Jim Hamm keeps a lookout for useful information. "Here is an article by John Gruber, of the Daring Fireball blog, discussing the use of cookies from websites you visit. It's a little confusing to follow, but apparently Google decided to circumvent settings in Safari and permit ALL websites from placing cookies in your browser, even if you explicitly set Safari NOT to permit this.
"A 'John Battelle,' whom I've not heard of, wrote an article sort of defending Google in doing this. Gruber disagrees with both Google and Battelle on this issue (as I do, too), and the article lists some of Battele's comments followed Gruber's response."
Jim explains, "If you're not familiar with Gruber's blog, Daring Fireball, I have a lot of respect for his opinions and comments, on this and other topics.
"Google wrote code to specifically circumvent Safari's settings, and apparently no longer does this egregious action. Google certainly has been helpful in searching for stuff on the net, but I don't appreciate sneaky actions like this on their part."
iPhone Tips
A handy list of 35 tips for the iPhone user is here. And Jim Hamm adds this, "Here's a tip on another method of activating the camera on an iPhone: double-tap the home button. On the lower right is an icon for the camera. Put your finger on it and slide it up to open the camera."
More on Flashback
"The Flashback virus is real," emphasizes John Carter. He elaborates on the issue, "There is a Java update available from Apple to fix the problem.
"As a result of doing the latest Java update from Apple, I no longer have Java working on my iMac.
However, the update works on the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air.
" I discovered this on my iMac by invoking the following command in Terminal: java
"The result was: Unable to locate a Java Runtime to invoke
"I went online and discovered that many people complained of the same thing. It seems that installing the older version of Java fixes the problem, but then you leave yourself open to the Flashback virus."
John continues, "I attempted to install the older version from a download from Apple, but the package detected the newer version and would not install. I guess you can only install the older version from the installation DVD.
"At this point, since I am not doing any Java development I am not overly concerned about this 'bug' and I haven’t seen any problems with websites I’ve visited. Google Chrome has its own Java built into the browser and is the preferred browser now for surfing the web because it is immune to the Flashback virus.
"Within the next week, Apple should be doing something about the problem caused by the update and put out a new update."
An iPad Experience: From Frown to Smile!
"Last week I had the misfortune to drop my beloved iPad and crack the screen." exclaimed Mary Ann Clark. She explained, "I took it to our local Apple repair shop but they don't handle iPad repairs. The kind gentleman did give me information about a service that could repair it for $189.00. Before sending it off I checked Google and discovered that even though the screen isn't covered under the warranty, sometimes an Apple store will do a courtesy replacement. It seemed like a trip to the valley was in order."
She described what happened next. "I made an appointment at one of the Phoenix-area stores and drove down the next morning. They weren't able to do a free swap (that program ended when the new iPad was announced) but they 'repaired' my iPad by giving me a new one for $199. (Because this was a repair rather than a purchase there was no sales tax. Yea!) And I walked out with my new iPad the same day.
"I also discovered that Apple now offers AppleCare Plus for the iPad that includes damage from accidents like mine, spilling liquids on it and the like. With this new AppleCare, my repair would only have been $45. This wasn't available when I first got my iPad but the new one is now covered!"
And her conclusion, "Not a bad experience, all considered."
Member For Sale Items
Have you noticed that the PMUG website has a category under Benefits, "Member For Sale Items"? Martyn "Bhupesh" Arnold is one of our newer members, and he has some older Macs for sale that he's collected over the years. He wrote, "I make my living around Macs. I’ve been a technology and productivity consultant and trainer for 25+ years, focused mostly on businesses. I’ve been a Apple/Mac guy since 1982. I also do some programming." Here's his link to the site with photos of his refurbished Apple computers.
Review of iPad
From the voice of experience Jim Hamm writes, "Here is a link to a good review of using an iPad — what it does well and its limitations. If you — or someone you know — might be considering whether it's worthwhile or not to purchase an iPad at some point in the future, reading this article will give you a good picture of what you can expect. I pretty much agree with what the article says, except the author doesn't point out how useful the iPad is for reading books. This is a big plus for the iPad, and shouldn't be overlooked. Downloading ebooks from a library or Amazon, for example, is very handy.
"I do find my iPad useful, and glad that I have one. It probably isn't a replacement for a computer for most people, nor, I suspect, was it intended to be."
FREE E-Books
He does know how to get our attention: "Free!" Jim Hamm goes on to say, "Here is an article about free eBooks for your iPad or Kindle. For the iPad you might want to install the free app: eBook Search. Then you can really get started looking for eBooks." That's 38,000 FREE eBooks. (He closes the email with "sent from my iPad" so you know he's grinning, too.)
Summarizing the Malware Attempts
"Here is an excellent article summarizing the current state of affairs regarding the Flashback Trojan." Jim Hamm goes on to comment, "As the use of Macs becomes more widespread in the computer world, I suspect, unfortunately, there may be more malware attempts in the future on the Mac. One big concern I have is why Apple is so slow to respond to threats like this, as the article points out?"
The article does state that "Apple has been introducing a series of technologies—tools like Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), sandboxing, and DEP—to reduce the chances of exploitation even when a Mac is vulnerable and to limit the potential damage of an attack. But these technologies aren’t perfect, especially when complex programs that run Web content like Java or Adobe Flash are involved.
"Gatekeeper will significantly change the game for manually installed Trojans when it’s released later this year; it will make that form of attack much less profitable (and thus less likely)."
Finally, Some Humor!
Jim Hamm brightens our day with this, "Heck, who needs a fancy iPad holder? This device does double-duty just fine....(grin)."
OK, who else has an idea for us?
Keep Up to Date on Malware Info
Here's an article from Macworld describing malware that can infect a Mac. Jim Hamm writes, "To be safe, I disabled Java in Safari preferences. If one should need Java occasionally for, say, a bank site, just enable it for that site."
Today, 4-5, David Passell sends along this link to the BBC claiming that more than half a million Apple computers have been infected with Flashback Trojan.
If you do a search on Apple Discussions watch for the date to see if it's current information. Here's one link about it.
Now, an article on how it works, how to detect it, and how to remove it.
Today, 4-6, Jim Hamm writes that he's used the trojan-check from Mac2School's Ruth Davis. She spoke to PMUG awhile back. You can email her here for the very important virus information.
Privacy & Security? HTTPS & VPN
Earlier we heard from Jim Hamm, (posted on 3-28 as "Need to Use an Unsecured Wifi Hotspot") and now he helps us with clarification. Jim wrote to the developers of Cloak, which is VPN (Virtual Private Network), "If 'HTTPS' is all one needs to be secure, why have a VPN function at all?"
HTTPS is Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer. It encrypts and decrypts the page requests.
The reply Jim received explains more about HTTPS and VPN. The following is quoted from Dave Peck, founder of www.GetCloak.com
1. HTTPS helps your browser verify the identify of the server it's talking to. For example, HTTPS can help the browser decide whether it's really talking to your bank. (This is why, if you ever see a warning about certificates when connecting to a site, you should stop immediately.)
2. Once the identity of the server is verified, HTTPS sets up an end-to-end encrypted connection between you and the server. So to continue the example, HTTPS lets you have a secure communications channel directly with your bank that nobody can listen in on.
So HTTPS, and the protocol it is built on (TLS), is awesome. And... if everyone used HTTPS/TLS then yes, there would be no reason as an individual to use a VPN like Cloak. There would still be plenty of reasons for small and medium businesses to use VPNs. ----
Unfortunately, we don't live in this world, at least not yet. Not everyone uses HTTPS or SSL/TLS (in fact, most web sites don't) and, further, even sites that do use HTTPS often use it badly, or inconsistently. Things seem to fall into four buckets:
1. Sites that don't use HTTPS at all. This is, sadly, the majority of sites. When you're on a network you don't trust (like at a coffee shop, airport, hotel, or at a conference) anybody can see what you're doing.
2. Sites that use HTTPS badly. Usually this means they don't use HTTPS everywhere. Prime examples of this would be Facebook and Amazon.com. By default, when you log in to Facebook and Amazon, you log in with HTTPS. It might seem that this protects your username and password, but this isn't quite the case. After you log in, Facebook and Amazon kick you back to HTTP pages. But wait! How do they know who you are on those HTTPS pages? They know who you are because they've cookied you with an non-secure cookie. For the duration of your session with those sites, that cookie is as good as your username and password. Anybody can log in as you and do whatever they want as you. This is what the hacker tool Firesheep was built to exploit, and unfortunately it is all too common -- Firesheep works on nearly 100 different web sites.
3. Native apps! These days, lots of stuff is done outside of the browser. Does the Twitter App for Mac use HTTPS or TLS? Who knows! We see a lot of problems here these days, and a lot of opportunities for Cloak to make things better.
4. Sites that use HTTPS well. Your bank, and PayPal, probably fall into this category. For these sites, Cloak doesn't make a difference.
I would like nothing more than to wake up one day and discover that Cloak is not necessary. But given that only one of four buckets is actually truly secure, I think we're easily five years off from that day. That said, one can never truly predict in the world of technology. -----
I should explain, in case it isn't clear, that Cloak isn't an end-to-end solution for security. When you use HTTPS, you get end-to-end encryption: just you and (say) your bank. When you use Cloak, you get encryption from your laptop or iDevice to our servers. From there, things are decrypted. But we host our own servers on networks with great peering agreements and extremely strict security policies. Our networks are trustworthy, whereas presumably the networks "out there" in the wild, like at coffee shops etc, are not. It's only if you truly cannot trust the Internet at all that HTTPS and TLS are your only options. ---
Bottom line for all of this: I believe that we still live in a world where Cloak can provide real value; I hope that technologies like HTTPS and SSL will ultimately become so prevalent that tools like Cloak won't be needed anymore. I think we're many years off from that day."
Thanks to Jim for getting this information for PMUG.
Is Your TV Watching YOU?
"New HDTVs now have both the hardware and software capability to monitor both sound and video!" announces John Carter. He elaborates, "Do you want to your new TV to have Skype capability? If so, then would it be possible for the TV itself to get hacked and someone could be spying on you?Read the news here." Take a look, then pass it on.
More on POP and IMAP
John Carter passes on more info on the POP and IMAP question. "The reason you are able to see your mail on the server after seeing them using Mac Mail is that the preferences set in Mac Mail are to NOT remove the message from the server after retrieving them.
"In the snapshot below, I have my POP account preferences set to "remove copy from server after retrieving message” because in this case I have no interest to ever use webmail to access email for that account, and this option keeps the messages in that account on the server cleaned out.
"In this case, once I retrieve a message using Mac Mail (or any other mail app with the preferences set as above) and then subsequently either delete it from the inbox in Mail or move it to another folder in Mail, the message is deleted from the inbox on the server. Because it is not a POP account, when moving a message from the inbox to another folder in Mail the message on the server is just deleted. All folders in Mail for a POP account are local to the computer. And that’s another reason I prefer not to use a POP account if I can help it.
"(Note: the option to include - meaning to retrieve - when automatically checking for new messages is not checked because I have a filter for that account on that server to forward all incoming messages to another account on another server, after which they are automatically removed from the originating server. This may seem complicated, but it means I don’t have to check messages from multiple accounts.) For IMAP preferences, it’s also possible to keep messages on the server or not:
"The only need to keep messages on the server is if you would ever need to get to your email using webmail. I notice that one option is to keep only those messages that I’ve read, which seems backwards to me. I would think the option should be to remove the messages I’ve read and keep the ones I haven’t read (retrieved but not read). That’s the only confusing part that I can see here."
John concludes with, "The advantage of IMAP is that if you have two or more computers at home that you are using (like a laptop and a desktop) then both computers will always show exactly the same messages. Deleting a message on one computer deletes it from the other - unless the message you deleted was in a local folder. I never use local folders and I will use IMAP over POP (when possible) because I want my email on all my computers to be in perfect sync. That’s my personal choice. If you only have one computer then it doesn’t matter which protocol you use - although as mentioned in the previous note IMAP is more reliable and I think that eventually POP will go away."
Email: POP or IMAP
What's better to use, POP or IMAP for email? John Carter starts us off with this, "Google offers this explanation.
"If you’re trying to decide between using POP and IMAP, we encourage you to use IMAP.
"Unlike POP, IMAP offers two-way communication between your web Gmail and your email client. This means when you log in to Gmail using a web browser, actions you perform on email clients and mobile devices (ex: putting mail in a 'work' folder) will instantly and automatically appear in Gmail (ex: it will already have a 'work' label on that email the next time you sign in).
"IMAP also provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at work, on your mobile phone, and again at home, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any given time.
"Finally, IMAP offers a more stable experience overall. Whereas POP is prone to losing messages or downloading the same messages multiple times, IMAP avoids this through two-way syncing capabilities between your mail clients and your web Gmail."
Still puzzling over the POP or IMAP I found that we are signed up for POP with Commspeed and that arrangement does keep email saved on their site, up to 95.37 MB. Mail can be viewed and downloaded on either of our computers and still be viewed when we sign on to their website.
An article at www.upperhost.com/pop3imap.htm explains some of the differences. POP stands for Post Office Protocol, and works simply, sending the entire message to you. It works faster. IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol, and it sends a copy to you while keeping a copy. It can sync messages, is slower but more redundant, and takes up more space.
Any other pertinent information that you've discovered, PMUG members?
Prolonging Battery Life: iPad
Jim Hamm passes this along to our PMUG members who have an iPad: "Here's a tip for prolonging battery life on your iPad.
"1. Batteries do get less effective as they get older, and 100% in a year’s time may mean half as much battery life as it does now — but there are precautions you can take to reduce the aging effects on your battery.
2. Don’t charge your battery all the time just because it isn’t at 100%.
3. Use the iPad until the battery is 100% depleted. If possible, leave it for an hour after depletion.
4. When charging, allow it to charge fully back to 100%.
5. Heat will also decrease your battery life, so take your iPad out of the case while charging.
6. Don’t leave the iPad plugged into a sleeping computer, as the battery will drain.
"By taking these steps you can ensure the battery is fully 'cycled' every time and should have minimal loss of battery life. Remember, every time you charge the device it will hold a little less charge, so avoid charging when it isn’t necessary."
Need to Use an Unsecured Wifi Hotspot?
Traveling and need to use an unsecured wifi hotspot? Jim Hamm passes along the info he's found, "Say, for example, you're at an unsecured wifi hotspot and have a need to send your credit card number to a company to buy something, reserve a hotel room, etc. over this network. Not a good idea to do this as hackers may be around to steal your card number. What to do? Here's an article that offers a possible solution using a program called 'Cloak.'
"Here's the link to the website. The use of this free service is limited to 2 hours per month, but one would only use it infrequently for transmitting sensitive information. Additional hours are available on a fee basis.
Jim will let us know more soon, "I've not used this service yet, but plan to look further into trying it."
Printer Ink: Tired of Feeding the Cash Cow?
Thanks to Prez Art Gorski for this info -- and for the clever headline! Art writes, "Here's a good article on the high cost of inkjet printing. As usual, I recommend that members talk to our friends at http://think4inc.com before buying a new inkjet printer."
Movies, Word Processing, Time Machine
Does it seem like there's always more to learn? Oh, yes, but it's fun on a Mac. At PMUG we call "learning"-- "opportunity." And April brings a bunch.
First, look at the PMUG site, www.pmug.us and see the Calendar. John Carter is our April speaker with his topics: Time Machine, the first hour, and Word Processing Software, the second hour. Note, too, his 2 Digital SIGs.
John also did an hour presentation for the combined Mac and PC group on March 24. He's generously posted his topic "Online Movies for Movie Addicts; " go under www.pmug.us/tips-n-tricks to find the link. It's password protected for members, so you'll go to About Us, scroll down to Contact Us, then click on Webmaster to email for the password.
From Problem to Solution
Having a Problem Downloading New Software?
Is your ISP Cable One?
Do you have a Motorola Cable Modem?
Howard LaPittus wants you to know what to do. (Yes, believe it or not, he wrote a technical article, what is the world coming to?) So, from problem to solution, let's hear from Howard. "If you answered yes to all of the above questions and you have the Firewall Protection checked as Enable in the set up of the Motorola Modem this could be the cause of the problem. "To solve this issue put in your browser http://192.168.0.1 and you will come to the Motorola Login page. User name: admin, Password: motorola. (Both Login and Password is lower case) Click the login in button and at the top of the next page click on Firewall. On that page you will see Web Features and if Firewall Protection is checked Enable, uncheck and Apply. Log out and now you’re now good to go. "Thanks to the suggestion made by John Carter, I contacted Cable One to have my line checked for static, which could cause problems download. I spoke to a Cable One technical representative who was very knowledgeable about Mac computers. He did find a problem with the line, and I did not have a clean connection. He said that is was caused by having the firewall enabled on my Motorola modem. Yes, Motorola and Macs sometimes to do play together well." (So, Howard, all I had to do was put in a few commas.)
Online Movies Topic To Be Presented
With his topic about online movies John Carter will speak at a joint meeting of PMUG and the PC computer club. Here's what John says, "Watching movies online can be either an exhilarating or a disappointing experience. Learn how to make it the most enjoyable experience possible. Discover the tips and tricks for downloading, streaming, viewing subtitles, and building a movie library. Find out where to get the highest quality movie. Find out what's okay and what's wrong with Torrents and file sharing. Learn how to protect yourself from lawsuits over copy protected videos."
The meeting will be Saturday, March 24 from 1 to 3 pm in the Prescott Public Library. John's presentation is the first hour. The second hour speaker will be Andy Reti from the PC group, discussing YouTube.
John describes that topic: "Over the last seven years of its existence YouTube has become part of our culture. From funny videos to excerpts from operas, YouTube is providing access to a wide variety of videos. YouTube has played a significant part in spreading the word on uprisings around the world, from the Arab spring to the current bloody violence in Syria. During this hour Andy will present the many uses of the YouTube platform. He will show you how to upload your videos to YouTube, and how to search for videos on specific topics. You'll also see some of the most astonishing and unforgettable videos on YouTube."