Mail on the iPhone Can Categorize Your Messages in iOS 18.2

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
a wall of physical inbox slots filled with papers. A hand reaches in from the left to get papers out of one of the slots.

Apple slipped a significant new feature into Mail in iOS 18.2 that has nothing to do with Apple Intelligence: Categories. Like Gmail and other email apps, Mail can now automatically categorize messages into four buckets: Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. The idea is that categories make it easier to pay attention to important messages while collecting other messages for later processing. Tap the buttons at the top to switch between categories. Read More from “Mail on the iPhone Can Categorize Your Messages in iOS 18.2”

What to Expect when in Contact with Apple Support

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple, Companies, Passwords, Security/Privacy
Scammer calling victim

It is increasingly difficult to distinguish between legitimate phone calls and scam phone calls. Scammers use ever more sophisticated deception methods to convince people to reveal personal information such as an account password or credit card details. One example of these sophisticated methods is described in this Krebs On Security article about phone phishing.

To help you avoid being tricked by a scammer, Apple details what to expect when you interact with a member of Apple’s support team. This article outlines how Apple might ask you to confirm your ownership of your Apple Account. It also outlines what Apple will not ask you to do. By learning what Apple will and won’t ask you to do, you’ll be more tech-savvy and thus less likely to fall for a scam.

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Feel Free to Upgrade to macOS 15 Sequoia When You’re Ready

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
Three Mac computers with open screens against a background of the Apple campus.

While we typically advise caution when considering upgrades to the latest major macOS release, we believe Apple has sufficiently refined macOS 15 Sequoia to warrant an upgrade for those interested. You don’t need to upgrade immediately, but there are no significant reasons for most people to delay further. Read More from “Feel Free to Upgrade to macOS 15 Sequoia When You’re Ready”

How to Train Yourself to Use the iPhone 16’s New Camera Control Button

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
a person's right hand lifting up an iPhone to take a picture with the Camera app. Background is a green nature seen with trees.

If you are accustomed to opening the Camera app on your iPhone by tapping its Home Screen app icon or Lock Screen widget icon, you may find it challenging to remember to use the new Camera Control button on the side of an iPhone 16. That button is a big win for easy access to the camera and its settings. Read More from “How to Train Yourself to Use the iPhone 16’s New Camera Control Button”

Control Window Tiling in macOS 15 Sequoia

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
looking at an iMac that's in front of a window looking out to the next building over with a partly cloudy sky at the top. a small plant, pair of glasses, keyboard, mouse, and pen all sit on the desk below the iMac screen.

One of macOS 15 Sequoia’s most noticeable additions is a new form of window tiling. Drag a window to the menu bar to expand it to fill the screen, to the left or right edge to resize it to half the screen, or to a corner to resize it to that quarter of the screen. As you drag, a white outline shows what will happen when you drop the window. Unfortunately, accidentally invoking window tiling can be surprising and disruptive. Read More from “Control Window Tiling in macOS 15 Sequoia”

The Importance of Properly Offboarding Employees

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
person in a blue sweater carrying a cardboard box of personal items as they leave an office. two other employees are blurred in the background.

Employers and their employees part ways for all sorts of reasons. People may move on because of a contract’s completion, to take a new job, or because they’re retiring. Employees may also leave due to being laid off or fired. Whatever the reason, offboarding—the process of managing an employee’s departure from an organization—is essential. Read More from “The Importance of Properly Offboarding Employees”

Safari 18 Adds Highlights, Distraction Control, Redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
orange sunset with shadows of a giraffe and tree in the foreground. overlay of a Safari icon and the number 18 in the top left corner.

Alongside this year’s crop of operating systems comes Safari 18, the latest version of Apple’s Web browser. Most of what you do in Safari depends on the websites you use, of course, but Apple has added a handful of features aimed at improving your overall browsing experience, including Highlights, Distraction Control, a redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer. Read More from “Safari 18 Adds Highlights, Distraction Control, Redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer”

Perturbed by Location Tracking Revelations? Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
blurred image of a person using a mobile phone. superimposed over it is a curvy line with three location indicators.

Recent news reports have revealed that a little-known company called Babel Street can track iPhone and Android user locations. Babel Street does this by leveraging data from mobile advertising data brokers. Investigators from data removal firm Atlas Privacy discovered they could use Babel Street’s Locate X tool to identify patients at a Florida abortion clinic, jurors in a New Jersey trial, attendees at a Los Angeles synagogue and a Dearborn mosque, and even children in a Philadelphia school. Read More from “Perturbed by Location Tracking Revelations? Here’s How to Protect Yourself”

Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple Watch, Macintosh
Mac laptop screen with "Need help? Find answers here" across the top. A search bar and a few possible help topics listed below.

Apple has included the Tips app with the iPhone and iPad since iOS 8 in 2014 and on the Mac since macOS 10.14 Mojave in 2018. Initially, it didn’t contain much useful content, and many longtime users ignored it. However, Apple has significantly increased the amount of information in Tips over time, adding device-specific tips, full device and app user guides, highlights of new features, and more. Read More from “Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos”

Use Guided Access for Securely Allowing Others to Use an App on Your iPhone or iPad

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
small child pointing her finger on an iPad.

iPhones and iPads are highly personal devices, but you might want to let someone else use a particular app on yours without letting them poke through Messages, Mail, and Photos. For example, a child could play a game, a volunteer could check in attendees, or a friend could take photos. Read More from “Use Guided Access for Securely Allowing Others to Use an App on Your iPhone or iPad”

First Wave of Apple Intelligence Features Appear in macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
iPhone, iPad, and Mac laptop. Across the top, reads "Apple Intelligence"

Is it time to make your Apple devices smarter? Apple has just released macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, and iPadOS 18.1 with an initial collection of Apple Intelligence features and a promise of more coming in December. The company is making a big deal about Apple Intelligence, calling it out as a key feature of the recent updates to the iPad mini, iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro. Read More from “First Wave of Apple Intelligence Features Appear in macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1”

New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
screenshot of an Apple ad for iPad mini. a hand stretches down from the top left corner holding an iPad mini that says "mini" in orange, pink, and purple. Text above the iPad reads "iPad mini. Hello, Apple Intelligence."

Although the first wave of Apple Intelligence features won’t upend the user experience for most people, Apple is pushing hard to ensure that all its new devices can participate. That’s largely what’s behind the recently released seventh-generation iPad mini. Read More from “New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence”

Apple Brings the M4 Chip Family to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
images of new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pros along the bottom. across the top an Apple M4 chip above all three computers, an Apple M4 Pro chip above the Mac mini and MacBook Pros, and an Apple M4 Max chip on top above only the MacBook Pro.

Apple has concluded a three-day release of the first Macs to use the M4 chip family, which debuted earlier this year with the iPad Pro. The updated iMac and MacBook Pro retain the same industrial designs as in the past, while Apple took a shrink ray to the Mac mini. Read More from “Apple Brings the M4 Chip Family to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro”

Beware Fake “Sextortion” Scams

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
nearly all black image with the silhouette of a person in a hoodie with hands in the direction of a laptop keyboard off to the right. faint binary code across the obscured face of the person.

All those data breaches are coming back to haunt us. Once our phone numbers and addresses began to be leaked, it was only a matter of time before scammers would personalize their attacks to make them seem more real. The latest “sextortion” scams purport to have compromising video of you taken from your computer’s webcam, backing it up with your phone number and a Google Street View-like image that matches your leaked address. They make a lot of claims and dire-sounding threats, but talk is cheap, and there’s nothing behind them. Do not pay the scammers! Read More from “Beware Fake “Sextortion” Scams”

Test the Spammyness of Your Emails

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Services

Do colleagues report that they don’t get emails that you send? Do you use a custom domain for your business, such as soundsupport.biz or yourcompany.com? If so, you should use Mail Tester to help you assess the spammyness of email messages that you send. Previously, I wrote about how you should setup SPF, DKIM and DMARC to reduce the likelihood that your emails will be erroneously marked as spam. Mail Tester helps you assess if you have things setup properly.

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Apple ID Renamed to Apple Account in Latest Operating System Releases

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
laptop on a wooden desk against a brick wall. mouse on desk to right of the laptop. Safari web page is open on the Mac to Apple's new accounts page.

In macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11, Apple has officially renamed Apple ID to Apple Account. The new name is a slightly more sensible term because you can sign in to an Apple Account that holds your information, whereas an Apple ID was primarily an identifier—it’s an email address—that didn’t inherently imply that it stored data. The name change is mostly a distinction without a difference, but you should be aware of it when reading support documentation or tech articles. You’ll see the new term in System Settings on the Mac and Settings on the iPhone and iPad. Read More from “Apple ID Renamed to Apple Account in Latest Operating System Releases”