Watching the latest news on TV and the Internet do take a look at this article from InformationWeek, "Apple's Past and Future: Analysis Around the Web."
iOS Malware
"I just ran across this article about mobile malware attacks and according to their assessment, iOS (the operating system for iPhone and the other Apple mobile stuff) hasn't had a significant new malware attack," Allen Laudenslager reports. He goes on, "A lot of people have claimed over the years that Apple computers have not been attacked simply because they don't sell enough to make it worthwhile for the people writing viruses and malware to bother. Seems that even with the huge share of phones and internet linked iPods out there the hackers are still not bothering to create attacks. Could that be because it's so much harder to attack the Apple operating systems than to attack Windows?"
Apple Security Under Attack: The View from Windows
"One has to ask that without regard to the reported statistics from a Windows security expert that OS X has more vulnerabilities than Windows, why is it that there are more successful attacks on Windows than on a Mac?" It's John Carter catching our attention first thing this morning. He declares, "Keeping the Mac world informed by staying up late."
Now, John gets down to the facts. "The game is about numbers. There are more Windows machines that can virtually provide a greater return on successful attacks. Suppose the ratio of Windows to OS X is 80 to 1. If there are 1000 Macs to be hacked then there must be 80,000 Windows to be hacked. Let’s assume that the vulnerability ratio is reversed, that OS X has 80 times the vulnerability of Windows. To put it in virtual numbers, OS X has 80 ways to be attacked and Windows has only 1. Let’s say that for every successful attack on any machine you earn $1 as a reward. No matter how many ways you attack a machine, once it is attacked you get $1 and the machine is shut down - nothing more to be gained. Attacking all Macs earns you a maximum of $1000. There are 80,000 Windows, therefore you can earn $80,000 by shutting down all those machines. Let’s also assume that each time you successfully attack a machine, an update closes that door but the next day you find another one has taken its place. This means that every day you can earn either $80,000 or $1,000 or both. Which one would you go after, and would you bother trying for the additional $1,000 if the effort to do so was the same for both?
"In terms of rewards, the number of vulnerabilities doesn’t matter. What matters is how much of a return you can get on the number of attacks you attempt.
"Most big businesses are using Unix as their primary interface to the world, and once you get into a big business the return on your investment is greater depending on whether you want to shut the business down temporarily or acquire its secrets. OS X is based on Unix, therefore the vulnerability of Unix machines, by definition, is as great as that for the Mac. And since big business offers a greater reward on successful attacks, they are a better target than personal Macs.
John goes on to explain in detail, "Even if every Mac is shut down, the number is still far less than if every Windows machine is shut down. Still, 100 percent is the same regardless of the actual numbers involved. But remember, the game is about numbers, not percentages. In a given day, if 60 of the 1000 Macs were hacked and 60 of the 80,000 Windows were hacked, percentages would tell you that Windows is safer. The hackers don’t care - they got what they went after, and there are greater numbers offering greater rewards to go after Windows and big business.
"If you want to know how many attempts are being made every day on your computer (hackers trying to find a way in), there are tools for that. You can keep hackers from getting into your computer with the right tools, but only you can prevent your fingers from clicking on the wrong link. If you have a Mac, the chances of getting a virus that way are far slimmer than if you have Windows.
"So let’s say that a hacker does get into your Mac. He does a quick survey and finds your address book, your email, your passwords, and your financial files. Pretty good. Maybe. One way to protect yourself against this kind of robbery is to encrypt the folders that contain your address book, your email, your passwords, and your financial files. You should use a different password than your login password to access the encrypted files, and do not put the encryption key anywhere on the computer - but on a piece of paper filed away in your desk. If the encryption key is strong enough, the only real damage the thief can do is wipe your computer clean. But you have a clone to restore from, don’t you? Another possibility is that the thief can install an app to capture your key strokes and hope that you won’t find it. This is called spyware. To date, there are only two known spyware apps for the Mac (to my knowledge), and the chances of getting them are rare, and I suspect the only reports about them are just from a company that wants to sell you their anti-virus/spyware program.
"For a run-down on the ways you can protect your Mac, read this. You might even want to go a bit deeper in protecting your Mac by reading this."
And, now the grand finale from John, "My conclusion is you are safer owning a Mac than owning Windows even if you do none of the tips described above."
More on Cloning a Hard Drive
Our Prez Art Gorski shares his experiences with cloning, "I've used SuperDuper before to clone a hard drive before installing a new OS version from DVD. After the clone is made, I reboot the computer from the clone and log in to make sure it works properly.
"Then I totally wipe the internal hard drive (yikes!) and install a totally fresh copy of the OS, which will eliminate all the cruft on the previous install.
Then I use migration assistant to move everything from the clone to the new OS install. Ta da! A perfect upgrade with no junk from the previous internal drive. Of course, in the brave new world of Lion, this isn't as easy to do anymore."
So continues our on-going look at cloning. More input from PMUG members?
Cloning a Hard Drive
Jim Hamm reports on his latest experience. "After 4 - 1/2 years of using a Mac I finally decided to clone the SSD drive on my new MacBook Air. I've used Time Machine faithfully, but never a clone. After reading about cloning and talking to various people, I decided to purchase SuperDuper which costs $28.
"For the drive I purchased LaCie's Rugged Mini 500GB external 7200rpm hard drive. Cheaper drives can be found, but I wanted one that would withstand the rigors of travel.
"The clone of my storage drive took 25 minutes with Super Duper (SD). When I first got the LaCie drive I formatted it to OS X (journaled) but found out I didn't need to do that. SD erases the drive first, before starting the clone. A day or so after the clone I had installed some other programs on my Mac and wanted to do an update to be sure I didn't lose them in case of a drive failure. SD provides a full set of operating instructions, and after reading what to do, I started SD to do a 'Smart Update,' which recognizes all the changes one has made and clones them. The 'Smart Update' took 4 minutes.
"Well, will SD work when I need it? I hope so, and hope never to find out. One of the bloggers that I read frequently, John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame, recently lost his hard drive. He said that SD got him back in business very quickly. He has had occasion to use SD more than once. As the speaker at the PMUG meeting said yesterday, a hard drive will fail eventually. It's nice to know one's programs, pictures, research, etc., are safely cloned and ready for resurrection when needed.
"My next step will be to do a clone of Zee's MacBook Pro, as she has lots of pictures and genealogy research she wouldn't want to lose."
Security Concerns
Keep up with the latest information on computer security problems. The recent Black Hat conference underscores how vital computer security is, and how much Apple is at risk. Jim Hamm found two articles from InfoWorld that we need to read. This one and this other one.
Here's the parts Jim wants to emphasize, "The author—who, interestingly, is a full-time principal security analyst at Microsoft— observes the following: 'So when I'm asked if Microsoft or Apple's security is better than the other, it's not a question even worth answering. Overall, computer security is pretty bad. Nearly any company can be hacked, with just a little research and know-how.'"
And here's Jim's emphasis: "OS X or Windows—it doesn't matter—one should just use common sense and caution on the internet. As for 'Cloud' computing or storage, I personally would never store anything of a personal or critical nature on a server somewhere. I prefer to have my 'offsite' storage on an external hard drive that I can store where I want."
With all the new devices, iPhone, iPad, etc. along with our personal computers the personal information floating around, available for any hacker is astounding. Thanks, Jim, for sharing your viewpoint.
Compare SuperDuper and CarbonCopyCloner
It's important to backup what you've got on your computer. But what's the best way? John Carter compares two programs. "What’s the difference between SuperDuper! (SD) and CarbonCopyCloner (CCC)?
"In a word, money. But there is more.
"Either SD or CCC are okay for cloning the entire internal hard drive to an external hard drive for saving a full backup for emergencies. Such a clone can be booted from, and you can restore your internal drive from that clone up to the point that the clone was created. I suspect that SD is winning out over CCC for cloning. However, you can’t use all the features of SD without purchasing it.
"A major functional difference between SD and CCC is that SD always does a full erase of the target disk and CCC never does a full erase of the target disk. Making a clone with CCC requires that you first use Disk Utility to format the target drive. After the clone is created, you really should be using CCC to keep your clone updated if you’re not using Time Machine.
"Another difference is that SD will clone either the entire source or just /Users on the source. With CCC you can select the files and folders you want to backup, and this is most helpful for performing incremental backups.
(Click on each illustration to enlarge.)
"Setting up the options for either one doesn’t give you any warm feeling that you will have a bootable copy when it’s done, but my recent experience with SD is that after you click on Copy it gives you a laundry list of things it will do and it includes a notice that it will set the target disk to be bootable. CCC just tells you its done. If you started with a properly formatted drive (one partition, Mac OS journaled), you won’t have any problems booting from it if all the system files are on the drive.
"Be aware that booting from a USB drive and launching applications from same is painfully slow."
Dropbox Basics, Plus
Even if you’re not using Dropbox yet here is information to read and bookmark. The Macworld staff received 250 suggestions, and pruned them down to the sixty favorites, adding two of their own. At the end of the article they outline 3 things NOT to do with Dropbox.
Our Prez Art Gorski says, "I read this article when it came out in Macworld magazine and I use many of these tips myself. Dropbox currently has some minor problems in Lion that they are working on to fix."
And, here it is! Art informs us now: "Dropbox has released a new version compatible with Lion. Tips: Use the Dropbox menu to quit Dropbox before attempting to install the new version, otherwise you will be told the file is busy. Don't forget to relaunch Dropbox after installation." Here's that link; note you can view a video to learn about it.
Previous Prez Allen Laudenslager writes,"I hadn’t even heard of Dropbox . . ."
Jim Hamm tells us, “A good article that I'll keep and read and try out the different uses. I use DropBox all the time, but basically I use it just to transfer files between my old MacBook Pro and my new MacBook Air. My MBP doesn't have AirDrop like my new Air does, otherwise I'd use AirDrop to transfer files. Other people use DropBox as a storage device, but I don't. As I experiment with the different uses if I come up with some useful comments I'll let you know.”
Dual Boot, VMWare, Parallels, or Crossover?
Here's more about applications for Lion sent from John Carter. He explains, "I’ve heard people say that they will have to have two versions of OS X in order to run some applications that are no longer supported in OS X 10.7 (Lion). Any dual boot configuration really hampers your quality up-time and turns it into down-time while waiting for your system to reboot into the other OS. Enter VMWare. Reports have it that VMWare is better than Parallels for installing multiple versions of Mac OS X. I can’t say. But this solution should only apply for those PowerPC applications that no longer run in Lion such as MS Office for Mac and Quicken.
"I’ve gotten around the need for a dual boot configuration. One method is by installing Crossover. With Crossover, I can install a number of Windows applications without having to install the complete Windows OS. For now, I have Framemaker 6, Quicken 2010, eFax Messenger 4.4, and LibreOffice 3.4 installed under Crossover - and will most likely be installing other apps in the near future, specifically MS Office 2010.
"Similarly, Parallels for Mac 6.0 will install the complete Windows OS whatever version you like - on a Mac. All the Windows applications that you install will run on a Mac without a dual boot configuration. I am currently running Windows XP and Windows 7 as guest operating systems on my Mac without any problems of compatibility that sometimes beleaguer Crossover."
Here's John's conclusion for the dilemma: "So, for any of those Windows apps that people like to have, either Parallels or Crossover should be considered as opposed to any dual boot configuration. But if you're a gamer and want things to run native, then I guess you have to dual boot."
Progress in Rosetta and Snow Leopard for Lion
From this article it sounds like some progress is being made for Rosetta and Snow Leopard for Lion. John Carter sends these comments, "I’ve seen talk on the Internet somewhere that VMWare Fusion does the best job of installing any version of OS X as a guest OS using any other version of OS X as the host. And this by more than just one very serious and credible poster. They ranted me on my preference of Parallels for Mac for that purpose, so I bow to them."
Quicken, GnuCash, or iBank
John Carter passes along his latest discovery, "I’ve been an ardent fan of Quicken for many years. Then one day I discovered GnuCash. It was painful to make the switch, but I learned to like the freedom of a free application for managing my personal and small business finances."Then came Lion. GnuCash does not run on Lion. Then I discovered iBank. But it’s not free. Darn! "Converting my GnuCash files to iBank was a whole lot less painful than converting from Quicken to GnuCash, and the same should be true for converting from Quicken to iBank. "Using iBank is not quite the same as using Quicken or GnuCash, and I imagine that I will have some gnashing of teeth before I settle in with iBank. And maybe by then GnuCash will be available for Lion. "However, there are major benefits to using iBank over GnuCash: "One is that I can do a query for an entry using keywords and actually get a non-zero result for something I know is there. "Two, I can password protect the entire iBank file. "Three, I can manually sort the registers and put the most used ones at the top of the list. "Four, I can sync iBank to my iPhone. Five, I can create a budget that is really useful. "Six, I can do a live download from almost all of my financial and trade institutions. "Seven, I can get instant stock updates. "Eight, reports are now much more useful and much easier to create. And the list goes on."
You Can Print From an iPad or iPhone
Fascinating to imagine printing from your iPhone? your iPad? Jim Hamm sends this from Small Dog TechTails newsletter. He says he's not tried the AirPrint Activator, but plans to do so. "Lack of printing capability has been one of weaknesses of the iPad -- at least for me. If this app works, it will be a step forward in making the iPad more of a free-standing computer."
Lion? Yes? No?
After reading an article about getting Lion for $70 on a thumb drive, Allen Laudenslager sent it on to us with the comment, "The way this guy wrote the article is a hoot."
My question back to him was, "Got Lion? Why or why not?" Here's Allen's reply.
"My son upgraded just because he is a technogeek and need to have the latest and 'greatest.' He hasn't found any real new features, but I did learn that if I were to upgrade my old version of MS Word for Mac would not run under Lion. Since MS changed the tool bar I much prefer the older version, and I don't want to have to switch to the newer, less efficient (from my point of view) version.
"I do tech manuals and that means a lot of formatting, with the older version the tool bar can be set up with access to the formatting tools right on the tool bar. With the new version I have to click through at least one menu, usually two or three, to get to the same control. Great for home users who don't do a lot of formatting but a pain for me.
"I want a Macbook Air so I will automatically have to upgrade an replace MS Word then. I have to run a version of Word that is one-to-one compatible with my customers or I'm out of business, so I will end up having to have a dual boot system to let me run both Lion and Snow Leopard so I can still run my old MS Word version."
What iCloud Won't Do After Transition from MobileMe
The headline reads, "Apple officially killing MobileMe sync for keychains, widgets, accounts, preferences." Jim Hamm sends this link to the AppleInsider page, with his comment, "Here's more info on what iCloud won't be doing after the transition from MobileMe."
This Looks Phishy
Always alert for scams, this comes from David Passell who writes, "This is an E-mail I received that I wouldn't think of answering. What do our other readers think??? Here is my copy/paste of the message with some [additions].
From: "test"
Date: August 14, 2011 12:12:31 AM MST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: IMPORTANT EMAIL UPGRADE
Reply-To: techupgradearfarf@#% bitscn.net [I have deliberately messed up the address; no, I am not going to Reply-To]
Dear Email Subscriber,
This is to inform all Subscribers that our server upgrade/maintenance is scheduled for September 1st 2011. [Who dat? I have five different E-mail accounts]
You may experience login problems during this period. We are having congestion due to various anonymous account registrations and on this note, we are deactivating some accounts that are no longer active and your account may be deactivated if no action is taken. To confirm and keep your account active during and after the upgrade and maintenance, you are advised to provide the below details to confirm your account.
Email Address:
Confirm Email Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
Date of Birth:
Your E-mail account will remain active after we have successfully upgraded our server. This is to help us serve you better. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your swift response to this notification.
Technical Support Team
Copyright ©MPI 2011 All Rights Reserved
Obsolete Software
Heads up, here. We all need to keep aware of obsolescence of computer programs we may have come to rely upon. David Passell sends this article, and comments, "Here's an article on companies abandoning old software or creating systems that won't run it.
"This one kind of bashes Apple, but I am not sure which old programs I have that may need Rosetta. Here is one suggestion for anyone who expects to have compatibility problems with Lion. (As one article pointed our "Lion may be Apple's Vista.")
1. Don't throw away that older Apple. If it has USB, Firewire, and Ethernet ports it can still be useful. Even more so if it can run old OS 9 programs.
"For example: I have a very old blue-bubble iMac. I keep it because I have 'journaled' since 1993 or so and a lot of my files arepassword-protected Word Perfect. If I want to check something out in the past I can go to the time frame and open it up. Of course, if I unprotect the file, I can copy it to a USB drive and then open it with OpenOffice on the latest machine (assuming Lion runs OpenOffice). BUT I need the old program to open Password protected files."
A Few Shortcomings of Lion
Some of Lion's features are causing discontent with early adopters. Jim Hamm sends along this article, a critique of AutoSave, Automatic Termination, and Recovery HD. The author opines that Apple might address some of these concerns when the first update to Lion is released. The forty comments following offer other discussion of several of Lion's shortcomings.
Free . . . You Just Have To . . .
There's that word "free" and so we pay attention when David Passell suggests we look at this article from ZDNet. One sentence in the article says: "All you have to do is donate 150 GB of your unused disk space on your computer." That gets you 100 GB of Cloud Storage for free.
David comments, "Here is a link to a story that I don't think I would touch, especially after reading some of the comments. Reminds me of the people who drive 50 miles to save 10 cents a gallon on gas. If I want more storage I will roll my own."
How to Create a Lion Recovery Disk Assistant
Find That Word Fast
Need a quick definition? Ruth Davis from Phoenix who spoke to PMUG awhile back gives this tip: Hold down the Command and Control keys and type the letter D. Move your mouse then on top of the word. The definition comes up as a pop-up menu. This works in Mail, Safari, Pages -- but not in Word, Firefox and other non-Apple products. Ruth sends out a "tip of the week" here.
Here's something to try. I use it with Pages, and my trusty little Belkin mouse gives other helps. Highlight a word, right-click and up comes a menu of choices: never hyphenate, cut, copy,paste, paste and match style, delete, select all, create new paragraph style from selection, spelling, proofreading, font, speech, and writing tools which lists Dictionary, Thesaurus, Search Spotlight, Google, Wikipedia, & Show Statistics.