Beware Of Bogus Adobe Flash Updates

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy, Virus/Malware

[Update Nov 2023: As of 2021, Adobe has ended support for the Flash Player plugin. Please uninstall it if it’s still on your Mac.]

Please be aware that  some pop-up windows indicating that you need to update the Adobe Flash Player on your Mac could be bogus. Yup, that’s right. We live in a messy complex world and you cannot trust everything you read. So, how do you know which Flash Player update windows you can trust? My answer is, do not trust any of them; just go ahead and close these pop-up windows. Instead, follow these instructions to check if your Flash Player really needs to be updated. Read More from “Beware Of Bogus Adobe Flash Updates”

Use Your iPad As A Second Screen For Your Mac

Posted on by Tim Hannon in iOS and iPhone/iPad Apps, macOS (formerly OS X), Software

Did 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 try this. Apple indicates that they have no plans to make touch-based Macs so if you’d like to have touch-control of your Mac this is the only way I know to make it happen.  Read More from “Use Your iPad As A Second Screen For Your Mac”

Share Any File In Your Dropbox Account With Non-Dropbox Users

Posted on by Tim Hannon in File Sharing, Services

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 your Dropbox Public Folder. Dropbox has been slowly phasing out the Public Folder and Public Links since they have been superseded by a newer, shared link feature, which was added a few years ago.  Read More from “Share Any File In Your Dropbox Account With Non-Dropbox Users”

PhotoSweeper Removes Duplicate Photos from Photos or iPhoto

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Photo

Do you have duplicate photos in your iPhoto or Photos Library? Do you dread the manual process of trying to locate and delete these duplicate photos? If so, use PhotoSweeper. PhotoSweeper will locate all duplicate photos and makes it easy for you to review them and select which ones you want to delete. In addition to identifying exact duplicate files, it also lets you find very similar photos. Using this feature you can find photos taken a few seconds apart or photos taken using Burst Mode on your iPhone. Here’s an overview of how to use PhotoSweeper. Read More from “PhotoSweeper Removes Duplicate Photos from Photos or iPhoto”

Regain Access To Your Airport or Time Capsule

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Passwords, Security/Privacy

Have you forgotten or misplaced your Airport or Time Capsule passwords? If so, you should consider using the Soft Reset feature that Apple builds into Airports and Time Capsules. You could also review my previous Tech Tip about retrieving your Airport password from your Keychain which could save you from having to perform a Soft Reset. I should also point out that you may have either 1 or 2 Airport passwords. One password is used to connect devices, like Macs and iPhones to the wireless network created by your Airport. This is commonly called your wireless network password. The other password is used to configure the Airport. This is commonly caused your device password, where device refers to the Airport or Time Capsule. Read More from “Regain Access To Your Airport or Time Capsule”

How To Rebuild Your Spotlight Index

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, macOS (formerly OS X), Maintenance, Software

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 operating system. Spotlight’s index can get damaged from time to time. Read More from “How To Rebuild Your Spotlight Index”

PDFPen An Affordable PDF Editor

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Software, Utilities

Do 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 (or $125 if you buy PDFPen Pro).  Read More from “PDFPen An Affordable PDF Editor”

How To Encrypt PDF Files On A Mac

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Encryption, Security/Privacy

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 which comes bundled with every Mac. Read More from “How To Encrypt PDF Files On A Mac”

Add, Remove or Rearrange Items On Your Mac’s Dock

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics, macOS (formerly OS X), Software

Would you like to add frequently used applications or documents to your Dock? Would you like to remove rarely used items from the Dock? If so, below are instructions on how to do this. The Dock is the row of icons that’s typically located across the bottom of the screen, though it can be moved. Apple populates the Dock with items that they think, or want, you to use, but you can customize it to suit your own needs. You can add applications, documents or folders to the dock.  Read More from “Add, Remove or Rearrange Items On Your Mac’s Dock”

Configure Your iPhone To Delete Text Messages After 1 Year

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Hardware, iOS and iPhone/iPad Apps, iPhone and iPad, Maintenance, Software

To prevent your iPhone from accumulating gigabytes of text messages, I recommend that you configure it to delete messages after 1 year. Text messages are typically quite small so they won’t consume much space, but the photos and videos that are attached can gobble up space. If you’d like to save some of these attachments then please read this older Tech Tip about saving photos and videos from text messages. Read More from “Configure Your iPhone To Delete Text Messages After 1 Year”

Securely Erase Your Mac’s Solid State Hard Drive

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Encryption, Hardware, Macintosh, macOS (formerly OS X), Security/Privacy, Software

Do 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 1 we will be enabling FileVault, which encrypts everything on your Mac’s hard drive. Then, in phase 2, we will reformat the hard drive which prevents anybody from accessing anything that was stored on the hard drive. I break this process into two phases since phase 1 can be started with about 15 minutes of work but then it’ll take many hours to finish. Start phase 2 after phase 1 finishes.

Read More from “Securely Erase Your Mac’s Solid State Hard Drive”

Set Up An Out Of Office Message In Gmail

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Software

If you have a Gmail account or a G Suite (formerly called Google Apps) email account, then you ought to know how to set up an out-of-office message. This feature is sometimes also called an auto-reply. Google calls it a Vacation Responder. Regardless of what you call it, here is how you can configure it.

  • Open a web browser and login to your Gmail account
  • Click the gear icon in the upper right corner and select Settings
  • Click on the General tab.
  • Locate the Vacation Responder section and click on the button to turn it on.
  • Type in an appropriate subject, such as Auto-Response as well as corresponding message text.
  • Select dates for the start and end dates of the auto-responder in the First Day and Last Day fields.
  • Click the Save Changes button.

For more detailed instructions and information about other related options read this LifeWire article.

 

Using The iPhone’s Do Not Disturb Feature

Posted on by Tim Hannon in iOS and iPhone/iPad Apps, Software

Turn on the iPhone’s Do Not Disturb feature to completely silence your iPhone (or iPad). This feature can be very handy if you sleep with your iPhone or iPad close to your bed. I typically have my iPhone’s ringer set to Silent mode, but if I’m in a meeting and I don’t want my phone to buzz or ding at all then I will enable Do Not Disturb. Read More from “Using The iPhone’s Do Not Disturb Feature”