It's not you, it's them…

While awaiting the arrival of snowmaggeddon here in the northeast, I had a few clients call me with

It's not you, it's them…

complaints of no email service. That's always disturbing, especially in cases where I have just recently been visiting… and tinkering. "That Rob, he's always tinkering…"

The sudden loss of email connectivity can create quite a panic. But here's the good news: it's almost always temporary, and it usually has nothing to do with your own computer, your settings, or your own in-home/office wifi or network connection.

Definitely an east coast problem

When your email goes down, here's a few things to check:

1. Do I have other Internet features? Does my web browser still connect? If so, you know your connection is OK.
2. Can I get my email from the web interface? In other words, if you usually use an "email client," i.e. Mail App, Outlook, Inbox, Cloud Magic…, can I get my mail by using Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc. (If so, this is almost always an indication that POP/IMAP service is down with your provider, and it will be fixed soon.
3. Is there a problem with my ISP or mail host? Here's where Down Detector and http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com can help.

To see if it's you or if it's them, visit either of these two sites, enter the address of the website and you'll see information that will give you a good indication of whether there's a problem outside of your (or my control) or whether it's something that requires more "tinkering."

iOS 9.3 Good to Go!

The most tested incremental update in the history of iOS is ready to download an install.

I haven't heard enough from people with older devices to give you s definitive answer, but if you are already on iOS 9.2.1, there is probably no good reason not to upgrade. Those of you still on iOS 8, as always, maybe wait a bit and we'l see what the pioneers report from the front. Certainly, if you have a 6S or a 6, go ahead and upgrade to 9.3 and enjoy the new NightShift feature which may help you sleep better if (really, IF?) you use your device at night. The last two generations of iPad should also benefit with no downside.

Here's my recommended method for every iOS upgrade:

1. Save all your photos and videos to the cloud or to your computer. There's no sense risking losing them if anything goes wrong, and they're taking up space that could be needed during the upgrade. My practice is to have copies in the cloud and on a hard drive.

2. Remove the apps you never use. It will free up space and declutter your home screen.

3. Make a backup. Check your backup. Your device should be backing up to iCloud every night, but it's a good idea to check, and make sure that you have a current backup. I strongly recommend connecting your device to your computer and making a backup to it using iTunes. It's a more complete backup, and if something goes wrong, it's a lot quicker to restore from iTunes than to restore from iCloud. (I speak from experience. Trust me.)

4. If at all possible, do your update via iTunes. The over the air updates seem to be OK these days, but again, in the event of complications, having the computer and iTunes handy can make for an easier recovery. If you are tight on space on your device, the iTunes update is definitely less of a hassle.

Safer Computers, Tablets, and Phones in Minutes

From time to time, I speak at community centers and social groups on easy and inexpensive ways to tighten up security on electronic devices. It's a 45 minute session that is both entertaining, informative and immediately useful.

I cover:

• Password Managers
• using HTTPS
• OpenDNS & crowd sourced trusted sites
• 2 Factor Authentication
• Virtual Private Networks
• Finding lost devices
• Hard drive encryption
• Phishing
• Scams
• Malware

Here is a link to the resources I discuss in the body of the talk.

If you think your club, group or community center might enjoy this talk, please send me an email.

iOS 9: Getting Ready for the Upgrade

Apple will be releasing iOS 9 tomorrow, and by all accounts, the new operating system for iPhones, iPads, and iPods looks to be a good one. Featuring Ad blocking, a new power saving mode, an update in Siri's abilities and lots more, iOS9 will run on iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod Touch 5th gen and anything newer. Early reviews say it may bring new life to the iPhone 4S, perhaps running faster and better than the disappointing performance drop many saw with iOS8.

So… now is the time to get ready.

1. Save all your photos and videos to the cloud or to your computer. There's no sense risking losing them if anything goes wrong, and they're taking up space that could be needed during the upgrade. My practice is to have copies in the cloud and on a hard drive.

2. Remove the apps you never use. It will free up space and declutter your home screen.

3. Make a backup. Check your backup. Your device should be backing up to iCloud every night, but it's a good idea to check, and make sure that you have a current backup. I strongly recommend connecting your device to your computer and making a backup to it using iTunes. It's a more complete backup, and if something goes wrong, it's a lot quicker to restore from iTunes than to restore from iCloud. (I speak from experience. Trust me.)

4. If at all possible, do your update via iTunes. The over the air updates seem to be OK these days, but again, in the event of complications, having the computer and iTunes handy can make for an easier recovery. If you are tight on space on your device, the iTunes update is definitely less of a hassle.

Finally… Maybe just wait! If your phone is critical to your survival (social or business) maybe wait a couple days. Even the finest software on the planet has some… issues… when first released to the public. I guarantee you that not everything will work well for everybody, and that some people tomorrow will really wish they waited for the 9.01 update.

In the past, people have seen problems with extreme battery drain, key apps failing to function, wifi interruption or general unexpectedly slow performance. Why not let the cowboys and thrill seekers check out the new territory and send some messages back from the front. As I've said before, you won't get a prize for updating first, but you may get some surprises. It's better to be a fast follower than a first mover.

Improve your iPhone Security by more than 1 Million Percent?

I like using the Simple Passcode option on my iPhone, but I've always been kind of bugged by the idea that there are only 10,000 possible passwords under that scheme. Since it's always 4 numbers, lots of people tend to use a month/day combination which makes guessing a fairly easy task for many people. Is your first digit 0 or 1? Do your 3rd and 4th digits add up to no more than 31? Is your combination your birth year? Last 4 of your phone number?

If you would like a longer simpler password, here's a cool and easy trick I just learned:

1. Open Settings on your iDevice and go to "Touch ID & Passcode."
2. Turn off "Simple Passcode"
3. Next, change your passcode to something longer, using all numbers.
4. Enjoy your new improved security!

Look what happens when you get to the lock screen now! Instead of needing to enter your long password with the keyboard (really kind of a drag) you just punch it in on the keypad (not too shabby!) The only difference between this and the simple passcode option is that you need to tap the "OK" after entering your code.

OK, I lied. The only difference is you have to tap OK, and your password is now more than 111,000%  harder to crack! (Assuming you have used 7 digits.) You've gone from 10,000 combinations to 11,111,110. Add one more digit and you've increased the number of combinations to over 100,000 which is more than a One Million Percent increase!

I really like the idea that the length of my passcode is no longer known. While I'd never recommend a 1, 2 or 3 character code, a would be thief/hacker would have to try all of them in order to rule them out. They also need to try all the 5, 6, 7 and so on combos, thereby increasing the amount of time it will take to unlock your phone.

Yes, you may have set your phone to erase all data after 10 failed passcode attempts, so perhaps you're not too worried. Then again, you may have a kid or a wise guy friend who just loves wiping out all your data every so often. Me? I'd rather not have to restore from a backup. And if you're one of those people who says "Back… what?" or doesn't know how to restore from a backup or one of those who knows how long it takes to restore from a backup, maybe you would like to make your password a little bit longer and less obvious than a sentimental date.

No, Your Computer is NOT "Critically Infected"

This is a bogus alert that seems to be hitting Mac users, and these people will not help you.

They will take a lot of money if you call them and listen to them. There is actually no harm done to your computer by this little bit of javascript trickery.

The damage gets done if you call them and they convince you to give them remote access to your computer so they can "help" you. In fact, all they do is help themselves to private information, and a couple hundred dollars if you then give them your credit card information.

If you find yourself locked up on that page:

1. Hit Command-Option-Escape.
2. Quit Safari.
3. Start Safari with the Shift key down.
4. Under the Safari Menu, Choose "Clear History and Website Data…"
5. Clear at least Today and Yesterday
6. Restart the computer.
7. Stick to a less unsavory part of the web.

If you have been subject to this phishing/harassment, please let me know, and let me know if this helped. I offer a free 50 minute multimedia presentation called Safer Computers, Tablets and Phones in Minutes to clubs and community/social groups in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Please email or call me if you think your organization would be interested.

Which Yosemite Will It Be For You?

As soon as tomorrow, Apple could be releasing it's next generation operating system, Mac OS 10.10. If past performance can be an indicator of future results, then we can expect a few things:

• It will be free
• It will have amazing new features that make life easier and richer in oh-so-many ways:
• Notification center is improved and more like the iOS version
• The new dock and window translucency is beautiful
• Spotlight searching will search your computer and the Internet simultaneously
• iCloud Drive will change the way you use, store and share documents
• Mail will let you mark up PDFs and send huge files without clogging your recipients' mailboxes
• "Continuity" is going to make moving between your iPhone, iPad and Mac incredibly simple.
• You'll be able to make and take phone calls on your iPad and Mac
• Most people will love it and it will work flawlessly

And, kind of like a prescription drug, you need to consider the "side effects, some serious" of upgrading your OS to a .0 release:

Installing 10.0.0? Say your prayers, varmint…

• It will take a long time to download.
• Some people will not be able to download it.
• Some people will not be able to install it.
• Some people's computers will stop running.
• Some people will not be able to print.
• Some people will lose wi-fi connectivity.
• Some people's favorite application will not run.
• Some people's data may be lost.
• Some people's blood pressure may rise.
• Some people will experience dizziness and headaches and heart arrhythmia.

Unless you like to live dangerously, why not wait on the upgrade?

In the meantime, make sure you have a good solid backup of at least the things you hold dear: photos, music, documents. Better yet, make a bootable backup of your entire hard drive. And watch here, and around the web as reports on how the move to Yosemite go.

There's no doubt that OS 10.10.1 will be released in the next few weeks and that it will solve most of the problems that people will find in 10.10.0.

If you would like your Yosemite to be more rainbows and waterfalls and less rootin' and tootin' my advice is to make some popcorn, sit back, and see what happens. You'll able to join the party soon enough.