Google Drive

If you'd like to try 15 GB of free 'Cloud' storage, you might take a look at Google Drive. Here is a guide that will be helpful.  Personally, I have not used Google Drive yet, but plan to look into it. I do use and appreciate the convenience of Dropbox, which I use a lot. Maybe, for me, Google Drive could be a backup to Dropbox. For any 'Cloud' storage there's always the potential risk the vendor will change their mind and drop the service, or the contents hacked. I never store any sensitive data in the 'Cloud', and keep a full backup of my computer's storage drive to an external drive. A belt and suspender is what I prefer.

Jim Hamm

Hoopla

I was aware that one could download eBooks from the library, but wasn't aware of an app titled "Hoopla". Perhaps you were. Here is a notice I just received from the Scottsdale Library about the streaming of books, movies, music and comics from their library using the program "Hoopla". I read some of the reviews on using the app for an iPad or iPhone, and the reviews were mixed. Here is the Hoopla website. Sent to you FYI, and in case you might want to try it at your library. I plan to do a bit more research on Hoopla myself. The idea, as one thought, of streaming a movie from the library right to my iPad has a certain appeal to it.  Just a thought for consideration.

Jim Hamm

John Carter added:

Hoopla does not seem to have the Prescott public library in its domain. All the libraries it lists are for the Phoenix area. Searching for Prescott returns nothing. So unless one signs up for one of the Phoenix area libraries, I don’t think it is possible to use Hoople up here.

Flash RIP

Perhaps one day we will be rid of Adobe Flash. Read more here. Ironically, the short video on the website doing the announcing is using -- you guessed it -- Flash. It's about time to see the demise of Flash. Hackers love Flash as it is easy to get into for malware. Wonder what Pandora (the music site that requires Flash) is going to do about that? I listen to Pandora frequently.

Jim Hamm

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How to make your iPhone run better

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If your iPhone becomes slow or seems to 'stutter' a bit as you try to open another app, here are two articles on how to quickly clear the memory on an iPhone and improve performance. Both articles tell the same story -- just in a different manner. http://www.iphonetricks.org/trick-to-instantly-clear-iphone-ram-memory/

http://www.cultofmac.com/399976/how-to-make-your-iphone-run-better-in-10-seconds/

Jim Hamm

Electronic Snoops in Email

Here is an article describing a method being used to alert the sender that their email (which they had sent to you) is now being opened by you. Huh? Yep -- read on. How to prevent this, you ask? Well, not easy to prevent, it seems. As an example, since I use Gmail via their web service, there is one setting that I -- or you -- could make that might help: tell Gmail to ask you before opening an image. Is it worth the extra click and decision by you? This doesn't completely block the electronic snoop, as there are other ways to electronically snoop emails.

Don't lose any sleep over this. Just something to be aware of.

Jim Hamm

Chrome has Serious Security Flaw

Elaine Hardt found this on Fox News.  She does not use Chrome but other PMUG members may use it. John Carter commented on this news:  I have been asking Apple users to remove Adobe Flash from their computer. If a site uses Flash to display a graphic image, then Chrome should be used. Chrome has a built-in version of Adobe Flash that is not vulnerable (or at least was not) to the types of attacks that were found in Adobe Flash.

But the game seems to be changing.

Prior to this news, Java (not Javascript) was banned by Apple because it was prone to attacks. Then Adobe Flash was banned by Apple for the same reason. Now Javascript appears to be another way to attack a computer. The more that Apple or Microsoft or Linux has to do to keep an operating system safe, the more code has to be put in, and more code always slows a computer down.

Apple P2P Mobile Payment

Here is an interesting article speculating (rumor) that Apple might be considering getting into the P2P (Peer to Peer) mobile payment service. Of course, Apple has the program "Apple Pay" presently, which links payment to your credit card. This P2P payment system would presumably link payments to your debit card which debits your bank account directly. I'm not a fan of anyone, or business, having direct access to our bank account via a debit. I like the idea of a middlemen -- like a bank -- where my exposure is limited to $50 for fraudulent use. I would need a lot more understanding about this mobile payment service from Apple, if it should come to fruition, before using it.

Nonetheless, technology changes and progresses, and it will be interesting to see if this concept does, in fact, materialize.

Jim Hamm

Pure VPN

For your possible interest, and as a follow-on to my discussion of VPNs (Virtual Private Network) last Wednesday at the Az-Apple meeting, I recently purchased PureVPN for $69 for a "lifetime" subscription. Details here. Although it says "lifetime", the initial subscription is for 5 years; then, presumably, one can renew for another 5 years free. One can use PureVPN on 5 devices. I've installed it on two iPads, a MacBook Air, and a PC running Windows 10. So far it seems to be working fine, and, in theory, will protect me from snoopers when I'm on a public wifi network -- which I use frequently when we travel.

I'm not necessarily recommending PureVPN -- I'm only letting you know about a VPN service that is reasonably priced, and seems to work well -- at least so far. A review of PureVPN can be read here.

Initially I had some difficulty getting it installed on my Mac (first installation) due to a password problem. Ultimately found out that I needed two sets of passwords -- one to get the program and another set (different) to use the program. With this knowledge, installing it on my PC (last installation) was dead simple -- and I'm using PureVPN as I type this on my PC..

The first set will be your email address and a password, and the second set will be a username and password you will need to actually log in and start using the VPN service. Keep this in mind and you should have no problem. PureVPN has a 24/7 live chat service, and from them I found out my password problem. This chat service was helpful.

If you only use wifi at home on a secure network, you probably don't need a VPN service. But, if you use public wifi, the use of a VPN may protect you from snoopers. If you use cellular on your iPad or tablet, then you won't need a VPN as a cellular connection is considered reasonably secure from snooping.

Here's a short video from David Pogue ( Editor for Yahoo Tech) that will show how exposed your computer might be in a coffee shop on public wifi.

Jim Hamm

Hidden Map Inside your iPhone

Elaine Hardt saw this from the UK. Frequent locations is believed to have been featured on iPhones since 2013. It tracks where each user goes, how often they go there, and for how long. The feature is automatically turned on, and users are never told it is running. Button to turn it off is buried at the bottom of five different menu screens By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 13:36 EST, 14 November 2015 | UPDATED: 21:38 EST, 14 November 2015

John Carter commented on this warning.

The Frequent Location feature was turned on in my iPhone. Here’s what I see when I go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services -> System Services -> Frequent Locations: “Allow your iPhone to learn places you frequently visit in order to provide useful location-related information.” And then there are a few locations listed that I have visited within the past week, such as in the vicinity of Cupper’s and TJ’s (it doesn’t give an exact location), and shows the time period that I was there (12:30 to 2:00). It is possible to clear the Frequent Location list, but then it populates again as you use the iPhone unless you turn off that feature. How is this useful? It doesn’t help us personally. It only helps advertisers. However, even if you turn off this feature, and even if you turn off Location Services, your iPhone will still track where you are all the time when the iPhone is turned on - and this is for 911 and similar services to be able to track you in an emergency. Well, that includes the NSA and other similar government agencies that might want to keep track of your whereabouts. The iPhone is therefore your personal ankle bracelet. If you don’t like that idea, then don’t ever use a cell phone that has GPS built in. Consider this feature like a Cookie in a browser: harmless to anyone who isn’t breaking the law or cheating on their partner. It doesn’t seem to track where you have been if you are there for only a few minutes - like at a stoplight. All this said, I can think of several instances where Frequent Location would be quite useful to have on all the time - like for the mother of a child or the child of a senile parent. But even then, only for emergencies, and only by emergency services. However, I don’t know if 911 can access an iPhone if it is not being used to call 911. I’m okay for it to be there.

A New "Kid" on the Block

Aurora HDR Pro is a new Mac app that is going to change how you edit photos on a Mac.This new app will offer so much more than any other HDR photo editor out there. Power, flexibility, speed, creativity are yours for the taking. Intrigued? Learn more about Aurora HDR here. Available on November 19, 2015, you can pre-order now for a discount price of $89. (This is a third party app and is not available in the App Store.) John R. Carter Sr.

El Capitan Spotlight Feature

Searching for a file in El Capitan has gotten a lot easier by using the Natural Language feature in Spotlight. Searching for things like ”Emails from Amazon last month” will bring up all of your order confirmations for items that you bought recently for a quick review.

You can be specific with spotlight and ask it to show you document types such as "Presentations I worked on in December” for any keynote projects.

Can't remember when you created a document? No problem. Simply search for something like “PDFs containing budget" to find documents for specific phrases. -- John R. Carter Sr.

SCAM ALERT!

If you get a message that claims to be from Apple about your iTunes Account - DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK!  This is a scam. Here’s an image of the message that I just received. This message has been sent to abuse@apple.com in hopes that they can find this guy and send him to jail. PastedGraphic-1

To help us identify what is a scam or phishing email, Apple has provided the following website:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht204759

John Carter

YouTubeRed

Occasionally I will watch a YouTube video. Probably you do, too. I hadn't thought much about how it was financially supported. It is owned by Google, and apparently has been losing big money every year. Presumably Google is trying a way to make money on YouTube by introducing YouTubeRed -- a monthly paid-subscription service for videos. There are varied blogs on this concept. Here's one opinion. And here's another blog from a few months ago, blaming the app Adblock (which blocks ads on websites) for causing a significant reduction in income generated from clicking advertising links. Such as on YouTube.

I have used Adblock in the past (I don't now) -- especially when the ads became so obtrusive they made it difficult to read or enjoy a website. But the second blog makes a valid point by mentioning all the blogs and newsletters we get to read on the internet, usually free, aren't free at all. The writers need to be paid. So, how do they get paid? By advertising.

The reduction in ad revenues has seriously affected the publishing business -- look at the impact on magazines and newspapers. We've been doing our reading on the internet, usually for free! Will the reduction in ad revenue start affecting the amount and quality of what we're now able to read on the internet? Interesting question.

Should we all stop using ad blockers of any kind on websites so our internet reading remains free? Or?

Jim Hamm

IPv4 Addresses Have Run Out

Okay, this article may be a bit more technical than you would normally read, but I found it interesting. You may too, and it's worth a read -- at least I thought so. This article explains how every internet-connected device and website is assigned a unique number -- that's how they find each other. Briefly stated: all the unique numbers available under IPv4 (which is what we've been using for years) have been used in North America. What to do and what does this mean for you? That's what the article is all about. Go to IPv6. The article reminds me that I probably need to update the router we have in our house. It is an Apple Extreme Router, and I believe it is about 8 years old. Still working fine, but it does need to be upgraded, for a variety of reasons -- not just because of eventually going to IPv6.

Jim Hamm