Life has changed there is no doubt and we wanted to reach out to see how you are doing.
As we go through this interesting time, we are trying to look at this as an opportunity to focus on our family and on friends like you. Let us use this extra time to catch up and talk more. Let us cook food that is not fast, but interesting and satisfying. Let us learn to enjoy a time to try new things. Let us find ways to enjoy time at home!
Computer Security
If my client base is any experience, anyone can be a victim of a Ransomware, Malware or Virus attack.
What can you do about it?
I conduct audits of your entire computer infrastructure and apply best practice solutions to plug the security holes on your computers, Smartphones and networks.
Now offering consultations to give you the best protection possible:
5:06 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
Want to see what apps are draining the battery on your iPhone? Your iPhone's battery usage is broken down app by app in the Battery Health section of your Settings app. The data lets you see the percentage of battery life used by each app, and also how long you spent on individual apps. You'll be able to save your battery life and save your phone by picking out the apps that use more battery than they should be.
5:02 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
We recommend using a password manager like 1Password, LastPass, or Bitwarden. But modern web browsers have built-in password managers, so why install a different one? There are many good reasons to avoid your web browser’s built-in tool.
Why You Need a Password Manager
Using a password manager is crucial. The biggest risk to your accounts online is password re-use. If you use the same passwords over and over, a breach at one website means your email and password is out there. Attackers will try to use that email and password to log into other sites. This simple trick is how accounts are often “hacked” these days.
The solution is using strong, unique passwords everywhere. But who can remember hundreds or even dozens of strong passwords? A password manager can remember if for you. You remember your password manager’s master password, which unlocks your secure vault. Your password manager can randomly generate strong passwords, remember them for you, and log you into websites with them.
1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden, and Dashlane are all reliable, stand-alone password managers. The open-source KeePass is okay, too, but it doesn’t have built-in sync features.
Web browsers have been able to remember your passwords for many years, but their password managers are now getting more sophisticated. Still, we recommend skipping the password manager built into your web browser—whether that’s Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge—and using a dedicated password manager.
Your web browser’s password manager is better than nothing. With no additional software, your web browser can remember all your passwords and securely sync them between your devices. They can be stored encrypted in the cloud. You can use strong, hard-to-remember passwords because your software is automatically remembering them for you. This keeps your accounts secure, as you won’t need to re-use passwords.
The account it’s synced with—like your Google account in Chrome or your Apple ID in Safari—can be protected with two-step authentication to prevent people from signing in.
But there are some problems. Built-in password managers in web browsers aren’t as powerful and useful as third-party password managers. They are catching up, but they’re not as good yet. Here’s why.
Beyond Just One Browser
Third-party password managers are cross-platform and cross-browser. Built-in browser password managers are limited to that specific browser. Let’s say you use Google Chrome on your PC or Mac and Safari on your iPhone. If you use a third-party password manager, you can have your passwords in any browser. If you use a built-in web browser password manager, you can’t mix and match browsers.
Beyond that, password managers offer good desktop and mobile applications, making it easy to access passwords, license keys, Wi-Fi codes, and anything else you want to store everywhere.
Generating Passwords
Third-party password managers don’t just remember your existing passwords—they can automatically generate strong new ones when you’re creating an account or changing an existing account’s passwords.
Some browsers are now adding built-in password generators—Chrome and Safari now have this feature—but they don’t necessarily offer all the options found in password managers, such as the ability to control how long the password is and what type of characters it contains.
Easily Sharing Passwords
Password managers have easy password-sharing features. Want to share your Netflix password with your family members? You can do it with a password manager with a built-in sharing feature. You’ll all get access to the same password entry and, if you update the password, it’ll change for everyone else.
Browsers don’t have built-in password-sharing features. You can send a password to someone else in a text message or email, which isn’t very secure. If you do that, it also won’t be automatically updated if you ever have to change it. Password-sharing features are a great way to share household accounts.
Warnings About Password Dangers
Password managers have built-in warnings like LastPass’s Security Challenge and 1Password’s WatchTower. They’ll point out weak and reused passwords to you and even tell you when a password you use has appeared in a leaked password database. This helps you stay up-to-date on protecting your digital accounts. There’s no need for a separate service to check whether your password has been stolen.
Web browsers are slowly getting features like these, too—Google has a password-checker in its password manager. Google also offers the Password Checkup extension for Chrome, which it’s building into the browser, but this isn’t as powerful as the similar features built into password managers.
Password managers let you store more than just passwords. For example, you can create secure notes containing text like building entry codes and Wi-Fi passphrases. You can even add file attachments to your vault, which makes it a great place to store tax documents, scanned copies of your passport and driver’s license, and other sensitive information.
To store files like these securely, you might find yourself creating encrypted archive files and uploading them to a cloud storage service. Taking advantage of your password manager’s vault is more convenient.
This works nicely with sharing, too—you can store all sorts of sensitive information and documents and share them with anyone else who needs access.
We’re happy web browser password managers are getting more powerful, but they aren’t competitive with the more powerful password managers just yet.
If this has convinced you and you’re currently using your web browser’s password manager, don’t worry—you can switch to a password manager and import all your usernames and passwords from your web browser’s built-in password manager. The password manager you choose will walk you through the import process.
Are Password Managers Safe?
Storing all your passwords in a single program may seem a little odd—weren’t you supposed to remember all these things?—but we (and many other experts) argue it’s safer than the alternative. Here’s why you should trust password managers.
11:50 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
Apple on Wednesday took the wraps off of its latest high-end laptop, the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Targeted for professional use, the new machine features 6- or 8-core processors, a larger display, a new Magic Keyboard, a bigger battery, and a lot more.
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro replaces the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but Apple hasn’t jacked up prices: The two standard configuration 16-inch models are the same as the 15-inch versions, $2,399 and $2,799.
Display, keyboard, and speakers
The most noticeable feature of the new laptop is its display, which, as the name implies, is bigger than the one on the MacBook it replaces. To provide more usable screen real estate, Apple reduced the bezel around the display. Specifically, Apple says the horizontal and vertical bezels have been reduced 25 and 34 percent respectively, when compared to the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The display also has a native resolution of 3072x1920, boasts 500 nits of brightness, and supports the P3 color gamut.
Right underneath the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s display is a new keyboard, which could be the laptop’s most anticipated feature. Users have been vocal about the old butterfly-mechanism keyboards that have been used in the MacBook Pro since 2016, complaining about its susceptibility to dust and other detritus, and the loud pounding noise it makes while typing.
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Apple said that it performed extensive research to determine the “human factors” that make a good keyboard, and the result is what the company calls the Magic Keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. It’s based on the Magic Keyboard that ships with the iMac and iMac Pro, and uses a scissor-based mechanism. Apple says that the Magic Keyboard is now more reliable and quieter (you can check out my hands-on for my first impressions).
The mechanism isn’t the only thing that changed with the keyboard. Now there’s also a dedicated Esc key (to the delight of software developers) and a discrete Touch ID key (it’s not part of the Touch Bar anymore). Also, Apple has reverted the arrow keys back to the inverted T layout (with the half-height right and left arrow keys) that was used in older MacBooks.
Surrounding the Magic Keyboard is a speaker setup that dramatically improves the sound output quality of the MacBook Pro. Apple is now using a six speaker array with woofers and the result is a rich listening experience not typically found in a laptop. Apple also includes a three microphone array that the company says produces 40 percent less hiss that the previous microphone.
CPU, graphics, battery
Apple uses 6- and 8-core ninth-generation Intel processors in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and there’s a new thermal design to keep the system cool. Apple says the laptop uses a heat sink that’s 35 percent larger than before, and the design allows for 28 percent more airflow. 16GB of 2666MHz DDR4 RAM comes standard, and users can customize their order to a maximum of 64GB. Apple is also offering an 8TB SSD option for storage.
The standard configuration of the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with a Radeon Pro 5000M series graphics card that has 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM. An option for 8GB of RAM is available.
The battery in the new laptop also gets a big boost: It’s a 100 watt-hour battery, which hits the limit allowed by the FAA. The battery is 16 watt-hours larger and last an hour longer than the previous battery used for the 15-inch model. Apple includes a 96-watt USB-C power adapter.
11:17 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
With so much talk of viruses, data breaches, and ransomware, you’d be forgiven for never wanting to set virtual foot online ever again. But in today’s connected world, avoiding the internet is pretty much impossible. That’s why it’s important to know exactly what you’re facing when you connect.
Still, according to the Pew Research Center, less than a quarter of us know what incognito or private browsing means, for example. But that’s nothing a little knowledge can’t fix.
So check your anxiety at the door learning some key cybersecurity terms that will help you navigate the internet like a pro. When you’re done, you’ll be better-equipped to deal with all the threats the wilds of the web can throw at you.
Cookies
Think of cookies as Hansel and Gretel's crumb trail. Hopefully you won't have to push anybody in an oven, though.David Nield
Besides being tasty snacks, cookies are small files lodged on your computer by most websites you visit. They tell the website specific details about you, like whether you’ve visited before, how you like to have the site set up (trending topics on a news site, for example), where in the world you are (to show you local weather or prices in the proper currency), and other information.
By themselves, cookies aren’t inherently dangerous or bad—they are there to make your experience easier and more seamless—and websites are only able to access the data they have gathered themselves. But that changes with so-called third party cookies, which can potentially be used to log your browsing activity over multiple sites, and more effectively target you with advertising.
But don’t worry—most browsers now come with options to block third-party cookies (sometimes known as cross-site trackers), or to block cookies completely. You should be able to find these options in the settings page for your browser—With Apple Safari on macOS, for example, choose Safari, Preferences, and Privacy. From the resulting dialog box you can Prevent cross-site tracking or Block all cookies.
HTTPS
HTTP, or HyperText Transfer Protocol, is the standard for coding websites and displaying them inside browsers. HTTPS, meanwhile, is the safer version of it—with the "S" at the end standing for “secure”—and the adopted protocol of most sites that display personal information, such as your email provider and bank.
On a technical level, HTTPS runs extra checks to make sure the website you’re viewing is actually the one you intended to visit. It also means that all the data sent to and from that site is encrypted, so anyone who intercepts the traffic between you and a HTTPS site won’t be able to make sense of it.
HTTPS is usually indicated by a padlock symbol on the left side of your browser’s address bar, and you should check for it when you’re visiting any kind of site where you need to log in or provide payment information. The good news is that today, most sites use this protocol to keep their users safe, so it’s highly likely you’ll run into that padlock a lot.
Incognito mode
You'll feel like a spy, but logging into Facebook in incognito mode doesn't mean you're anonymous.David Nield
All browsers today offer incognito or private mode, an option where your browsing history and website cookies aren't logged. It will be as if you’re visiting a site for the first time, and your browser will have no record of you ever being there—as soon as you shut down an incognito window or tab, that browsing session never happened.
However, don’t overestimate the privacy you get with incognito mode. Unless you’re using a virtual private network (VPN), your internet service provider will still be able to see where you’re going on the web. And even though your browser will have no record of it, if you log into any site, like Amazon or Facebook, that site will know you’ve visited and may have made a record of what you did.
In other words, if you log in and spend an hour browsing Amazon in an incognito window, your browser will forget all about it, but Amazon won’t, so you might see advertising related to that session in the future.
Malware
You’ll see malware used as a catch-all term for various internet nasties—viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware, and many other categories of threats. Essentially, it means malicious software—anything that’s designed with the express intention of causing damage or inconvenience.
As it is such a broad term, you’ll see it used extensively across the web. When you do, it’s worth trying to figure out exactly what kind of malware is being referred to, if any. It may do something as simple as change your browser’s default home page, or something as advanced as swiping sensitive financial data from your computer.
It's good practice not click on any links embedded in an email. Ever.David Nield
Phishing is a particular type of scam where the scammer will try to “fish” for your username and password. It usually happens when users click on a link on a text, instant message, or email that directs them to a compromised website designed to look like a genuine one. People who fall for phishing scams usually don’t see the difference between these sites and their bank’s site, for example, and provide their credentials thinking they’re logging into their accounts.
In times gone by, phishing emails would appear as badly formatted messages with a ton of errors and misspellings, making them easy to spot and avoid. Nowadays, they’re much more difficult to detect. Most modern browsers will detect suspect web links when you try to follow them, so it’s important to be on your guard, and keep your browser software up to date.
Most platforms have changed their protocols to avoid phishing, so now it’s rare for legitimate emails from your bank or sites like Amazon and Google to ask you to log in from a link in the message. Still, it’s good practice to be wary of any links sent to you over any platform, particularly when you don’t know the sender.
There’s more to be said about how to avoid phishing, and you can read a complete guide here.
Privacy policy
If you have any doubts about what a privacy policy is, know that it’s a contract between websites (or apps) and users that sets out how those platforms will use users’ data. Before you sign up for any new service, you should read through its privacy policy. For example, check out Google’s privacy policy, Apple’s, and Microsoft’s.
In these documents, you should find details about what types of data the platforms collect from you, and how that data is used—whether it’s shared with third parties, securely encrypted, stored in the cloud, or something else.
Unfortunately, privacy policies aren’t particularly easy to read (they’re usually long) or understand (they commonly use intricate legal terms), and their terms are generally as vague as possible to give tech companies and app developers room to maneuver. However, we’d still recommend scanning them for red flags (like unwarranted data collection), particularly when you’re signing up for new and lesser-known apps and sites.
Ransomware
Maybe that shady app you downloaded from your browser was not the best idea.Public Domain
Ransomware is a particular type of malware, one where systems get locked down and can't be unlocked again until the victim has paid a ransom. This type of attack is difficult to get around, and can prove to be very lucrative for hackers.
Ransomware usually hits systems running old, badly protected software, so you can minimize the risk of getting hit by it by keeping your system software up to date. Also, be very cautious about anything you install on your smartphone or computer—it’s a good practice to only stick to the official Microsoft, Google and Apple app stores whenever possible.
Ransomware is another reason to make sure your important files and data are backed up somewhere else. If your system does get locked down by hackers, you'll still be able to access your files without having to pay the specified ransom.
Two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for your online accounts, like Twitter or Google—it means you’ll need something else besides your username and password to log into a platform.
That something else is usually a code generated by an app on your phone, or sent to you via text message. Even if hackers get hold of your usernames and passwords, they won’t be able to log in without the codes on your phone. It doesn’t offer a 100 percent guarantee that you won’t be hacked, but it goes a long way to minimizing the risk.
You should enable on two-factor authentication (2FA) everywhere it’s offered, and most online accounts now support it: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox, and more.
If you want to know more about two-factor authentication, we’ve also got a detailed guide for you.
Virtual Private Network or VPN
Having a VPN is like traveling... only not.David Nield
A VPN is a piece of software that sits between your device (computer, tablet or mobile phone) and the internet. It places all your communications with the web inside an encrypted tunnel, which makes it much harder for anyone else to see what’s going on—whether that is your internet service provider or a coffee shop hacker.
Most VPN providers promise to delete browsing logs after they’ve disconnected you, but you still have to trust them to do so, since there are no guarantees. If you want to browse securely with a VPN, we’d recommend paying for a reputable service, particularly if you spend a lot of time on public Wi-Fi networks. If you’re considering getting one, That One Privacy Site is a good resource for starting your search.
But VPNs are not only about privacy. Because they connect you to an encrypted server somewhere in the world before you reach your final destination, another use of the software is to fool platforms into believing you're in a different country—and that means being able to access geographically limited content, like the Netflix catalogue in France or even watch foreign TV at home.
Virus
Like a virus passed between humans, a computer virus can do some serious damage to systems, and jumps from host to host to spread its infection. The term is widely known, and is sometimes used interchangeably with malware—though to be precise, a virus is a particular type of malware.
A typical virus takes root on a system by tricking users into running malicious code, whether that's via an email attachment, a pop-up in a web browser, or something else. Once in place, viruses can delete user data, replicate themselves and jump to other systems (usually via the installed email client), and open up back doors in systems for hackers to gain remote access.
Besides being extremely careful about what you download and install on your computer, you should keep macOS or Windows up to date. The Apple and Microsoft operating systems provide basic but effective antivirus protection, though there’s no harm in buying extra third-party software to batten down the hatches even further.
10:44 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
The common wisdom states that Macs aren’t as susceptible to viruses as Windows PCs are. But why is this, exactly?
Of course, no system is flawless when it comes to security. It’s possible to get malware on a Mac just like any other computer. And while user habits definitely play a role, you’ll be glad to know your Mac is naturally protected from most threats. Let’s look at the ways macOS is built to resist viruses and other malware.
What Is Malware?
We often use the terms “malware” and “virus” interchangeably, but they refer to different types of attacks.
A proper computer virus damages your software by slowing it down, filling up the hard drive, or deleting important files. Viruses are hard to get rid of because they replicate themselves inside your operating system.
These days, most computers do a pretty good job of protecting against traditional viruses, but there are hosts of other software threats lurking in the shadows. The term malware refers to any malicious software, including:
Adware: Malicious programs that spawn advertisements
Spyware: Monitors your computer use and reports it to some entity
Worms: Malware that spreads to other computers over a network
Trojan horses: Dangerous programs that masquerade as useful ones
Computer viruses
What Protects a Mac From Malware Infections?
You might have heard the claim that viruses don’t affect Macs. This isn’t true, as Macs can certainly get viruses. But we’ve all come across someone who’s used a Mac without antivirus software for years and never had a problem. You’ll struggle to find the same story from a Windows user.
There are a lot of factors at play here. Windows has made tremendous progress in terms of security in recent years, but macOS still benefits from unique advantages that make it less likely to get malware in the first place.
When Microsoft developed Windows, it built the OS upon its own unique software platform called MS-DOS. In contrast, Apple developed macOS (or Mac OS X at the time) using Unix, an open-source platform that had already been in use for years.
Unix is renowned for its stability and security features, many of which aren’t present in MS-DOS. Windows hasn’t used MS-DOS as its basis since Windows XP, but many parts of its security and architecture today are left over from those old days.
Meanwhile, Unix is open-source and has been used by a range of different companies in the development of macOS, Linux, the PlayStation 4, and even the firmware for gadgets like your router.
There are lots of people looking to fix vulnerabilities in Unix so they can make their own products more secure. Your Mac benefits from this group effort, whereas Windows PCs are solely dependent on Microsoft’s architecture.
2. Gatekeeper Scans New Apps to Ensure They’re Safe
If you’ve ever downloaded an app from outside the Mac App Store, you may have discovered you can’t open it after the download completes. This is due to a macOS security feature called Gatekeeper.
When you download new apps, Gatekeeper quarantines them and uses XProtect to scan the code for malware. If it finds any, Gatekeeper alerts you of the risk and doesn’t let you open the app. You can bypass Gatekeeper by holding Control and clicking an app, but you run the risk of infecting your Mac when you do so.
Even if the XProtect scan comes back clean, Gatekeeper might reject your app if it doesn’t trust the developer. By default, your Mac only lets you install apps from the Mac App Store or “identified developers.” This allows apps like Dropbox, Evernote, or Microsoft Office while blocking lesser-known developers. This is an example of Apple’s infamous “walled garden” approach.
3. macOS Separates Apps With Sandboxes
macOS makes use of sandboxing to limit what apps can do. This is the practice of a software provider putting up virtual barriers around third-party apps to keep them from accessing other apps or system files on your machine.
It’s one of the reasons a Mac is less flexible than a Windows PC, but these restrictions come with the payoff of tightened security. Third-party applications have limited access to core system files, making it difficult for malware to cause serious damage if it gets past Gatekeeper.
Since macOS Catalina, Mac apps need to request permission for each part of the system they want to access. This includes categories like Files and Folders, Screen Recording, Camera, Photos, and more.
Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy to see what is and isn’t allowed; you can revoke access for anything you’re unsure about.
4. SIP Provides an Added Layer of Protection
The OS hides important system files on your Mac so you can’t accidentally damage or move them. But it also guards important files behind a hidden defense, called System Integrity Protection (SIP).
SIP (present on OS X El Capitan and newer) stops you or anyone else from editing the system files on your Mac, which are often a prime target for malware. This makes it trickier for malware to infiltrate your operating system and compromise the security or performance of your Mac.
Just like Gatekeeper, you can bypass SIP if you need to. But most reputable developers design their apps to work alongside SIP, so you shouldn’t need to. See our full explanation on System Integrity Protection for more details.
Although it doesn’t seem like a great defense, particularly since it’s outside of Apple’s control, your Mac is also protected by the fact that there are more Windows computers in the world than Macs. In fact, there are a lot more.
A virus designed to damage Windows doesn’t work against Macs. So criminal developers need to choose which platform they want to target. Since Windows is vastly more popular than macOS, it makes more sense to create Windows malware and attack a larger number of people.
This is exactly what happens. Fewer malware threats exist for the Mac because there’s far less to gain for people who create them. This principle, however flawed, is known as security through obscurity.
Do What You Can to Keep Your Mac Safe
The weakest link of any security system is the user. Your Mac does a great job at keeping malware away, but you can help it by exercising common sense as well. For example:
Keep your Mac up-to-date to benefit from the latest security patches.
Avoid opening email attachments or links from unknown senders.
Don’t bypass security features to install apps from untrustworthy sources.
For additional protection, you might also consider installing antivirus software. There are lots of bad options out there, so take a look at the best free antivirus software for your Mac to make sure you install something reputable.
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Fed up with Windows based computers?
Think an Apple Computer might be what the doctor ordered?
We can help you with that decision for free! Give us a call so we can discuss your computing needs!
Gift Certificates
What will you use your certificate for?
Making the move to an Apple laptop? My business has been running on an Apple laptop for 6 years.
You bought an iPhone. Now what? We have been working on iPhone problems since they came out and we can help.
Summer will be here before you know it. You want to surf on the internet on your wireless network from your pool. We are wireless network experts in both design and deployment.
Or you can use this gift card for any help needed (including training) for the computers in your home or small business.
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