Mini Can't Take the Heat

For some time i have been having a problem with my Mini shutting down unexpectedly. I have notes going back to December about this. I have always thought it was an overheating problem, but why? Did streaming video from the internet grunt its brain? That was often the circumstance that occurred to shut down unexpectedly. A couple of days ago I had a burst of enthusiasm (I'm subject to those occasionally) and decided to clean up the clutter of power cables behind my desk; I brought a nine-connector power strip. This required moving some stuff around in the back, and taking a look at the places where the sun doesn't shine.

The back of the Mini looked strange. There was a lot of lint and stuff in the vent slots. The light went on that perhaps they should be cleaned. I vacuumed the crud out till i could see darkness inside. I haven't had a shut down since. The dashboard iStat confirmed the CPU was running cooler.

Conclusion: All those with Minis or any other computer with vent slots and a fan (yes the Mini has one, though it is essentially noiseless), check for clogged vents. If they are clogged the CPU, etc. will overheat and it will shut down.

David Passell

Dropbox

As I've mentioned previously, I do use Dropbox often, and appreciate it's convenience and utility. Although I don't store sensitive data there (such as passwords), I didn't realize that Dropbox encrypts my data once it's there. Read the following last two paragraphs. While, in theory, it's secure, there are a few people at Dropbox that can dis-encrypt your data and have access to everything you've stored there. After reading this, I'm glad I don't store passwords, or any sensitive data there. Keep this in mind for anything you might chose to store in the cloud. They say this is necessary in order to comply with a court order, should one occur. Now, if they didn't have this ability, would they have to write and develop a new program to do so, similar to the case with Apple and the FBI? Does a company have to develop something they don't have in order to satisfy a government request?  Jim Hamm

Dropbox does take the extra step of encrypting user files with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and AES-256 bit encryption, once they've been stashed on the cloud server. That gives you the assurance that if Evil Hackers were able to break into Dropbox, they wouldn't be able to read your scrambled files. But the caveat is that Dropbox itself has the decryption keys needed to unscramble the files. This quote from the Dropbox security FAQ explains why: "We do have a small number of employees who must be able to access user data for the reasons stated in our privacy policy (e.g., when legally required to do so). But that's the rare exception, not the rule. We have strict policy and technical access controls that prohibit employee access. In addition, we employ a number of physical, technical, and heuristic security measures."

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Avast Presentation

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Recently a gentleman gave a presentation at a PC Club in Prescott on installing the Avast Antivirus program. Although the presentation was oriented for PCs, most of his presentation applies to Macs as well. For your possible interest, I've included a link to his presentation. As a side note (and I've mentioned this previously), I use the free Avast AV program on my Mac and PC, and have done so for many years. For a free AV program, I think it is a fine program.  Read about it here . Jim Hamm

Hyperlink in an iPad

Instead of pasting long URLs in an email message, I prefer to use a one-word hyperlink. In the Gmail app on my Mac it is easy to create a hyperlink. But to create one in an iPad is a bit more cumbersome, but manageable. If you would like to try it, here's how: As an example, if I wanted to direct you to an article in Time Magazine, I could list the following hyperlink: http://time.com/4229601/real-reason-apple-is-fighting-the-fbi/?xid=homepage

Or, I could direct you here

Looks cleaner, doesn't it? To get the hyperlink, just type a word in the middle of the long URL. I typed "here" (sans '' marks). Then, just delete all characters to the right and left of the word you inserted. What remains is a hyperlink.

A bit more work, yes, but cleaner looking.

Jim Hamm

Bluetooth Problems on a Mac?

I certainly appreciate the convenience of using Bluetooth on my Mac, and iPad as well, which is outfitted with a Zagg Keyboard. If you're having problems with Bluetooth, here is an article that may be of help on your Mac. I rarely have a problem with Bluetooth on my Mac, but for my iPad I frequently do, especially if I haven't used the keyboard for awhile and Bluetooth has gone to 'sleep'. I find just turning the keyboard off, then on again, solves the problem.

Jim Hamm

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AntiVirus Test Results

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Following is an article describing the results of an independent lab testing various AV programs and recently publishing the results. You can see the rankings and comments for both Mac and Windows AV programs. I'm a believer in using an AV program -- just in case.

Jim Hamm

http://askbobrankin.com/security_antivirus_test_results.html?awt_l=GztAF&awt_m=JlQDVMzh5eP6SL

Why Apple fans are really coming to hate Apple software - LA Times

Recently I've read a few articles wherein some writers are complaining that Apple's software is diminishing in quality. The following article gives further info about this, and also one can click links in the article to see what three other writers (Mossberg, Dalrymple, and Gruber) have to say about this. I can't say that I've noticed any particular degradation in Apple's software quality. How about you?

Jim Hamm

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-apple-users-really-hate-apple-software-20160208-column.html

Ars Technica: Patients diverted to other hospitals after ransomware locks down key software

Here is a story of how hackers are targeting hospitals and businesses using ransomware. As the article mentions, many organizations are using older software, which is easier to hack. I've noticed in dental and medical offices myself the use of Windows XP, which came out, what, 13 years ago? It apparently does the job the organization wants, so why go to the expense of upgrading, they probably ask. A good question until the day their computer is locked up for ransomware.

Jim Hamm

Patients diverted to other hospitals after ransomware locks down key software Ars Technica

Crypto-extortion increasingly targets bigger victims; most stay silent about it. Read the full story Shared from Apple News

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Apple News

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There's speculation that Apple will be releasing some new products in March, like an iPad Air 3, and more. And recently two Apple executives met with blogger John Gruber to discuss various subjects relating to Apple. If you're interested in reading more about this, here is a summary article. Jim Hamm found the following quote from the article to be quite interesting. Just look at the numbers. Can you imagine the iTunes Store and App Store processing 750 million transactions a week? Even if each transaction were only for a dollar, the money rolls in.

"Cue backed up Federighi’s point about scale with some more stats: Apple has 782 million iCloud users, Apple Music has racked up 11 million subscribers, the iTunes Store and App Store process 750 million transactions a week, and users send 200,000 iMessages a second at the peak."

Dropbox Improvements

I really appreciate the convenience and storage of Dropbox, and use it frequently. Dropbox keeps improving, and you can read here about some features you might not be aware of. Is Dropbox secure? For most of us, the answer is probably yes, but you can read more about this here, which includes info on improving the security of Dropbox using a two-step verification, an important option to consider. And here is one more commentary you might read on the security of Dropbox. I never store important or sensitive data (such as passwords) in Dropbox, or anywhere in the 'Cloud' (Ed, note: you can safely store encrypted files, such as for a password manager, anywhere). I just don't feel comfortable doing that. Also, I haven't enabled a two-step verification process, as I don't feel, for Dropbox, that I need or want that extra layer of security. But this feature does improve the security of Dropbox if you're concerned.

For me, Dropbox is a convenient way to store and access documents and pictures that I can easily access from any device --and any operating system -- I'm using. This is so handy. If you're not using Dropbox, you might give it a try. And it's free, and, of course, a paid upgrade is available.

Jim Hamm

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9to5Mac: 13 tips for getting the best results from your iPhone camera

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While these tips are nominally for the iPhone, Jim Hamm suspects they will work equally well for the iPad.13 tips for getting the best results from your iPhone camera 9to5Mac

Tim Cook’s embarrassment at the Super Bowl seems a timely opportunity to put together something that’s been on my to-do list for a while now: a quick guide to getting the best results from your iPhone’s camera. As a keen photographer, I’ve been amazed just how far cameras have come in the past few years. Where I once used to carry a compact camera with me everywhere just in case, my iPhone has for several years now been my ‘always on me’ camera (currently the iPhone 6s). And where I used to... Read the full story

Disk Utility in El Capitan

If you've upgraded to El Capitan in OS X, apparently Disk Utility has been revised also and is not as robust as previous versions. If you feel the need to revert to the earlier version, here is an article describing how to do so. Be aware, this is not for the faint-hearted. Also, be sure to read all the comments at the end of the article because corrections and permutations of the original instructions follow from readers all around the globe.

Jim Hamm

SSD Information

Today the SSD is slowly replacing the HDD in computers. Not only is the SSD faster, it is of particular benefit in laptops, where moving and jarring a laptop won't bother an SSD but could be disastrous for a spinning HDD. If you'd like to learn more about SSDs, here and here are two excellent articles from ArsTechnica. The first article discusses the need for TRIM (a wear-leveling technique) in SSDs. The second article gives an in-depth discussion of SSDs and how they function. Both articles are for technophiles. Casual users need not read (unless, of course, you want to).

While I enjoyed both articles, I must admit my understanding of the second article left something to be desired.

Jim Hamm

PCWorld: Google Chrome will flag deceptive download buttons in ads as a security threat

Here is another reason why Jim Hamm uses Chrome as his browser of choice. He rarely downloads anything from the internet, but when he does, this feature will be helpful.Google Chrome will flag deceptive download buttons in ads as a security threat PCWorld

Google is taking another aggressive step towards correcting deceptive practices on the web. The company recently announced Chrome will throw up a warning page if it detects a user heading to a webpage with deceptive download buttons attached to an ad. The new warning is in line with the company’s social engineering policy announced in November, Google said in a blog post. Google "An example of a deceptive download button contained in an ad". To read this article in full or to leave a comment, Read the full story Shared from Apple News

Tip to keep your computer from going to sleep while performing a function

John Carter shared the following tip. You leave your computer unattended while it is performing an update or downloading a large file or some other activity that will take a long time. When you come back to the computer, you find that the process hasn’t completed, and you’ve been logged out. You have unset the option to let your computer go to sleep, so why does that happen?

Go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General and then click the Advanced button. Uncheck the box that logs you out after ‘x’ minutes of inactivity.

Problem solved.