how to

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Protect Your Mobile Phone

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       "Protect your mobile phone from an accidental dunking in water? Take a look at this video. https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152954190850201
A demo on how to water-protect the iPhone is towards the end of the video. Although conceptually intriguing, I wouldn't want to use this product, say, on my clothes. How would you wash them? I don't think NeverWet is something I'd want to use. How about you?" asks Jim Hamm.  

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Finder Tip

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        John Carter shares a tip to save time and frustration:  "When copying files off of a camera and onto the computer, it's not likely that you'll remember to first create a new folder to put them into. Or maybe you're just trying to reorganize the files in your computer. Did you know that you can create a new folder containing selected files?

        "So here's another scenario. I was collecting a series of screenshots of an involved process to save for a presentation. All of the screenshots are saved in the Pictures folder. After saving the screenshots, I wanted to put them all in a new folder. Now I could have created the folder and then moved the files into the new folder. But a simpler approach was to first select all the files, then in the Menu Bar click on File->New Folder with Selection. Or, right click on the selection and click on New Folder with Selection. What's interesting is that you will also see in parentheses the number of files that are selected. 
When you select that, a new folder in the current folder is created like this:  
It's your job to rename the folder."
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Windows Registry vs OS X Property Files

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        "Although this article may be a little 'nerdy' for some," begins Jim Hamm,  "I found it quite interesting in explaining the difference between the Registry in Windows and .plist files in OS X.  

        "The author uses an analogy of thinking of the Registry as a skyscraper, with each program built on top of another. If one program, or 'floor', if you will, should fail it may bring the entire skyscraper down. Plist files (lists of programs) in OS X, on the other hand, are built kinda side by side. If one fails, it's not likely to affect the other programs.
        "Interesting analogy the author used, I thought, and helped me understand the differences between the two methods," Jim comments. 
        Here John Carter adds his thoughts to the situation, "Apple maintains .plist files in two places. One is in ~/Library/Preferences and the other is in /Library/Preferences. Notice that the '~' represents your home folder (/Users/). 
        Now, John goes into details.  "Apple's .plist structure does two things. It determines how an application will run on your computer and one of them will contain registration information, if needed. You can delete ALL the .plist files on your computer and the core system will still work. What you have mostly done is to remove the system and user preferences for how things work - and also the registration information for apps that you purchased, which means you would have to re-register those apps. 
        "Using AppCleaner will successfully remove all .plist files for a given app from the computer and thereby allowing you to re-install the app from scratch if that's what you need to do to make a failing app work again."
        And here John concludes his explanation, "One trick that IT professionals use to isolate the cause of a failing app is to rename ~/Library/Preferences or move it to another location. That folder and its content will get recreated when any of the apps storing a .plist file are run again. If the problem goes away, it's just a matter of singling out which .plist file in the original folder caused the problem.
        "The other trick is to create a new user, login as that new user, and run the app. If the problem persists, then it might be a system related problem which might be found in /Library/Preferences, but it's best to reinstall the app from scratch before messing around with system files." 
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New Desktop Wallpaper, FREE

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        "Here are some interesting images that might make a nice desktop wallpaper for you," is how Jim Hamm begins his latest email.  "I think I might go for the Andromeda image. On the other hand, hmmm?"  http://osxdaily.com/2013/06/28/9-high-res-space-wallpapers/
        They're gorgeous, they're free.  But how do you put them on your computer?
        Jim to the rescue.  "Just right-click the image and 'save image as' or copy image and paste wherever you want.  You save each image separately and then select the one you want for your desktop wallpaper. You also can have the wallpaper change ever so often, if you want, in System Preferences."  

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Is Your Router Vulnerable?

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        With his thoughtful suggestion Jim Hamm forwards an interesting site.  He starts off, "Here is a description and test to see whether your router may be vulnerable to a UPnP discovery request. I ran the test, and our router is not vulnerable.

        Jim then comments, "In the real world, I don't know how serious this threat may or may not be. I don't recall reading anything about it, and don't really know anything about this vulnerability. So, proceed accordingly."
        Hmmm.  Let's look at this company and their blog to learn more.  Here's a photo of them,  http://www.rapid7.com/company/  and you'll learn more when you scan their Security Street blog: https://community.rapid7.com/community/infosec/blog 
       And this is the latest addition from Jim, "Here is more information on the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) vulnerability issue. Although this article came out a while back, I guess reading it now is better late than never." 
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Gmail's New Inbox

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        "If you use Gmail as your email client -- as I do --" Jim Hamm begins, " here is an article explaining the details of Gmail's new inbox, should you decide to try it. I've been aware of this new feature for some time, but haven't tried it yet -- but I think I'll give it a try now to see what I think about it. It would be nice , for example, to get the offers for coupons from, say, Red Lobster, all to appear in one inbox, Promotions, instead of being intermingled with my other emails. Plus, if you don't like this new feature you can always change back to the format you're accustomed to.

        "Just click the gear icon in the upper right of your screen and select 'Configure Inbox.' Good luck...(grin)...Now, if you don't use Gmail, you're missing a very good email client," Jim says in closing. 
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Short & Simple, Of Course, Mac Helps You!

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        Using your Mac is easy to do.  Here are some shortcuts.  How many are you already using?  Which ones will you try later today?  

        To write anything:  click to open Pages.  Up comes a blank document, ready for your report, a birthday blessing for one of your 45 closest relatives, an anniversary poem to send to some family member, or the first chapter of your fiction piece that’s been brewing in your head. 
        Jot down some key ideas.  Do Command + S to save it, giving it a short title. 
        Off the page where you’re writing do a click with the right side of the mouse which brings up a short list.  Choose New Folder and drag this latest writing into it.  Type a name for the folder.
        When you’re ready to add to that first version of the new writing do Command + D to duplicate what you have and add to it.  Keep Version 1 as is; work on Version 2.  As you think of other bright ideas during the day you make a new version and keep it in the same folder.  
        Your busy brain has thought of some important details to add, or some colorful adjectives, or . . . .   That first idea may present possibilities.  A “I remember when…” piece may have poetic notions.  Now you’ve got a document of prose and a document of delightful rhyme.  Keep these in the same folder.  
        As the deadline approaches you put the finishing touches on the one that fills the bill.  Name the final version  “June handout BEST.”  Those other ideas may lend themselves to some other use, so hold on to them for now.  
        With cursor in the background screen do Command + I to bring up Get Info on the left hand side, a nifty box for you to add info.  Keywords you put in can help you find this new writing later.  
        Command + R  when looking at a list from the Inspector you view a tiny picture of the various files.  Put your cursor on the one you want to find.  Command + R then brings it up in the files so you can see where it’s located. (When you see the one you want in Inspector you can just click on the title you want and it will open, but you won’t know what folder it’s in.)  
        To cut, highlight what you want to remove and do  Command + X.  Paste what you’ve then highlighted with Command + V.  To copy, highlight what you want and do Command + C.
        Find it on your desktop or a file list: On the Menu at top of page that lists Finder first, go to File > Label and choose a color.  Your folder will show up in a list with that color bar around the title. 
        Want to enlarge the type under the folders on the desktop? On the main menu bar on the top go to View > Show View Options.  Experiment with enlarging icon size, spacing, text. 
        On the Internet, Command + D  at the URL line of the website lets you add that site to a folder in Bookmarks. Scroll through the little box to find the suitable home for that URL. 
        Command + Shift + 4 brings up the screen shot that you stretch around the picture or text that you want to copy and saves the screen shot as a file on desktop. 
        Command + B makes what you’ve highlighted turn into a bold font.  Do it again over the bold and it toggles to go back to not-bold. 
        Command and + on a highlighted word lets you enlarge it by repeatedly tapping the +.  The opposite, Command and the - will shrink the highlighted word. 
        On Mountain Lion you can do some of this an easier way.  Highlight the word or paragraphs, etc. Then right click with your mouse on that document.  It lists choices, such as spelling, speech, etc.  Look under Writing Tools and it brings up look up in dictionary, thesaurus, search in Spotlight, Google, Wikipedia, and show statistics. 
        If you’ve set Pages to show word count at the bottom of the page:  click on Words and it gives the total number of pages, lines, paragraphs, characters and characters not counting spaces.  
        If you accidentally delete something -- and before you type in something else -- go to Edit on the menu across the top of Pages and click to Undo Typing.  It will replace what you took out. 
        Here’s 8 pages of shortcuts if you’re REALLY into shortcut info for every possible idea: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343  Keyboard by category
        Let’s Take a Look at Mail: When you’ve clicked to open a New Message and have written a first draft, then you can click on the last tiny icon on the top right.  Your Mac gives you choices of how to make your email more attention-getting with choices of colorful templates such as Birthday, Announcements, Photos, Stationery, and Sentiments.  You can drag in some photo to make this email personalized. 
        Shop on Amazon:  Go to amazon.com and click on Sign in to set up Your Account.  Must allow cookies! Command + ,  (the comma) then choose Privacy > Block cookies from 3rd parties.   Go to Your account to see history, using gift cards,  settings,  etc.  Your balance never expires. (I go back afterwards and change Cookies setting to Never.) 
        Start your own FREE blog:  https://accounts.google.com/  Must allow cookies first.  Then sign in with email address and a password.  Set up your account.  Go to view Dashboard where you have choices to make about web albums, YouTube profile, etc.  Go to www.blogger.com to look at available templates.  Here’s links to info: https://support.google.com/blogger/ 
        Keep up to date:  If you subscribe to NetNewsWire you can be notified when there’s a new entry to the PMUG newsblog  http://pmugnews.blogspot.com and also to the PMUG website:  http://pmug.us/    Take a look here http://netnewswireapp.com/mac           
        (That’s all for now!)       This is the PMUG meeting handout for June 15, 2013
from Elaine Hardt 
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Diving Into Dashboard

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         Do you use dashboard? Do you like it? 
         Jim Hamm informs us, "I've sorta forgotten all about Dashboard on the Mac, and haven't used it in ages. However, reading this article from MacWorld got me interested (well, somewhat) in Dashboard again. Armed with the tips from Christopher Breen I may take another look and see if Dashboard can play a useful role when I'm using my Mac."

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iPhone: Lost! Then, Found!

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        John Carter left his iPhone on a plane!  There's a happy ending! There's something for us to learn from this!
        "Suppose your iPhone gets lost (you left it on the plane). Frantically, you go online to iCloud.com and configure the iPhone to be erased if anyone attempts to use the iPhone. This seems to be the best way to protect your information, right? Wrong! The iPhone will only be erased when someone attempts to connect to the Internet — or so the story goes. So, if they never access the Internet, they can open Contacts and browse any file on the iPhone at will.

        "So maybe the next choice is to lock the iPhone. But this choice also only comes into effect when the person attempts to access the Internet. So even this isn't the best way to protect your iPhone.
        "What's left? Well, you should have set the iPhone to require a passcode as soon as the iPhone is turned on.
        "In my case, I did recently leave my iPhone on the plane. It was found and returned. What made it possible to be returned to me was that I did NOT have a passcode set to lock my phone, and the baggage claim person opened the phone and did something to discover that I was the owner of the phone and sent me an email message."
        What a relief, read on!  John has more to say,  "But, I had already gone online to icloud.com and set the phone to be erased when the Internet was accessed. Fully believing that my iPhone would be erased as soon as I tried to get on the Internet, I was totally surprised that it didn't happen!
        "Bottom line is, as my wife says, don't believe what you see. Protecting your information in a lost phone is only going to happen if you have set a passcode to lock the phone. Add a label to your phone on the outside that identifies you as the owner and no one needs to open the phone to find out how to contact you. Better yet, have your contact information engraved on the back side of the phone."
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Photography: Apps, Edits, Files

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        Of special interest to photographers,  John Carter describes his up-coming presentations.  "My take on presentations that teach people how to use a computer are about apps that are simple and do things that they are interested in. 
        "How to download images from a camera, make simple edits, and email the photos seems to be high on the list. 
        "To accomplish that, one needs to fully understand the hierarchy of the computer, where the photos are saved, and how to attach or retrieve a photo using any given email client whether it be Outlook, Thunderbird, or Microsoft Mail, or whether it be Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, or Google Mail on the Internet. They need tips on using photo editors and photo browsers — the kind they have on their computer or that they can get for free.

        Here John shares some practical and personal examples,  "I recently went on vacation to Texas and Missouri followed by a short trip to Las Vegas. Lots of photos. Getting these organized in albums with keywords and descriptions is critical to finding them quickly out of the more than 7,000 photos I have (it's a small batch, I know). Learning how to do that was easy for me, but is daunting to many others.
        "The format of the image as created by the camera and how any given photo browser or photo editor app deals with them is very useful information."
        And here's what you've been waiting to hear:  John announces, "With that in mind, I'll prepare such a presentation for the September 28 Joint PCS/PMUG meeting. I already do this for my regular Mac Digital Photo SIG that I host on the first Friday morning of every month, and Phil Ball of the PCS club does a lot of this in his monthly Digital Photo SIG (usually the second Saturday from 1-3 PM), which I think any of the PMUG members would also enjoy."
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So, What Do You Want Them to Know?

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         It’s not a cheery handout today.  But as we keep hearing news reports the importance of  security and privacy grab our attention.  Of course, there are things we need to know and do.  Keeping up with the latest information is a necessary precaution for all of us.  Here is just a few possibilities for current sites for you to review. 

ID Theft, Opt Out Directions,  Free Credit Report,  Social Networking Danger

        See  http://www.worldprivacyforum.org   lists articles on ID theft, security, privacy, cloud computing, medical info on HIPAA,  medical identity theft, and more.   
Lots of links are provided on this website. One article brought to our attention was “Top ten opt out list.”   The information goes into detail and when printed out is 12 pages long as it describes the various opt-outs you can use to stop information about you from being collected, circulated, and sold among various companies and government agencies.  
One company is described which builds detailed dossiers on consumers with “information scraped from social networking sites like Facebook, and is combined with public record data.”  Dossiers have been used in political campaigns and other businesses.  According to their quotation from Wall Street Journal this company’s segments recently included   “a person's household income range, age range, political leaning, and gender and age of children in the household, as well as interests in topics including religion, the Bible, gambling, tobacco, adult entertainment and ‘get rich quick’ offers. In all . . .  more than 400 categories, the documents indicated."
This site also gives consumer tips and links on how to get your free annual credit report.   
A February 2010 report discloses Digital Signage Privacy Principles which might be a new term and a previously unexplained form of sophisticated digital information collection.  


Traveling Brings New Challenges for Security and Privacy
        See  https://www.eff.org/wp/defending-privacy-us-border-guide-travelers-carrying-digital-devices.  This website gives 20 pages of information.

Defending privacy at the U.S. Border:  a guide for travelers carrying digital devices   states that “for now, a border agent has the legal authority to search your electronic devices at the border even if she has no reason to think that you’ve done anything wrong.”  
It discusses such agencies as CBP, ICE, TSA.  Which other countries have you recently visited before entering the United States?  What other connections do you have there? 
Be aware of two basic precautions:  make regular backups so if your computer is ever taken, lost or destroyed you’ll still have access to your data, and encrypt the information on your computer.    
It gives details on how and why.  Talks about hard drives, flash drives, mobile phones, details, date and disk encryption, digital cameras. It goes into how to interact with border agents, what to say, how to behave.  The appendix lists 47 sources and their links with descriptions.  
You can click to download a PDF with this material. This might be something you’d want to pass along to your grown kids and friends who plan to travel this summer. 


Cookies?

These are not just the yummy ones Ginger brings to PMUG! Read on . . . 

What Info is Available for Internet Sites to Take? 

        Using Firefox:  are you collecting lots and lots of cookies?   See how to view history and clear what you don’t want saved.  http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache  Using Safari:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1677 

        See  http://kb.iu.edu/data/ahic.html   Indiana University knowledge base, dated 3-3-13.  Brief description of cache, cookies, history.   How to: for Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9,  Chrome, Opera, Safari, Mobile Safari for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android. 
        What personal information does Amazon gather and why? There’s 5 pages to read!  http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496  dated 4-6-12.
        Google’s Policy:  http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/  last modified 7-27-12.  Their policy in 8 pages; what they take and what you can determine on your end.  “We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent.”  Hmmmm.  

Password Managers Can Help
The query to Ben Patterson brings up info he wrote about iPhone, iPad:  http://heresthethingblog.com/2013/04/30/reader-mail-simple-password-manager/

How Safe is My Info on a Thumb Drive?

A handy little thumb drive can hold a lot of info.  But they can be misplaced, lost, mishandled.  Make a plan to store them and use them.  How long of a life do they have?  Probably you’ll want to back one up, then buy a new one & copy over again in a few years?  
An infected USB thumb drive can infect a computer.  This discusses software encryption, hardware encryption. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_USB_drive


An Unexpected Phone Call From Your Grandson 

Oh, it was a young man’s voice on the phone, but he said, “Grandma, I’m calling from Rome and I need help.”  Who wouldn’t be concerned?  How did he travel so far from home?  What’s going on?  Asking a few questions like,  “Maybe you have the wrong number.  What did you say your name was?  What’s your sister’s name?”  Ask anything that only the real grandson could possibly know.  “Give me your phone number and I’ll call you back after I ...“  Make some quick excuse and sound sort of confused.  Your brain’s internal warning device is in full swing now.  You’ve heard about scams like this.  Don’t be cheated out of your $$$. 
Facebook gives crooks the information so they can find information to pretend to be your grandchild. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/16/scam-artists-using-facebook-to-target-grandparents/     
Alert your grandkids about posting information on Facebook, etc that would jeopardize you or them!  A good reminder now and then shows you care about their safety.


So, What Can We Do?

While we are bemoaning the loss of truth, honesty, and respect in the world today we of the “generation with years of experience” must continue to be relevant and responsible. It’s part of our heritage, how mama and dad raised us to be decent and trustworthy.  It’s like doing push-ups for exercise.  Now, we’re exercising our brains.  And part of that is continuing communication.  Listen and learn.  Respond as best as you can!  
Let your computer help you keep in touch.  Let PMUG help you learn.  

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This was today's PMUG meeting handout from Elaine Hardt, May 18, 2013 
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Goodbye to Google Reader?

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        An article http://www.zdnet.com/google-reader-its-not-you-its-us-7000012626/     mentioned that Google Reader is to close down on July 1, 2013.  Another article lists some alternatives http://www.zdnet.com/goodbye-google-reader-here-are-five-rss-alternatives-7000012604/.  How important is that?  
        Querying Jim Hamm brought this, "If I had something constructive to say, I would. Some time ago I used to use an RSS feed quite often -- it may have been Google Reader, but I don't remember for sure. For some reason -- and I don't recall why -- I got away from using an RSS feed, and haven't used one for some time. It may have been when I upgraded my OS the RSS feed didn't carry over, I didn't notice, and slowly forgot about an RSS feed altogether.

        "The article points out some good choices for RSS feeds. It seems if someone has been using Google Reader the easiest migration choice would be to use Feedly. However, people can experiment a bit to see which they prefer." 
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An Armchair Tour via iOS Device

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        "Are you somewhat of a history buff? Would you like to take an armchair visual tour of a variety of archaeological sites, museums, etc, from around the world?" asks Jim Hamm. He goes on, " Here is a link to ten history apps for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you might take a look at."
        Do these apps come up on a computer, too?  "I don't think so.  Only on an iOS device."

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FREE Video Tutorials Available

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        John Carter knows how to get our attention!  "Once in a while I run into a great find on the Internet, and this one is a keeper.

        "MacMost.com features video tutorials for everything Mac - from iPhones to Macs. The best part, for me anyway, is that all of the tutorials are available FREE in iTunes. And there is a newsletter that you can subscribe to and keep up to date with the latest Mac information.
        "Just a few days ago, the video "Mac OS X Cat Names" appeared on the scene. Gary Rozenzweig, the author and creator of MacMost, gives a full accounting of all the names Apple has been using for the various OS X releases - from the 10.0 Beta right up to 10.8. It's really worth watching, and I'm sure you'll get a lot from all of his other videos no matter how old they are.
        And here's John's recommendation to all of our readers here:  "Personally, I've already subscribed to the tutorials in iTunes and the newsletter. I'm hoping you will too, because I'm letting you know now that instead of me creating professional looking tutorials I'm going to let Gary do all the work."  
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How to Install Applications: Maybe You're Doing it Wrong?

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        Here's food for thought from Jim Hamm, "In this newsletter from Small Dog Electronics is an article on installing applications on a Mac. In the article it states once the disc image is opened on your desktop it should be dragged to the applications folder on your Mac. Then the application should be opened and installed within the applications folder -- not on your desktop.

        "I haven't been doing this. I usually just open the app on the desktop and install from there. After reading this article I plan to change my ways...." Jim