Monthly Mini-Bytes - December 2021

 

The Unbreakable Security of Apathy It's important to note that choosing to do nothing is choosing to do something. Apathy can be a comforting and secure place to be in the raging rapids of modern technology. Being the first to jump on the latest and greatest thing may put you and your data in peril. The act of waiting and choosing to do nothing allows time for the product or service to work out the bugs and mature. So how can you weaponize apathy against the invading hordes of updates, upgrades, and the new new new? Here are three tips: Wait to Update/Upgrade: Don't be the first to download and install the iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or whateverOS updates. There are always bugs that are not flushed out in testing. Give it time. There is never a benefit to jumping on an update out of the gate with the one exception being urgent security patches to close off a vulnerability. Love the One Your With: As relevant today as it was in the 70s, appreciating your device and avoiding being mesmerized by that new shiny thing can alleviate much frustration. If your phone, computer, or tablet are working, then there is no reason to rush out for the new edition. Wait and see how it is received. It can save both money and frustration. Do you really need it? When a new version comes out of an application or service, you may be presented with aggressive 50% off offers, or free toasters, or a trip to Trenton, New Jersey, but avoid the temptation. You may not need the app or service any more, or the subscription doesn't apply to the way you are using the product (online syncing, etc.). Stop, make an assessment, and see if you can save yourself some money and storage space.

Do You Need a New Computer? If you are sitting in front of a G4 Daisy iMac while absorbing all this wisdom, then you absolutely need a new computer. That's an easy case, but for most of us the question is always there, and determining the right time to purchase a new Mac can save you money by maximizing the usable life of the machine. But how do you know it is time? You Have A SATA Drive: Serial ATA drives are the old-school record player style hard drives. They are slow, noisy, and are prone to failure. Thankfully, Apple no longer sells Macs with SATA drives, but they did up until recently. Macs with these drives are incredibly slow to the point of being unusable, especially on macOS versions Catalina and newer. To see if you have a SATA drive, go to the Apple in the upper-left and choose About this Mac. Select Storage and if it says SATA, then you have one, and if you do, you absolutely need a new Mac. Models From 2013 And Older: Macs of this age struggle with newer software. To see if yours falls into this category, go to the Apple in the upper-left and choose About this Mac. In the Overview tab it should state the era of the machine... or just check your receipt from Apple. That works, too. A Persistent Hardware Issue: If your Mac is three years or older and you are having strange hardware issues with the keyboard, monitor artifacts, or blown speakers, you may want to consider a new machine. Sometimes the cost of repair will approach the value of a new Mac, and the Apple Silica M1 family of processors are so superior that it may make sense to make the leap.

Security Corner: Find My Network

We get a lot of questions about security and privacy, which are ever moving targets. Today let's discuss Apple's Find My Network. This little feature allows your phone to be located when it is off. Great! But, it also allows your iPhone to participate in a network with other iPhones to locate devices, AirTags, and other things that are not your own. If enabled, you are basically carrying around a mobile hotspot that Apple is using to create a network with other iPhones. Do we think this is nefarious? No, but many of you may not be comfortable allowing this type of use of your phone. To see if Find My Network is enabled and to turn it off on your iPhone (if you choose) go into Settings, then select your name at the top. Choose Find My and Find My iPhone to see the Find My Network toggle.