Check The Health of Your Mac’s Internal Hard Drive

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Backup, Hardware, Macintosh, Software, Utilities

Hard drives are the component of a computer that fail most often. Every hard drive will eventually fail. This is why it’s so important to backup your Mac’s hard drive. It’s also prudent to periodically check the health of your Mac’s internal hard drive. I recommend two applications for this purpose: Onyx (free) and SMARTUtility (free trial, then $25). Read More from “Check The Health of Your Mac’s Internal Hard Drive”

How to Switch Email and Web Hosting Companies

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Domain Names, Email, Services, Web

Are you pleased with your company’s email and web hosting company? Email is a critical business tool for many businesses, thus one should not change hosting companies on a whim or without adequate preparation. Here’s an overview of the migration process, including pre-migration planning, day-of-migration tasks and post-migration tasks. Read More from “How to Switch Email and Web Hosting Companies”

Activating a New Cable Modem with Comcast

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Hardware

Do you get your Internet service from Comcast? If so, do you know if you’re renting your cable modem or own it out-right? If a Comcast tech set it up then there’s a good chance that you’re paying a monthly rental fee of about $10. If this is the case, you might want to buy your own cable modem and return the one you are renting. A new cable modem costs between $60-$130 depending upon which model you buy. You recover the cost of this new modem in 9-18 months through eliminating the rental fee. Read More from “Activating a New Cable Modem with Comcast”

Easy and Affordable Adult Content Filtering For Your Home Network

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

Do you have children? Would you like to configure your home network to easily block adult content? Here’s an easy and affordable way to set up adult content filtering for all Macs, PCs, iPhones and iPads on your network. Sign-up for  the free OpenDNS Home service. Read More from “Easy and Affordable Adult Content Filtering For Your Home Network”

How to Turn Off your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch

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

Do you know how to turn off your iPhone or iPad? People often think they are turning off the iPhone when, in fact, they are only putting it to sleep. The same button is used for both functions. The On/Off/Sleep button is circled in red in the image below. [UPDATE: Fall 2014 – All previous iPhone’s have had their On/Off/Sleep button on the top edge. The recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have their On/Off/Sleep button on the right-hand side, so your button could be in either of these locations.]

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How to Clean The Screen of Your Mac Laptop, iPhone or iPad

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics, Hardware, iPhone and iPad, Maintenance

Have you noticed how dirty the screen of your iPhone or iPad gets? Finger smudges and other stuff accumulate quickly. Even though we don’t touch our Macintosh laptop screens as much as an iPhone, the screen still gets dirty. I recommend using a microfiber cleaning cloth for quick cleanings. Additionally, use a cleaning spray like OmniCleanz or iKlear for more thorough cleanings. Read More from “How to Clean The Screen of Your Mac Laptop, iPhone or iPad”

Disable Java Web Browser Plug-Ins on Your Mac

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

Over the past couple of days there have been news stories about a vulnerability in Java which is apparently being exploited in an effort to steal identities. The situation is not entirely clear to me and details change rapidly, but currently the Department of Homeland Security recommends that people disable the Java web browser plug-in, for each of their web browsers. Read More from “Disable Java Web Browser Plug-Ins on Your Mac”

Strengthen and Organize Your Passwords

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Passwords, Security/Privacy

The start of a new year is the season of resolutions. I propose that you make a resolution to organize your passwords. Build a list of your accounts and their passwords. Also, make sure those passwords are strong. In a previous tech tip I talked about how to test your passwords’ strength and how to select strong passwords. I will reiterate some of that tech tip’s suggestions and add some recommendations on creating and maintaining your password list. Read More from “Strengthen and Organize Your Passwords”

Archiving Mail’s Email Messages Using EagleFiler

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Software

Do you store thousands and thousands of email messages? Do you infrequently access many of these messages? If so, you could archive these email messages using EagleFiler. Once the messages have been archived you can delete them from Mail. Depending upon how many total messages you store in Mail, this might improve Mail’s performance.

[Update: If you don’t need to be able to readily search and view your exported messages then you might prefer to use Apple Mail’s built-in Export command. You can export an entire mailbox of messages. The export is stored as an mbox file on your Mac’s hard drive. This mbox file can be subsequently imported if you do need to look through the messages. MacObserver has a article that provides step-by-step instructions for archiving your mail using Mail’s Export command. ]

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Take Rest Breaks Regularly Using Time Out

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics, Software, Utilities

Do you use your Macintosh computer for hours at a time without taking a break? Do you end up with sore muscles or headaches? If so, you might want to consider taking rest breaks more often. Time Out is a free application that can automatically remind you to take breaks, even dim your screen to force you to take a break. Read More from “Take Rest Breaks Regularly Using Time Out”