If you use CrashPlan Home then you need to make a change. Code42, the company that makes CrashPlan sent out emails announcing that they are sunsetting their CrashPlan Home product and will focus on CrashPlan for Business. As of August 22, 2017 it’s no longer possible to renew or extend an existing CrashPlan for Home subscription. Additionally, … Read more
Are you having problems viewing one or two particular web sites in Safari? Were you previously able to view these web sites? If so, a common cause of this problem is corruption in Safari’s cache. Cache is temporary storage. Specifically, it contains recently viewed web pages. Occasionally, these temporarily stored web pages can get damaged. Thus, … Read more
Do you want to make sure that Time Machine backs up an external hard drive, USB flash drive or an SD card that is connected to your Mac? If so, here are instructions to make sure this happens. If your Mac is using macOS 12 Monterey or older, use the instructions listed in Section 1 … Read more
Do you take digital photos and would you like to quickly create a file with thumbnail size versions of photos from a trip or family event? This file is called a contact sheet. Professional photographers commonly want to create contact sheets of all photos from a wedding or other photo shoot. Here are a couple of … Read more
Apple’s Mail application offers two layouts, that is, two different ways for you to view your email messages. This article will show you how to switch between and customize each of these layouts.
Read moreIn most situations, I tend to recommend that you buy Apple’s extended hardware warranty, called AppleCare. Apple enhanced AppleCare in 2017 so I think it’s an even more compelling option.
Read moreIs your AppleID tied to an email address that you no longer have access to or no longer use? If so, Apple offers step-by-step instructions on how to change your AppleID to use a new email address. Before we jump to the instructions, let’s start by reviewing some important background information and talk about some … Read more
Do you need to retrieve data from a sick or dead hard drive? If you do not have a backup of the data on this disk, then you should consider hiring a professional data recovery company like DriveSavers. DriveSavers has been an industry leader for 30 years. They have a stellar reputation and success rate. In … Read more
You are the weakest link in your computer’s security! Please keep reading this important Tech Tip. If you’re not already aware of this fact, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the easiest way for a hacker to get into your Mac is through you. Tricking you into divulging information, installing software … Read more
Please watch out for tech support phone scams. There are two types of scams. The first type are scammers who call you at home and fraudulently claim to be from some group like Apple or Microsoft. The second type are groups that you mistakenly call when you’re seeking technical support.
Read moreDo you want to put emoji into your email messages, notes, Word document or any other document that you type on your Mac? If so, I recently learned of a fast way to bring up the emoji keyboard on your Mac. Press the following three keys simultaneously: Command, Control and space bar.
Read moreDid you know that you can use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac? That’s right. You can buy DuetDisplay, currently $11, and use it to connect your iPad to your Mac so you can use it as an second display. In a sense, this is a way to control your Mac using a touch-interface, if you would like to … Read more
Did you know that Dropbox lets you share any file with anybody, even if they do not have their own Dropbox account? In 2011, I wrote about how to do this using Dropbox’s Public Link feature. The Public Link feature let you share any file with anybody, but it required you to put the file inside … Read more
Does your Mac fail to find files that you know exist when you search for them? Or, does Apple Mail or Outlook fail to find email messages when you search for them? If so, this problem could be caused by a corrupt Spotlight index. Spotlight is the name of Apple’s search capabilities built into the Mac … Read more
Do you need to display your Mac’s screen on your iPad? To do this, you can use a screen-sharing application. Most of these applications cost money so Splashtop is intriguing since it’s free for personal use on your local network. To access your Mac from anywhere costs $60 per year.
Read moreDo you need to make your iPad or iPhone’s screen show up on your Mac’s screen? If so, here are some options for you to consider: QuickTime AirSquirrels’ Reflector
Read moreDo you need to edit PDF files on your Mac? Previously, I’ve talked about Preview’s built-in editing features. If these features aren’t adequate for your needs most people think they need to get Adobe Acrobat, which currently costs $13-$15 per month with an annual subscription, but I prefer to use PDFPen which has a one-time cost of $75 … Read more
Would you like to encrypt a PDF? Encrypting a PDF can be handy if you want to protect sensitive data contained in a PDF that you store on your Mac, or before you share the PDF via email, Dropbox or via some other means. Encrypting a PDF can be accomplished easily using Apple’s Preview application … Read more
If you’re going to be buying a Mac soon, please make sure you equip it with enough storage space. Here is how you can figure out how much storage space you currently use on your Mac and some guidance on selecting how much storage you might need in the years ahead.
Read moreDo you want to either sell or retire a Mac that has a solid state hard drive (aka flash storage)? If so, it is prudent to securely erase the hard drive beforehand. Here are instructions on how to do this. This procedure will make all of your personal data inaccessible. There are two stages of this process. In phase … Read more