The Ultimate Comparison of Nearly Every VPN on the Market

If a VPN might be in your future, here is an article that may/may not be of help. I found all the data to be a bit confusing, and to be more useful the headings need to be repeated every 5 lines or so in order for one to know what he/she is looking at in all the details. When on a public wifi network I do use a VPN. This way, I don't have to worry about someone 'listening' in on my wifi transmissions.

Jim Hamm

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-ultimate-comparison-of-nearly-every-vpn-on-the-market/

About backups in iCloud and iTunes - Apple Support

The following article gives a decent summary of what is, and what isn't, backed up in iCloud and iTunes. To me, this is a bit confusing. Some things are backed up, some aren't. I do back up to iCloud, but also use a complete backup (a complete clone) of everything on my Mac to an external hard drive. This way, I know I've got everything. There are several good programs one can use to do this, and I use Super Duper. Fortunately, I've never had to use it to recover from a hard drive failure. May it ever continue so. Jim Hamm

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204136

NY Times: Loading the Kindle Library on an iPad

If you read ebooks, either on a Kindle or an iPad, here's an article that might be helpful. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/technology/personaltech/loading-the-kindle-library-on-an-ipad.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

If you have purchased books on an Amazon Kindle e-reader, you can download the collection onto your iPad with the iOS Kindle app.

Jim Hamm

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac

I downloaded and tried the subject program. It scans very fast and didn't find any malware on my Mac. So, does it work? I don't really know, but Tom, a writer I respect, thinks highly of the program. You can read his article here. It only makes a scan for malware when you run it, it's free, and recommended by Tom, so I thought I'd give it a try. I plan to run it occasionally just to see if it ever does find any malware.

Jim Hamm

I got hacked mid-air while writing an Apple-FBI story

Ever use public wifi? If yes, you might be interested in reading this article. When on a public network, this is why I use a VPN. I suspect, though, that a VPN might not work on a plane's wifi. As the article states, there are other ways to protect yourself from eavesdropping. Jim Hamm

Check out this article from USA TODAY:

I got hacked mid-air while writing an Apple-FBI story

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/02/24/got-hacked-my-mac-while-writing-story/80844720/

USB Type-C: One cable to connect them all

The USB C is a game changer for everyone. We will all eventually have to replace all of our equipment - including external hard drives and monitors. The primary advantage of the USB c is that you can string (serially connect) up to 8 devices off of one port. This is similar in principle to the old SCSI connector. I’m sure that someday they’re going to replace all interface connections with fiber optic - as soon as they figure out how to make them unbreakable so that users can step on them, twist them, tie them in knots, and kink them. On Feb 24, 2016, at 6:53 AM, Jim Hamm <machamm@gmail.com> wrote:

By now you're probably aware of a new USB connector coming on stream, called USB Type-C. Maybe you even have one. I don't yet. The following article is a bit old, so you may have already read it some time ago. But, if you haven't, and have a technical interest in learning more about this new connector, it is a good article....Jim Hamm

  John R Carter Sr

Mac OS X Dictation

This entire message was dictated on my Mac using the dictation feature that comes with OS X now. I did have to do some edits because the dictation is not 100% accurate. If I do not enunciate properly, then it will make up its own mind about what word I am trying to use. The downside of using dictation is that I need to be in a frame of mind to properly compose what it is I want to say and then say it. I am not in the habit of talking off at the top of my head while trying to compose a letter. It's quite different from just having a conversation with someone.

However, one major benefit of using the dictation feature is that i can lift text out of a book by simply reading the content.

If you haven't enabled dictation on your Mac, then open system preferences and select accessibility. In the left column, scroll down to the very bottom and select dictation. You probably should check the box for “Mute audio output while dictating.”

A complete list of dictation commands is available there. You can select the commands that you know you will use frequently. You can also check the box “Enable advanced commands" to make a specific subset of commands available. That might not be a good idea, because one of those advanced commands might be included in the text that you want to type out. You might unknowingly use one of those advanced commands while dictating and discover that what you are saying is not actually being typed out. You can even add your own advanced commands, but that involves advanced computer knowledge and skills.

Just to give you an idea I've How well the dictation works, his entire paragraph was done without any edits. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs back. As you can see, The first part of the first sentence doesn't quite make sense. It should have read, "Just to give you an idea of how well the dictation works, this entire paragraph was done without any edits." And I just added that last sentence by enunciating carefully. Another thing missing in the third sentence is a single quote mark in the word "dogs.” It should have been “dog’s.” So you still have to carefully read and reread and edit everything that you do.

John R Carter Sr

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