device."
This blurb is from the MacFixit website.
There are some more thoughts on Tiger and iSync from Jeff Gamet at http://homepage.mac.com/digiwizard/iblog/
April 17, 2005
Mac OS update 10.3.9 seems safe... Maybe not...
There are reports of 10.3.9 causing various problems, 2 of which have to do with Mail and Safari. That could make this update not worth the trouble until the dust settles and they release an update to the update and... if you are going to upgrade to Tiger (10.4) in early May why bother? As always follow these directions for major system updates.
I'm skipping 10.3.9 for now.
• Make sure your hard drive is in good shape: Boot from the OS X Install CD and run Disk Utility's Repair Disk function (or use a third-party drive utility such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro).
• When booted from the volume containing Mac OS X, run Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions function.
• Install the update.
• After rebooting, again run Repair Disk Permissions.
I'm skipping 10.3.9 for now.
• Make sure your hard drive is in good shape: Boot from the OS X Install CD and run Disk Utility's Repair Disk function (or use a third-party drive utility such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro).
• When booted from the volume containing Mac OS X, run Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions function.
• Install the update.
• After rebooting, again run Repair Disk Permissions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
