Lost ...and Found

A news story today caught my eye, and made me smile

A man accidentally forgot his iPad on an airline flight. An honest and helpful departing passenger found it, and brought it to the less honest flight attendant, who took his iPad to her home and promptly made it her iPad. But the man who lost the iPad used the built-in "Find My iPad" option to zero in on it's location. He called the cops in her hometown, they went to the address he gave them, grabbed the iPad and arrested the crook. [Full story here]


Did you know that every modern Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod has the built-in ability to be found? It's easy to take advantage of these features, but there are a few things you do need to do before the need to find your device arises:

1. You need an Apple ID. If you set up iCloud already, you have one. If you haven't set up your free iCloud account already, what are you waiting for? It has so many great uses besides finding your iDevices that there's no reason not to set it up.

2. You need to activate it on your device - in advance - if you want to be able to use it. On your iDevice, go into Settings>iCloud, and scroll down to Find my i[Device]. Make sure it's "On."

3. Download and configure the free "Find My iPhone" App from iTunes.

4. Know your iCloud username and password. This means that although you need to use a secure password, you also need to be able to absolutely positively remember this one.

Then, in the event that your Mac or iPhone is lost or misplaced, you can either use the app on one of your other devices, or a friend's device, or get on the web and log in to iCloud and activate "Find My iPhone."

A map will open up, and - if it can - the app will pinpoint the location of all your stuff! You also have the option to make the lost device beep loudly (very useful when you don't know where your phone is but you know it's around here somewhere), lock it and pop up a message ("Hey, If you found my phone, please call me at this number...) or erase it (This is the "nuclear option:" a last ditch effort to avoid having all your private stuff become someone else's. After you erase the information on an iOS device, you won’t be able to use Find My iPhone to locate it or play a sound.)

If you are running iOS 6, you'll even be able to track your device, keeping a log of all the places your phone goes until you can get it back.

So, download the app and play around with it, and visit iCloud and try it there as well.

If you need help, you know where to find me!

UDID what?

A hacker group known as AntiSec claims to have hacked into an FBI agent's laptop and downloaded a database containing 12,000,000 UDID's along with other personal information attached to those IDs.

A UDID is the Unique Device Identifier for your Apple iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch.) It's kind of like DNA trace, only digital. And just like DNA trace, if someone has merely that alone, it doesn't do them much good. But if that UDID gets into a database (like CODIS, perhaps?) with your name, and other personal data, it becomes a very powerful tool for identity theft, or privacy invasion. And AntiSec says the FBI and other entities are working on just such a database. Some may find that troubling. (The rest are brain-dead.)

While the FBI has denied that it was the source of the leak, it hasn't actually denied having the information.

There's a more detailed explanation of the whole thing available at TechCrunch.

And, there's a good way to find out if your UDID is one of the million published. Here's how:

1. Plug your iDevice into iTunes.
2. Click on your iDevice in the Devices part of the window.
3. Click Summary in the Main window.
4. Click on the Serial Number area. It changes to your UDID.
5. Make note of that string of characters
6. Browse to LastPass.com
7. Just enter the first 5 of those characters and see if it thinks you've been leaked.

If it comes back with your whole number, it's been leaked. Otherwise, you're not one of the million, but there are 11 million more where those came from. :-(

This is a good reminder to make sure that you have taken all the security measures you can with regard to your iDevices, your computer, and all your various Internet accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, your bank and credit cards, and all those other places that really only have a few keystrokes between the bad guys and all of your stuff.

If you are still using the same user name and password at more than one site...

If you are still using passwords like fluffy1994...

If you are not already using 1Password or LastPass or some thing like them...

Now is the time to take a security inventory and step up your guard. I'm here to help if you need me.

For now, whether your UDID has been leaked or not, there's not much more to do. Except maybe join the EFF.

Serious Stuff • Important to Read • Important to Do

A recent hacking event highlights the need for all computer users to take a more active role in securing their computers and online accounts.

If you do not know what "Two-Step Authorization" is, or simply don't use it, now is the time to educate yourself and change your ways.

Please read the following one sentence summary of an article that I urge you to read, and click on that sentence to open the story in a new page.

A very tech savvy guy came home the other day to find his iCloud, Amazon, Google and Twitter accounts hacked, and his iPhone, iPad and Macbook erased, (including all his music and two years worth of his son's baby photos) all by some stranger by remote control!

Please set up Two-Step Authorization at Google.

Please start using a different, non-trivial password at every online site.

Please start using an application like 1Password to help you manage these passwords.

Please start regularly backing up your files.

If you need help, you know where I am!

Ready for Mountain Lion?

Word on the street is that Apple releases Mountain Lion, OS 10.8, tomorrow. No doubt, if you have a Mac, you're excited and may want to upgrade, ASAP. Here's a few things to consider:

1. If you really really depend on your Mac, maybe wait a couple of days? What folks in the biz call ".0 releases" are famous for delighting many AND completely screwing up others. As they say, "pioneers get arrows in their backs." Why not wait and let the bold go where no one's gone before, and read a few reports about how it went for them before you offer up your fine running machine to the gods of software upgrades?

If you decide to ignore that, my wisest advice, then how about this? Backup, backup, backup and utilize Utilities!

2. Back up your whole hard drive. That shouldn't be a big deal because you do that all the time, right? If not, get in the habit. Between low prices on hard drives, and great software including the built in Time Machine and the free Carbon Copy Cloner ("CCC"), you have no excuse not to, and a few million reasons (counted in megabytes!) that you must. Even if you run TimeMachine regularly, there's nothing like the bootable, complete hard drive clone that CCC will create for you when it comes to disaster recovery. Recovering your system from TimeMachine is certainly doable. Just don't count on doing anything else for hours - maybe days - if that's what you end up having to do!

3. Run Disk Utility. Make sure your hard drive reports no errors and that your disk permissions are OK. If Disk Utility finds any errors, have it fix them and run it again until it reports a clean system.

4. If you've moved any Apple installed software, move it back or reinstall it. Many times, Apple likes to see its stuff where it put it when it's making upgrades.

5. Run Cocktail, Onyx and DiskWarrior if you have them. Now is the time to run any utility you have that can help insure that your hard drive and your system software are in order.

6. Back up again now that everything is perfect. I'm not kidding.

7. Think again about my first piece of advice. I'm serious.

8. Good luck.

9. Let me know how it went!

MobileMe to iCloud: You Have 5 Days!

If you have been putting off the move from MobileMe to iCloud, now is the time to make the move.

The most common reason for delay is procrastination, followed in quick succession by "having a Mac that does not yet, or can't, run OS X 10.7 (Lion).

If you've simply been procrastinating, now's the time to make the move. I can't do much more for you than point you to the Apple page to get you started.

Now is also the time to download your Gallery photos and any iWeb pages that may still be lingering on MobileMe.

And, don't forget your iDisk files! They all disappear when June becomes July. (See my previous post on DropBox and other free services for alternatives to iDisk that are actually better than iDisk ever was!)

If, on the other hand, you have a non-Lion compatible Mac, there's still hope. It's easy to keep your email@mac.com or email@me.com email. Here's what Apple has to say:

If you want to keep email working on your devices, go to me.com/move from your computer, choose the option to keep using your email after MobileMe ends, and follow the steps. If your devices meet system requirements, you'll also be able to access all of the iCloud features after June 30, 2012, but only on your compatible devices.

• Mail

Mail continues to work on devices that don’t meet iCloud requirements.

• Calendars

Calendars continue to sync with your devices until June 30, 2012. After MobileMe ends, if your devices are not running iOS 5 or OS X Lion, Calendars no longer sync (Calendar data still resides locally on your devices). Once your devices are updated to iOS 5 or OS X Lion, your Calendar data will be able to sync with iCloud.com, and you can access all of the iCloud features.

• Contacts

Contacts continue to sync with your devices until June 30, 2012. After MobileMe ends, if your devices are not running iOS 5 or OS X Lion, Contacts no longer sync with iCloud.com (Contacts data still resides locally on your devices). Once your devices are updated to iOS 5 or OS X Lion, your Contacts data will be able to sync with iCloud.com, and you can access all of the iCloud features.

Keeping your Calendars and Contacts synched up after June 30 will take a bit of finagling, and some third party software and services. If you need help, give me a call. I'm a good finagler.

Mac OS X Lion and Signing PDFs

Now here's an awesome, but frequently overlooked feature that's built right in to the Macintosh operating system: you can sign PDFs with your actual signature! Did you know that?

How many times have you printed out the PDF, signed it, scanned it, shredded it and then emailed the scan back to the sender? No more. Here's how:

1. Sign your name as you would like it to appear in the document on a plain white piece of paper.
2. Open your PDF with Preview.
3. If you don't see the "Annotations Toolbar, use the menu View > Show Annotations Toolbar (or just type Command-Shift-A)
4. Look for the Signatures pop-up in the Annotation menu that now runs across the top of the document window.
5. Click on that, and choose "Create Signature from Built-in iSight…"
6. Line up the signature with the line in the Signature Capture preview window, and click "Accept."
7. Now, click where in the document you would like your signature to appear.

You can move the signature around, and even resize it. (Unlike resizing many other objects, you don't even need to hold Shift Key down as you resize it so your signature doesn't get all distorted.)

When you're happy, just hit the Enter key, and save the document!

You can store several versions of your signature in Preview, and in the future just choose the one you want to use from the pop-up menu.

How cool is that?

There are many other somewhat hidden features in Mac Lion that can make your life a lot easier. I'll post some here on a regular basis. If you can't wait, perhaps you would like a Lion Lesson or some basic Mac OS coaching. I'm here for you!

Frozen iPhone / iPod / iPad? Try This!

If your iDevice has locked up... like an app won't quit, and it doesn't respond to just pushing the home button, try this:

Restart: Hold down the power button and the home button, and keep holding them. The device may say "slide to power off." If so, do that, wait until it is completely off, and then turn the device back on again.

If the "slide to power off" doesn't appear, or if you continue to have problems after a restart, try this:

Reset: Hold the power and the sleep buttons. Keep holding both buttons, even if the slide to power off option appears. The screen will go black and maybe a little streaky. Keep holding the buttons. Wait until the Apple logo comes up. Now let go of the buttons. Wait for your phone device to finish starting up. It's going to take longer than usual.

All Better? Good. You're welcome

No? Sorry. Call me. Maybe I can help.

PhotoSynth - I Love This App!

One of the shortfalls of the iPhone and iPad cameras is their fixed wide angle aspect. I've frequently been frustrated by the camera's inability to capture landscapes, or really anything much beyond casual snapshots. With all those megapixels in my pocket - more than three times as many as in my dedicated camera (and less than 1/8 the size and weight) - I've often wished I could take a picture 1/3 as good.

Photosynth changes the game. Even though it is made by Microsoft, it is one of my all time favorite photography apps. (That alone should tell you how good it must be.) I find myself going to it over and over again. Photosynth allows you to take wide angle and panoramic photos with your iDevice, just by slowly moving around as it automatically shoots overlapping images which it then weaves together into a (mostly) seamless picture. You can take a big wide shot and crop it and save it to your photo roll (click on the image to the left), or you can go the whole 360° route and then view your panorama in the App or on the associated web site, which can have some pretty dramatic results! Click on the box to the right and be sure to expand the resulting image to full screen to really take in just what this offers!

I've found the app to be pretty easy to use, consistently yielding pleasing results. My experience is that it works best when nothing in your shot is moving. Ask people to hold still as you pan near and over them or you will have ghosts and blurs, but sometimes that can be part of the fun. The app, and the non-required use of the web site are both free.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I don't know about you, but for me, Time Machine runs too often and takes up too much of my Mac's CPU (slows down my work), bandwidth (slows down my network connection) and too much disk space (too many backups too often). This is particularly annoying when I am working online, on photo or video editing, or sometimes just listening to music and surfing.

What is to be done?

Simple answer, download and install TimeMachineScheduler. It's a free Preference Pane that will allow you to set the interval between backups to

anywhere from 1 to 12 hours, and to not back up at all between certain hours. It runs on Intel Macs, OS 10

.5+. You could do this by messing with hidden Apple preference files and a text editor, which is how I used to do it, but why bother when something as simple and elegant as TimeMachineScheduler is available.

direct download

Want Your Internet to Keep Working After July 9th?

Then click here.*

*This is a site that will tell you whether or not your machine has been affected by the DNS Changer Malware. Here's the official FBI document.

If you have been affected by the Trojan, there's also plenty of info here as to how to get rid of it and set things straight. If that all seems overwhelming or you just don't want to... give me a call.

If you haven't been infected, Mazel Tov! Read on anyhow, because this is interesting stuff!

Here's the story: Believe it or not, a Trojan called DNS Changer started infecting PCs and Macs back in 2007.

A bunch of Estonian crooks started hijacking unsuspecting Internet users traffic and redirected them to hacker-created websites. Each time a user visited one of these sites, the mob made a penny or two on advertising they had set up there. A penny or two aded up to over $14,000,000.00 by the time they got busted by the FBI last November.

Think of it as a detour on the Information Highway, so that every time you tried to go anywhere on the net, first you went through Estonia! The crooks got paid just by having you go out of your way to look at their billboards and then go over their bridge on your merry way to Facebook, or whatever. You may have seen some ads you didn't want to see and your connection may have seemed slow, but otherwise, you wouldn't have noticed.

Because the scam was so widespread, the FBI simply took over the bad guys' servers and rerouted them to play nice again. In other words, you're still taking the detour, but the G-Men took down the billboards. But that didn't actually fix the problem. The problem is, your computer is still going to the wrong address first... and on July 9, the FBI is shutting down those servers for good. Back to the detour analogy, the bridge is going to be out and the detour signs are coming down. If you don't clean out the Trojan by July 9, when you try to surf the net, your going to end up in Nowheresville. (population: you).

So... now's the time to check and see whether you or I have a little work to do. Click my first link above, and here's to finding: DNS Resolution = GREEN

Fsck your Sparse Bundle!: A Quick P.S. on the Time Machine Verification Failure

I'm happy to report that I found a way to fix the Time Machine backup that I wrote about on Monday, and my Time Machine backups are fully restored.

If you find yourself with a Time Machine backup or Time Capsule that gives you the message...

Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you

...here are a couple of ideas on how to fix it:

1. Go fsck your sparse bundle! It's not a vulgarity, it's real Linux advice! Basically, it's Disk Utilities on steroids. Follow the instructions I found here. They look scary but they're really not that bad.

or

2. Give me a call.

Backup... And Backup the Backup

Today I got a message from my Mac Time Machine that it couldn't verify my backup, and wanted to start over. Since all is working fine on my computer right now, no big deal, right?

Well, no big deal, comparatively. I lose all the versions of all my documents and files, dating back many many months. Not a killer, I guess. But what if something goes wrong (or is wrong but I don't know it yet) while that new backup is being made? If my hard drive dies or my computer crashes before I have a new backup, that would be a problem.

Think of your backup as a safety net. Think of your data as you on a high wire. There you are, a few hundred feet up in the air, when your assistant hollers up, "Hey! The safety net just frickin' disappeared! I'm going to go get a new one. I'll be back in a few hours, maybe a day or so."

It would be nice to have a spare safety net, no? You didn't even know your thesis, dissertation, priceless photos and rare bootleg recordings were engaged in regular death defying feats!

Hard drives are big and cheap these days. That's good and bad. Good because they're affordable, bad because they aren't as dependable as they used to be and because you can store so much stuff on one of them that the loss of a drive is almost always catastrophic.

Develop a daily backup strategy. On a Mac, Time Machine is good. Then, backup the backup on a regular basis. Carbon Copy Cloner, Crash Plan, and Mozy are all excellent ideas. And don't forget Drive and Dropbox. They are both excellent places to stash your documents. Don't forget that photos and music can take a lot of space.

The best backup strategy is the one you use. Don't wait. If you don't have a backup plan, do it now. If you need help, I can set up one that you will use, in about an hour.

Keep Your Feet on the Ground and Your Stuff in the Clouds…

The cloud... the cloud... everybody's talking about the cloud. What's the deal?

The cloud is basically a short way to say, a big hard drive that somebody else takes care of, located somewhere I don't know, that I connect to through the Internet but it kind of feels like it's right on my computer or phone (and it kind of sort of might be).

Much easier to say the cloud. What's so good about the cloud?

• you can use it from anywhere there is Internet
• it doesn't take up space at your place
• it is always backed up so you won't accidentally lose your stuff
• it is never fills up (although you might have to pay for more space)
• a whole lot of it is free

Free, you say? Absolutely. Google Drive and Dropbox are two of the leading providers of cloud services whose basic package is free. Just click on the links above to start the sign up. Apple's iCloud is also a cloud service (duh) but works a little differently.

Both of Drive and Dropbox will install special folders on your computer. What's cool about the folder is that anything you put in it is automatically copied to the cloud. You can install this special folder on your home computer, your office computer, your phone... and automatically, you'll have access to everything that's in the folder. Change a file at the office. Open it up later on your home computer, make more changes, and find the changes waiting for you at the office the next day. You can also share whatever is in your folder with any one else! No more e-mailing giant picture or music files!

Apple's iCloud, although free, is only useful to people who use an iOS5 device, or an OS X 10.7 Computer. You can install iCloud on a Windows 7 or Vista computer as well, but if you don't have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, there's not much point. Not a storage option like Dropbox or Drive, iCloud is the little bit of Apple magic that keeps all your contacts, calendars, music, and photos synced between all of your computers and iDevices. iCloud replaces MobileMe, which will disappear for good on May 30. If you use MobileMe, now is the time to move to iCloud or consider some other alternative.

Setting up Dropbox and Drive are fairly straightforward. I encourage you to give it a try. If you need help transitioning from MobileMe to iCloud, the Apple tutorials and assistants will lead you through it step by step. It is almost always smooth as silk, but there have been some snafus. As always, if you would feel better having a professional take care of any of this, or your having a hard time deciding just what to do, I'm just a phone call or e-mail away.

Pageonce - I Love This App!

Pageonce - for the iPhone and the iPad, makes keeping track of your credit cards, regular bills, and bank accounts fun. Or, at least as much fun as it can be. Once you enter your usernames and passwords into its relatively simple interface, Pageonce keeps track of your balances, payment due dates, and any unusual activity in all of your accounts.

But, the real beauty is that Pageonce sends me alerts a week, and then again a day before my payments are due. It let's me know when a new bill is ready for review. And, it let's me know if there are any problems like an unusually large transaction. You really need to get this app and set it up to fully understand the value it adds. Because it aggregates all this info for you, there's no more logging in to 5 sites or running the bank app, the discover app, the Visa app, phone company app, the whatever app just to know how things stand.

I've been using it for over a year now and while it's not Angry Birds, I have to say, "I Love This App!" Originally worth it at $9.99, this app is available in the App Store at the remarkable price of FREE!

OS X: Safe for now

The patch released yesterday will stop new infections of Flashback.k. You should check to see if your Mac has already been infected. Instructions for how to check are found at this post.


Apple releases Java security updates | Macworld

Does the Apple Java Update Fix the Flashback.k Vulnerability?

Who knows? It probably does. The inscrutable folks in Cupertino never comment on their security updates. Just, download and install the update anyhow.

Bummer Dude... That's a Bad Flashback.k

Seriously, there's a malicious little Trojan going around the Mac world. It's known as Flashback.k

If you don't yet have it, the official word seems to be to disable Java in your browsers, until Apple publishes a patch. To do this in Safari go to the "Safari Menu," choose "Preferences..." and then select the "Security" tab and uncheck (if checked) the "Enable Java" box.

In Firefox, it's "Tools," "Add-ons," then choose the "plug-ins" tab and look for "Java Plug-in" and disable it.

But, Mr. Handyman, how do I know if I have it?

Fire up the Terminal application, found in your Utilities folder, paste in the following:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment (and hit Return)

The answer you hope to get is "The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"

Then paste in the following:

defaults read /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

The answer you hope to get is "The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"

If you got anything else, Bummer, Dude. You've got Flashback.k. There's a fairly complicated explanation about how to get rid of it, found here. Do ALL of that, and then change all your Internet passwords, starting with Banks and Credit Cards.

Or call me. I can help.

iTunes Smart Playlists

If you haven't yet tried the "smart playlist" feature in iTunes, I highly recommend it. Smart playlists automatically update themselves based on rules that are easy to set up. One of my favorite smart playlists keeps 45 minutes of music that is made up 1/2 with songs from my most frequently listened to songs, and 1/2 with songs I haven't listened to in over a month. And, all of the songs on the list have just the right beat for me when I'm out running. This way, every time I run, I have a fresh mix of familiar and old favorites that works just right for me at exercise time. Smart playlist creation is just one of many features of iTunes that I can introduce to you during a one-hour "Making iTune MyTunes" class.

E-Mail Overload?

Are you buried by the amount of e-mail that arrives each day, but don't want to unsubscribe from all those lists you're on? You can set rules and filters so that your important mail is always in front of you, and your mailing list mail is separated and waiting for you for when you have some free time. You can set up simple filters and rules based on the sender's name or the subject, or get very sophisticated and build lists of senders or keywords. Learn how to take control of your inbox with e-mail filters and other tricks by signing up for our in-home "E-Mail Bootcamp."

30 Second Skip

The networks and cable companies may not want you to know it, but you can skip 30 seconds ahead on your DVR with one push of a single button, instead of having to fast forward through all those commercials. Once it's set up, you just push the button once for each 1/2 minute you want to advance and, voilá, you're there. It involves programming with "discreet codes" and it's just one of many things that can be done to make your remote control a lot more friendly

Life Not What It Used To Be?

iPhone or iPod battery life got you down? I can replace your old battery with one that is more powerful and lasts longer than the original. In your home or office. In about an hour.

Snap, Crackle, IMAP and POP

Q: Which two are not e-mail account settings? A: The first two.

If you use email on more than one device... computer, iPhone, iTouch, iPad... and you are not using IMAP, your life could be a lot easier.

If you've noticed that somehow, email that you read on your iPhone is not showing up on your computer, or a draft that you wrote on your iPad isn't showing up on your iPhone, it could be that your email preferences aren't quite right and that life could be easier. See if your ISP offers IMAP as an alternative to POP.

Most ISP's provide pretty good instructions on how to set things up or switch things over.

Is it plugged in?

There is a list of questions that any electronic support technician will run through while trying to diagnose malfunctioning equipment. You can pay by the hour for them to ask you these questions, or you can do it yourself:

1. Is it plugged in? Not just into the wall. Have you checked all of your connections? You would be surprised how many times a plug will have wiggled half way out, or a helpful spouse or child will have left something unplugged without telling you. Always start with a complete connection check of all the components of a system.

2. Is it a bad cable? If the printer isn't working, for instance, try using a different cable. Grab a cable from something that is definitely working if you can, and try it between the computer and the printer. Does it work now?

3. Which device is it, really? Can you connect the printer to another computer? Does it work now? Aha! It's not the printer...

4. Does the device have a self-test? Get out your manual. Many electronic devices have a self-test routine and will pretty much tell you what is wrong, and maybe even how to fix it.

If you still can't get it to work - or just don't have the time and inclination to do the basic troubleshooting, you know how to find me!