Monthly Mini-Bytes - August 2024

 

You Are Your Best Security When you talk about computers with anyone, the topic of security always comes up in one form or another. With all the scammers, spoofers, SPAM, AI generated voices, and just the regular alien high frequency mind control it's something that everyone is concerned about. But did you know that you are your best security? Yes, you are the one who has the greatest ability to protect yourself from all the bad actors, malware, and scams out there. No software can do it better. You are in total control of your online digital destiny. Now, this is for us Mac users. Windows PCs are a different animal. Having a Windows computer is like walking into a kindergarten class. You will walk out with some sort of virus. This is not the case for Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and all the rest of it. So, just focusing on the Macs today, here are three ways that you can get a handle on your personal digital security. 1.) Mind Your Computer Password Your computer password, sometimes referred to as your Mac administrative password, is the most powerful tool in your security arsenal. Absolutely nothing can be installed or added to your Mac without you entering in this password. That's right! No malware, virus, adware, or anything can be added to your machine without you installing it and allowing it with your computer password. When you get that pop-up asking for that password, read the prompt and take a minute to make sure you want to allow whatever it is asking. This simple step can secure your computer better than any software at any price. 2.) Get a Handle on Your Passwords You absolutely, positively need to get a handle on your password game. If you have weak passwords, use the same one for multiple accounts, or haven't changed your email password in a decade, then you are asking for trouble. Whether you use a spreadsheet, a third-party app, or Apple's built in password manager, you must have good passwords for all your important accounts. Apple will be enhancing its app called Passwords in macOS Sequoia that will be released in the fall. But don't wait until then. Good password management is just too important. 3.) Enable FileVault Encryption This is especially important if you travel with a MacBook Pro/Air. FileVault encrypts your data so that it can only be accessed with your computer password. It can also stop bad actors from encrypting and locking your drive, but this is extremely rare in the Mac world. To enable FileVault go to System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> FileVault.

Your Mac Does Not Back Up to iCloud I know I have mentioned it before, but it has come up in conversations recently so let me clarify: Your Mac computer does not back up to iCloud. iCloud is not a backup. It is a cloud syncing service that coordinates things like mail, contacts, calendars, notes, and potentially files and photos between your devices. Your Mac only backs up using a Time Machine backup. If you are not using Time Machine then you are not backing up your Mac. And since the new Apple M-Series computers put everything on the chip, when they fail it's complete and catastrophic. To run Time Machine you will need an external hard drive connected to your Mac. If you are running Time Machine and want to know the status of your backups, go to System Settings -> General -> Time Machine. To learn more about Time Machine visit: https://support.apple.com/en-us/104984

A Quick Word on MalwareBytes

Long ago there was an app called Adware Medic for Mac. It was free and it did a terrific job of cleaning up malware, adware, and junkware. It was purchased about a decade ago by MalwareBytes and we have been big proponents of this software. It does a good job of cleaning up malware from the machine and not taking up too many resources. But lately you may have noticed unwanted pop-ups and other alerts encouraging you to purchase things like VPNs and the like. This is very Windows-esque as ads are prevalent all over PCs, but us Mac folks are not used to it. We don't like it and you probably don't either. You have options like ignoring them or turning off notifications for MalwareBytes, but this is a disturbing trend for a software that we have really liked. They are also getting rid of the free version and moving to a paid-only model.  We will be investigating other solutions over the coming months, but if you have been annoyed by the pop-ups, just know that we have, too.

Lenny's Techy Bytes: Your Staff is Your Best Security Asset!

In this month's featured video, Lenny talks about how your employees are your best security asset. Check out the video below:

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Monthly Mini-Bytes - July 2024

 

The CrowdStrike Fiasco: Is Security the New Vulnerability? On Friday, July 19th, CrowdStrike pushed out an update for its Falcon endpoint monitoring software and took out about a billion computers worldwide. Airlines had to cancel flights; hospitals couldn't perform surgeries or dispense medications; restaurants closed; websites went down; and the fix was far from user-friendly. In the paranoid rush to secure computer systems companies have unknowingly created a new, much worse, and much more structured vulnerability.  What is CrowdStrike and what does their Falcon software do?  Falcon is a form of endpoint monitoring software that proactively looks for attacks, breaches, and vulnerabilities. In order for Falcon to do this it is given access and permission within the Windows operating system so it can monitor the entire system. Yes, I know you are thinking it. Falcon looks at everything happening on the machine — it is monitoring every operation and can produce detailed reports on how a computer or server is being used. It is about as anti-privacy as a piece of software can get.  Thousands of businesses around the globe have purchased endpoint monitoring and/or managed device services from 3rd parties in the hopes of warding off sypware, viruses, hacks, and ransomeware. But the level of access and permissions needed for this type of software to function opens up a back door where bad actors could potentially take down hundreds or thousands of business at once by hobbling their computer systems in much of the way that CrowdStrike did with a simple line of bad code. Instead of protecting these companies these types of software can be just the achilles heel these businesses have been spending billions to avoid. What About Macs? The good news is the Apple Macintosh computer is architected completely differently from a Windows PC. On a Mac, the highest level of access is disabled by default, and protecting your administrator password is a simple way to make sure your Mac stays safe. This password is the one that you use to log into your computer. Just being mindful of when and for what you are entering the password for can secure your Mac more than just about anything else. What the CrowdStrike outage has taught everyone is that there is no simple answer to security. Just purchasing a piece of software and expecting some 3rd party to “just take care of it” is a recipe for disaster. Security takes training. It takes an investment in time, and it also takes a rethink of deploying Microsoft Windows, which we have learned over the past three decades is a difficult platform to secure. It is a complex issue, and one for which us Mac users are not totally immune. And that goes to my final point: It is important to take ownership of your personal digital security. You don’t have to be an expert — there is no need for that, but it does take effort from managing passwords to understanding when the computer is asking for your administrator credentials. It is the only way.

Apple Intelligence Delayed We all knew this was going to happen. Apple is delaying the launch of Apple Intelligence until later this fall. They already announced that Advanced Siri and all that goes with that won't be launched until the spring. It looks like it's going to be released one piece at a time, so if you were looking at jumping in the AI pool this September, you are going to be disappointed. Keep in mind that Apple Intelligence is only going to be available in its full form on the iPhone 15 Pros (and the 16) and computers running an M-Series processor. To read more, check out this article from ZDNet:  https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-reportedly-delays-the-first-apple-intelligence-features-until-october/

Does Your Computer Really Need to Support macOS Sequoia?

No. It doesn't. Apple is aggressively pushing some machines off the supported list for Sequoia, but you don't need to run the most current version of macOS to get the security updates and support that you absolutely need on a modern Mac. Apple actively supports the last three operating systems. That means when Sequoia is released, as long as you have a computer that can run macOS Sonoma or Ventura you are golden.  BUT! If you have a computer that will not run one of these three systems, then yes, you need to consider the purchase of a new Mac.

Lenny's Techy Bytes: Featured Video on CrowdStrike

Lenny has some hot takes on the CrowdStrike outage, attributing it to being a series of bad business decisions versus a simple tech debacle. Check it out in this month's featured video!

Monthly Mini-Bytes - June 2024

 

Apple Intelligence: A Security Nightmare? The biggest tech news of the month is that Apple finally dipped its toe into the Artificial Intelligence game. At this month's World Wide Developers Conference they announced Apple Intelligence... you know, AI. Despite the cute marketing, a lot of it is what you may have already seen with Samsung, Meta, Grammarly, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google, Adobe, and a whole host of other platforms that have integrated chatbots and generative technology into their devices and apps. Apple's AI will be able to rewrite text, summarize documents, generate images, and create emojis called Genmoji. I don't know if you ever wanted to create your own emoji, but you will be able to do it with Apple Intelligence. You will also be able to crop people and objects out of photos, and have image controls similar to what Google and Samsung have been doing for the past several years. The thing is that Apple is wrapping all of this inside its updated operating systems across devices, so you won't need to subscribe to a bunch of different apps or services to take advantage of these features. But the key part of Apple Intelligence is also its most concerning from a security standpoint. Siri will be enhanced to be a true digital assistant to help with prioritizing emails and texts, organizing and searching photos, and be able to take action across apps. But in order to do this, Apple Intelligence will need to develop what they call "Personal Context." Apple Intelligence and Siri will monitor every single thing that you do on your iPhone -- every app, every text, every interaction, right down to tracking your eye movements, and your movements in general. Your iPhone will be creating a comprehensive profile on you to a level that we have not seen done on any device. But don't worry, because that profile will only be saved on your phone... unless Apple Intelligence needs help processing your request. At which point it will communicate with Apple's super secure Private Cloud Compute. Yes, your data and your profile will be pushed out across the internet to a server farm that hopefully is as secure as they promised. Yet, we know that there is no 100% secure system, and the type of deep profile that will be developed as the backbone of Apple Intelligence will be a gold mine for hackers, identity thieves, and any number of bad actors. And it gets a bit worse. If Siri cannot process your request within the Cloud Compute ecosystem, it will ask to use ChatGPT. Yes, now more of your data will be sent to a third party company that doesn't have the security history that Apple does. It's supposed to be super-secret-extra-secure, but AI models improve by gathering data from their interactions with users. It is concerning. So, what do I really think about Apple Intelligence? I am disappointed. I had hoped Apple would "Think Different" and come up with something new with AI, but instead they have created a dystopian nightmare that will put users identity and information at risk. Most of these concerning features with Personal Context, advanced Siri, and ChatGPT integration have been delayed until 2025 and will only roll out to the United States. With the security concerns, you will bet that lawmakers will be looking at this and what Apple Intelligence may eventually look like will be very different. I for one, will not be using it or enabling it on any of my devices. Apple Intelligence will only be compatible with Macs or iPads running an M-Series processor or the iPhone 15 Pro or Max. To learn more about Skynet Apple Intelligence, visit: https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence

Will Your Mac Support macOS Sequoia? Apple also announced its next version of its Mac operating system called macOS Sequoia that will be released later this year. The two biggest features are Apple Intelligence and they have finally broken out the iCloud keychain into a dedicated password manager called... Passwords. Yay marketing... (Powered by AI, no doubt.) If you have been a user of a third-party password manager, you know how hard it can be to integrate across apps and devices. The fact that Apple finally has a dedicated app is a big deal and will make having and maintaining secure passwords much easier. Here is a list of the Macs that will be compatible with macOS Sequoia: iMac 2019 and later Mac Studio 2022 and later Mac Mini 2018 and later Mac Pro 2019 and later iMac Pro 2017 and later MacBook Air 2020 and later MacBook Pro 2018 and later To learn more about macOS Sequoia, visit: https://www.apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia-preview/

Apple Vision Pro Cancelled!

When Apple announced the Vision Pro I was super excited up until they revealed the $3500 base price. That type of money can buy a very powerful Mac or a bunch of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and accessories. It was a product priced 7 times higher than its competitor, the Meta Quest 3. And as such, the Vision Pro has been a sales disaster. Apple buried the sales numbers in their "Wearables" category that covers everything from the Apple Watches to the Airpods. Reportedly, Apple has notified at least one supplier that it has suspended work on the next Vision Pro and will instead focus on the less expensive model that they should have started with. But if Apple is not able to get in line with the $500 price tag of the Meta Quest 3, or at least come close, then their foray into Virtual Reality may come to an end. To read the full article from CNET, visit: https://www.cnet.com/tech/apple-reportedly-delays-next-apple-vision-pro-upgrade/

Lenny's Techy Bytes: Featured Video on iOS 18

iOS 18 will be the next big release for the iPhone, and beyond Apple Intelligence there are some interesting new features. Check out this month's featured video to learn all about it.

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Monthly Mini-Bytes - May 2024

 

Small Flightless Birds and the Cox Email Transition So, you may ask, what do small flightless birds have to do with the Cox email transition to Yahoo? Well, arguably they could have done a better job. Yahoo has been taking and hosting email domains from cable companies around the country for well over 15 years. Hosting mail is a pain with all the spoofing, SPAM, DKIM nonsense, and whatever new rule the EU cooks up to make everything worse. The move to Yahoo is usually seamless. Mail just moves and is hosted by Yahoo. On your Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc. you just select Yahoo when setting up your mail and it just works. This is not the case with Cox, so let's go over what you need to be aware of. You Must Use Webmail on Your Mac (For Now) Right now in order to set up your transitioned Cox email to work in Mail on your Mac, you first would need an app specific password from Yahoo. Once this password is generated you cannot see it again and you can only use it once. Then you would need to manually enter in the ingoing and outgoing mail servers. Sounds ugly, right? Well, it is and it is unstable. When and if it breaks you would need to delete that instance of Mail from your Mac, generate a new one time single use only for you password, and then set up email again. Ick. We are guessing that once all the Cox mail is moved and all the mail records point to Yahoo, you can just set it up as a Yahoo mail and you're done. In the meantime, just use webmail. Remove Old Cox Email from iPhone and iPad The good news is that the Yahoo mail setup on the iPhone and iPad now works for most everyone except those that use POP (you know who you are). It did not last week, but enough people burned up the phone lines at Yahoo that they fixed it. But, you will need to first delete your Cox email from your iPhone and/or iPad or the two accounts will bump heads. Then you can set it up as a Yahoo account. No More Forwarding If, like us, you forwarded your Cox email to another account, then know that forwarding is not available at Yahoo unless you pay $5 per month and sign up for Yahoo Mail Plus. This may be worth it depending on how you have been using your Cox email. Still, going from free to $5 per month for a forward kinda stinks. But if a Big Mac is now $18 then whatever.... The one good thing is that since your Cox email has moved and is now essentially a Yahoo account, if you cancel your Cox service you should be able to keep your email. This can be good with the advent of 5G internet. It's at least a silver lining.

New iPads are Here! Avoid the iPad Pro Apple finally announced new iPads earlier this month. The big news is that the iPad Air gets the M2 chip and also comes in a 13-inch model. The iPad Pros get the M4 chip, and are totally overpowered for what you can do on an iPad. The price of the iPad Pros is also ridiculous. If you want a new iPad then go for one of the iPad Airs with the M2 Chip. Avoid the iPad Pros. Check out this detailed video at Lenny's Techy Bytes about the new iPads:

Keep Your iPhone and iPad Cool this Summer!

This is our annual notice to be mindful of the hot temperatures this summer and how they adversely affect your iPhone and iPad. Did you know that you should not use your iPhone at temperatures above 95 degrees? That means we can't use our phones outside at all in Phoenix over the summer, and they don't recommend storing them at temps above 113 degrees. Yikes! Well, don't panic. Just use common sense. Don't leave your iPhone or iPad on the dash of your car, in direct sunlight, or in the oven... or Central Avenue in August. Here is a link to what Apple says about it and what to do if your device overheats: https://support.apple.com/en-us/118431

Lenny's Techy Bytes: Over 61 Helpful Videos Now Online!

This week's featured video is all about online privacy. It is a big subject and if you watch any videos on the subject you can quickly get overwhelmed, frustrated, and maybe do something rash like throw out all of your tech. Lenny's Techy Bytes will be featuring short, easy to digest videos about online privacy over the next few months. Here is the first video on how to get started:

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Monthly Mini-Bytes - April 2024

 

Finally! New iPads May 7th After releasing the most expensive pair of ski goggles known to man, Apple finally took some time to update their line of iPads. The announcement was supposed to be in March, but they have scheduled an event for May 7th. Rumors are the iPad Pros will be getting the M3 chip, an OLED display, and the camera will be moved on the front. Wow... Yeah... That's it. So, if you already have an M1 iPad Pro there's really no reason to upgrade. The big news is they may be announcing a new 13 inch iPad Air. That would be interesting as it will be less expensive than the iPad Pro of the same size. It won't have the OLED screen, but at that size I don't know if it will really make a difference. Oh yeah, they are also going to come out with the third generation of the Apple Stylus... uh... I mean Apple Pencil. Sorry, Steve. From what I am reading it doesn't seem like these iPads will be a reason to dump yours and run out and get a new one. If your iPad can run the current iPadOS 17, has decent battery life, and does what it needs to for you, then I say save your money. To learn more about what may be announced, check out this article from MacRumors: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/04/23/apple-event-let-loose-may-7/

Cox Mail Transitioning to Yahoo If you are a long suffering Cox Email user, then there is some good and bad news. Cox will be dumpingtransitioning their email service over to Yahoo. This means that your Cox email will be hosted by Yahoo, be available in the Yahoo Webmail interface, and you will need to re-add your Cox mail account by choosing Yahoo when you add it to your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. They are rolling this out little by little, but expect to be notified over the next couple of months. But will it be better? Yes. Cox has long neglected their email infrastructure and Yahoo has a much more updated system. You will still maintain the Cox email address so that's also good -- you won't have to go around associating accounts with a new email address.

Software as a Service

It used to be if you wanted a piece of software, you purchased it, installed it, and used it until a new version came out. But now it's 2024 and if these greedy corporate overlords can dip into your pocket month after month for your money, they're gonna do it. And that is what they call Software as a Service (SAAS). It's a catchy name for the fact that if you want to use software like Microsoft Office, Adobe anything, Quicken, or Quickbooks you need to sign up for a subscription. Then month after month you are billed, and because of this the inevitable small price increases aren't as noticeable.  Is there an upside? Yes. As a subscriber you will always have access to the most current version of the software, and have the ability to contact the company for support. For businesses this is a good thing, but for consumers the monthly bills on top of every other subscription can be cumbersome.

Lenny's Techy Bytes: Over 50 Videos Online!

Lenny's Techy Bytes now has over 53 videos up on YouTube covering everything from When to Replace Your iPad to How to Survive the Apple Store. Please stop by and enjoy the same content that you find in the Monthly Mini-Bytes, but with pictures! It would be so great if you could subscribe, and tell your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Visit the channel here: @LennysTechyBytes This week's featured video:

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Monthly Mini-Bytes - March 2024

 

Apple is Getting Sued by the Government Yes, you probably heard about this, but the Department of Justice has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Apple. They are claiming that Apple's anti-competitive moves did all types of things from end the Amazon Fire phone, prevented the Windows Phone from taking off, and the fact that iOS is different than Android so you need to learn the other OS if you move to a different device. I think there may be something about the McRib in there, too, but I stopped reading after the section about the Pyramids. Anyway, it's weird. Apple does not control the entire chain of production. Apple doesn’t even own its own factories. Competitors like Samsung provide a lot of the components for devices like the iPhone, which means Samsung not only makes money on their phones, but every iPhone sold. Apple does not own the companies that ship its devices. They don’t own the boats, or the planes, or the trains. You can purchase Apple products from many different retailers, not just Apple. So, where is the monopoly? Building a better product that people actually want to use with the security and reliability we all expect isn't anti-competitive. It's just good business. Without a strong leader like Steve Jobs it will be interesting to see how this ends up. To watch an excellent video that goes over the points of the lawsuit, check this one out from Front Page Tech on YouTube: The fight to SAVE the iPhone - Apple vs America https://youtu.be/B5GbIALEYYE?si=xV90Rar1LYIfBBG_

You Need to Back Up Your Mac You need to back up your Mac. You need to back up your Mac. This is not a joke. This is not junk advice. This is not to annoy you, ruin your day, or force you into doing extra things that have no meaning. No... you just need to back up your Mac with Time Machine everyday... all the time. If not you will have a bad time, lose all your data, and be sad. You don't want to be sad. Being sad is not good. Modern Mac computers, and especially the Apple Silicon-powered M-Series Macs, don't give any warning before they fail. They just fail and all the data is gone -- in an instant. Your only saving grace is to have your Time Machine Backup. Then you don't have to worry. You can restore your data to your repaired or new Mac, whichever. But you need to do this everyday. If you have an iMac, mini, Studio, Pro, or any desktop, the Time Machine Backup drive should be connected all the time. If yours is not connected, connect it now.. I will wait... If you have a MacBook (Pro or Air) make sure that you plug the backup drive in at night when you are charging the computer. AND LEAVE THE LID OPEN!!!! It will not back up with the lid closed. And remember to Trust but Verify: Time Machine is automatic only when it is automatic. You need to check in to see if your backups are running. iCloud does not back up your Mac. Yes, there is an iCloud backup for your iPhone and iPad, but the Mac only backs up to the Time Machine Backup Drive. Please, I beg each and every one of you to do these three things: Back up Every Day Confirm that your Backup is Running Be Happy, because You Backed Up and Your Data is Safe To learn more about Time Machine Backups, visit: https://support.apple.com/en-us/104984

Where are the iPads?

I know last month I said that Apple will be introducing new iPads in March. Everybody expected this, and they are not here yet, and March is almost over. Apple has been busy this month getting sued and everything, but all of us in the tech space are a little surprised that there has not been an announcement. I will post a video on Lenny's Techy Bytes when the iPads come out, so keep an eye on that space: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo0Bsr6ymzW7z6ITvMT1h2Q?sub_confirmation=1

Featured Videos from Lenny's Techy Bytes

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