,

A Lesson Learned

,

If you use a VPN, my experience may save you a future problem. I bought a new 10.5" iPad Pro recently, and when I got it home I couldn't connect to the internet. I could pick up the wifi signal but couldn't get on the internet. 

After 40 frustrating minutes, including a discussion with an Apple tech, I noticed something: a VPN  app was trying to connect to the internet and blocking everything else until it was connected. A VPN will do this as a protection so we don't get on the internet until the VPN is connected. I quickly turned the VPN off and got connected to the internet right away.

I had forgotten I had this VPN turned on on my iPad, and it was trying to do its job. I use a VPN on my computers and will get a dialog box informing me that the internet is blocked until the VPN is connected. Apps such as Dropbox and my antivirus program are clamoring to get on the internet when I fire up my computer, but they can't until the VPN settles in. 

Jim Hamm

 

Kaspersky Free AV

For your possible interest, Kaspersky has just announced a free version of their antivirus program. Comments from Eugene Kaspersky can be read here. If you want to try it, the free download is here. It is available for both a PC and Mac.

I've downloaded it, but haven't installed it yet, but probably will soon. Over the years Kaspersky has gotten good reviews as being an effective AV program. For example, read here. And you've probably read recently about whether Kaspersky could be spying for Russia. Eugene, of course, soundly denies this allegation and has offered to make his program code available for review.

Being on the curious side I'll give Kaspersky AV a try for both my Mac and PC. Will be interesting to see what I think about it. Presently I run both Avast AV and Avira AV, and have been pleased with both. I do get a popup ad occasionally wanting me to upgrade to their paid version. Can't blame them for that.

Jim Hamm

Flash Player

Adobe is ending support for Flash at the end of 2020. Article here. This should help in cutting down on the number of malware and virus attempts through this program.

The article expressed some concern about the great number of early-days legacy programs using Flash, and which are still available. The author wonders if we will lose access to these?.

Jim Hamm

Mac Malware

There have been several articles recently about a type of malware on the Mac that apparently has been around for some time. Here is one article describing the malware, titled by some as FruitFly. Another article I read said that Apple has released an update to prevent future infections.

Malwarebytes anti-malware for the Mac  (here) will detect and presumably remove the malware. A 'techy' article for the nerdy can be read here. Although there have been no reports of damage done by this malware, you could scan your Mac with Malwarebytes to see if you've been infected.

Jim Hamm

Charger Safety

You may have read about the recent tragic electrocution of a young girl while she apparently was handling a phone while in her bathtub. Here is an article by a noted RV electrician on the safety aspects of chargers and phones. I encourage you to read it. More articles from this gentleman can be read here.

The following statement from the article really caught my attention:  "all phone chargers will energize the metal of your phone with around ½ of the line voltage, albeit at an extremely low current." 

Frequently chargers for your electric device -- whether it be a phone, tablet, or computer -- can be purchased at flea markets at a very cheap price. This is especially true for Apple devices. My recommendation is don't ever buy these imitation copies. They probably are cheaply-built and dangerous. Pay a bit more and buy these from Apple or a reputable dealer.

Jim Hamm  

Acronis True Image 2017

Newegg has the Acronis True Image 2017 backup program on sale for $9.99 after a $30 mail-in rebate. See here. It is for one device, and works for a Mac, PC, or iOS device. 

I've used Acronis to backup my PC for a long time, and it seems to work well (in theory, anyway), because, thankfully, I've never had to use it to recover from a failed disk. I've not used Acronis on a Mac, but I'm sure it would work just fine, as Acronis has a good reputation.

Just FYI, be aware that probably next month Acronis will come out with their 2018 edition. This won't negate the effectiveness of the 2017 version. Whether you use Acronis or another backup program, I highly recommend that you do a clone or image of your hard drive just in case you might have a hard drive failure.

Is this likely? No. Is a fire on your house likely? No, but you carry insurance just in case, don't you? That's why I'm a big believer in a full, bootable backup for my hard drive. If your hard drive failed, could you easily live with this, or would this cause you considerable anguish.

Jim Hamm

Print at the Prescott Library

If you are at the Prescott Public Library and would like to print something using your computer, here are some instructions you can use.

Jim Hamm

With our new MobilePrint Service™, you can print from your personal computer or mobile device to the library's printer from home, office or anywhere you happen to be. Simply choose one of the three options below and come to the library to pick up your document at the main level public printer. For more information, contact the Ask a Librarian Desk at 928.777.1526

Option 1: Send your print jobs through this link.

Option 2: Install and use the PrinterOn app.
iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/printeron/id406584999?mt=8
Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.printeron.droid.phone

Option 3: Email your print jobs directly to the library's printer: 
For black and white printing, send to this email address: 
prescott-public-library-midlevel-bw@printspots.com/
For color printing, send to this email address: 
prescott-public-library-midlevel-bw@printspots.com/

How much does printing cost at Prescott Public Library?
Black and white—10¢ per page
Color printing—50¢ per page
Print jobs that are $1 or more can be paid for with a debit or credit card at the library. 

Windscribe VPN Review: The Cold Hard Facts You Need to Read

Again, I'll mention briefly that if you're connecting to a public wifi network you might consider using a VPN just to be on the safe side. There's no major downside to doing this, and it may protect you from a 'sniffer' or 'hacker'. Now, I'm not paranoid about this -- just cautious. I use public wifi a lot in RV parks, for example.

One that I've downloaded and installed, and am using right now, is Windscribe VPN. Here is a review: https://securitygladiators.com/windscribe-vpn-review/ Now, I don't need a VPN on my home network, but am using Windscribe just to try it out. So far so good.

The free version gives one 10 GB of data/month, which is plenty for occasional use. Not only will it work on a PC or Mac, it will work on an iOS and Android device. And it is available as an extension for the Chrome Browser, which I installed as well. Installation of both the program and extension is dead simple. 

And so far it is working great. Another aspect I like about Windscribe is it is based in Canada, and not another foreign country, many of which I don't trust. Here is their website: https://windscribe.com/

This morning, when I opened my computer, I noticed that it didn't connect to the internet right away, as it usually does. I looked at Windscribe, and it blocks access to the internet until I open the program. This is for my protection. It can be set to open every time I open my computer, which I haven't done yet.

To sweeten the pot even further, for a limited time one can buy the full, unlimited-data version, for only $50. See here. In theory, this is for 'lifetime' -- is that yours or theirs, one might ask? Of course there's a risk this VPN -- or any other, for that matter -- might close shop in the near future. But, all one is risking is fifty bucks, not the end of the world, if you purchase the full version.

If you have an interest, I'd suggest giving the free version a spin, then decide from there if you like it or not.

As with using any VPN it will slow your download connection some, but I haven't found it onerous.

Jim Hamm

Back Up Your Mac

If you have a Mac you probably use Time Machine, which is great to recover a lost file or so. But what if your storage drive (HDD or SSD) failed, which is rare, but can happen. Could you then recover everything you've lost? You could if you've done a clone of your drive to an external drive. 

This is a simple process, and external drives are quite reasonable in cost nowadays. There are many programs available to clone your Mac, and here is an article comparing the different options. I've used Super Duper for years, and thankfully have never had to test it. If, say, the drive in my Mac should fail, I would replace it (an SSD), then plug my external drive in and reload everything I had previously on the drive -- OS and everything! I'm up and running again.

You hear the terms clone and image when referring to backups. What's the difference, you might ask? Well, you probably don't even care, but if curiosity prevails, read on.  Here is an article that describes the difference in the two processes. 

The important thing in all this is to have a bootable clone of your hard drive. If catastrophy should strike, you can quickly recover.

Jim Hamm 

Quartz: The New iPad Pro

If you think the new iPad Pro might be in your future, then read this article. My wife and I plan to buy one for each of us this fall, but we don't expect it to replace our Macs. We'll accept it for what it is, and what it isn't  -- it isn't a replacement for a Mac. We will be happy having a nice, new iPad to take with us as we travel, and appreciate the strengths it does have, and not commisurate over it not being a full-fledged computer.

Jim Hamm

 

The new iPad Pro is pretty great—if you accept it for what it is
Quartz

I’m trying to write this review of the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro using only the iPad itself and Amtrak wifi. It’s a struggle, to say… Read the full story

Avira Phantom VPN

Lets say you're traveling, whether it is in a car or RV domestically, or perhaps going overseas, you're probably going to want to use a public wifi system occasionally. That's the time when you may want to protect your computer or tablet from a hacker 'sniffing' (breaking into) your wifi access. That's where a VPN (virtual private network) can be of help.

There are many VPNs available, either for free or monthly rental, and many articles giving reviews of the VPNs. You can search for these yourself, so I'm just going to mention two free ones you might consider when you want a bit more privacy.

One that I plan to try is the Avira Phantom VPN. A review of this VPN is here. And you can download it here. Some important considerations for me are where is the company located and does it own its own servers? A bit about Avira can be read here. I like everything I've read on their website. And, I'm using Avira's anti-virus program on my PC right now.  It has -- in theory, anyway -- been doing a good job of protecting me from viruses.

Now, I don't plan to use the paid version of the Avir VPN, only the free version, which gives me 1GB of data per month. That is plenty for the occasional times when I want a secure connection.

The other option I'll use is the Opera browser, which has a free VPN feature contained in the browser. Review here. There is no monthly data cap, and I've been using it occasionally. So far it's worked fine. In fact, I'm on the Opera browser now, ownload the Opera browser here.

So, if you're traveling and would like a bit of protection while you're browsing the Internet, the above gives you a couple of free options to consider.

Jim Hamm

Email Trackers

Of course there have been many articles written about robocalls and how they are becoming a pain. These primarily are from marketers wanting to sell you something. Well, here is an article about a somewhat similar situation of what marketers are up to in emails: embedding trackers in their email so they'll know when you open one from them. 

Here's how it might work: say I've ordered wine from a winery in the past, and they send me an email with a pricing incentive to order more wine. I open the email and read their offer. Suddenly my phone rings. I answer and I hear a nice voice saying, "This is the ABC Winery, and how do you like our new pricing offer?" What? How did they know I just opened their email? By an email tracker. The article explains more about how this works.

Now, so far I've not been bothered by an email tracker -- and you probably haven't been either --  but this is just something for all of us to be aware of. I use Gmail, and perhaps Google is doing some screening of emails to prevent trackers. Maybe/maybe not.

Jim Hamm 

HEVC and HEIF

When Apple releases iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra later this year, they will include two new image capture programs (HEVC & HEIF), as explained in this article (http://tidbits.com/e/17310#). Now, for the non-technical readers, or for those that don't care about such things, your eyes may glaze over a bit as you read the article. I can understand this, but these two new codecs are going to be quite helpful for you.

The article mentions that video streaming (think Netflix) comprises 70% of evening internet downloading, and is soon expected to reach 80%. Do you care? You bet! We just received a message from Cox Cable that our internet access will soon be limited to a download of one TB/month. Exceed that and we pay more money. I bet other internet providers will follow suit.

If these two codecs are used, you can store roughly twice as many pictures for the same quality and space as is presently the case. Think how your iPhone and iPad will appreciate that. Or get better video streaming at half the bandwidth usage. A big win for all of us. 

Questions remain: will this be available for PCs as well as Macs? Don't know yet. Will your existing stash of pictures and videos be automatically converted to the new format? Don't know yet. Stay tuned -- there will be more info coming down the pike.

Jim Hamm

Firefox Browser

If you haven't seen it, here is an article questioning whether Firefox has a future?

Just look at how Chrome has taken over as a favored browser. Safari continues to muddle along at about 5% market share, and Microsoft's new Edge browser hasn't even made a blip on the screen yet.

I'm not sure why Chrome has taken over, and the article mentions all browsers nowadays do pretty much the same thing, with some slight differences. I use Chrome, and started a few years ago because at that time it was the only browser that sandboxed Flash, which I had to use when listening to music while on my computer. Once started, apparently I'm a creature of habit and continue to use Chrome. 

On my iPad and iPhone I use Safari, and find it is as good as Chrome, for all intents and purposes. But on my Macs and PCs I continue to use Chrome.

Jim Hamm

Google Maps

Here is a tip on using Google Maps (GM) that might be useful for you, if you're not already aware of this. If, say, you get a map routing from your house to city "A" using your house computer and GM, there is an option to save this routing to your iPhone or iPad. You can even send an email or text to yourself. On the routing click the line that says "send directions to your phone". This will open up a dialog box wherein you can select how you want to receive this routing.

For example, you can plan a trip across the country using GM by going from location "A" to "B", sending it to yourself, then routing from "B" to "C", sending it to yourself, and so on.

Google Maps apparently retains a history of your searches and routings, and you are able to send them to your devices or email or text them to yourself. It seems Google remembers everything you do on the internet, so keep that in mind as you browse around.

Jim Hamm