Looking for Apple Manuals? Check the New Documentation Site

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Apple Watch, Hardware, Macintosh
Small white sign that says "FOLLOW THESE STEPS." Follow these is black. Steps is red and larger. Sign is being held by a man's hands. In the background is a blurry image of the mouth, chin, and upper chest of a man dressed in a suit.

Apple publishes a multitude of manuals and tons of technical documentation for its products on its support site, but until recently, it could be challenging to find something specific because the search engine on Apple’s site is poor. For a better path into Apple’s online support materials, check out the company’s new Documentation site, which brings together manuals, specs, and some downloads for nearly all its products. The operating system User Guides are particularly helpful, and they even provide a Version pop-up menu that lets you make sure you’re getting information for the version you’re using. Read More from “Looking for Apple Manuals? Check the New Documentation Site”

How to Sync Your Text Messages across All Your Apple Devices

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
Side view of a man's torso and forearms. Man is holding and using an iPhone over an open laptop on a counter facing a bright wall of windows.

Although many of us think of Messages as an iPhone app, Apple’s platform integration lets you read and reply to conversations in Messages on other Apple devices, including the Mac and iPad. All your devices must have the correct settings to make this work reliably. We regularly hear from users who don’t see all their messages on all their devices. If that’s you, check these settings Read More from “How to Sync Your Text Messages across All Your Apple Devices”

Six Reasons Why You Should Restart Your Mac Periodically

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh, Security/Privacy
Mac laptop open with a swirly rainbow background. Alert on screen says "Are you sure you want to restart your computer now? If you do nothing, the computer will restart automatically in 52 seconds." There is an unchecked checkbox to "reopen windows after logging back in." There is a blue Restart button and a white Cancel button. Laptop is on a woodgrain desktop against a brick wall. White Apple mouse to the left of the laptop on the desk.

Long ago, before macOS was as stable as it is today, Mac users restarted their Macs regularly. Back then, Macs couldn’t sleep, either, so it was common for users to shut down at the end of the day and start up the next morning, effectively restarting daily.

With modern Macs using the barest trickle of power in sleep and both apps and macOS almost never crashing, many Mac users have gone to the opposite extreme, letting their Macs run for months between restarts. However, such an approach brings with it new problems, and as with so many things, there’s a happy medium. Read More from “Six Reasons Why You Should Restart Your Mac Periodically”

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: What They Are and Why You Need Them

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Email, Security/Privacy
Blurred image of a city at night. In the foreground, drawings of the back of envelopes, one main one white, the others are white outlines of the envelopes with the background of the image showing through. On each envelope is the text ✔️SPF ✔️DKIM ✔️DMARC

The ease of sending and receiving email makes it an attractive way to run scams like phishing attacks. One telltale mark of a phishing attack is the sender’s address not matching their purported domain; attacks that appear to come from legitimate email addresses are much more likely to fool the victim.

You can protect your organization’s email accounts from being compromised and used in phishing attacks by training your users to identify forged emails and use password managers Read More from “SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: What They Are and Why You Need Them”

Take Advantage of the Reference Library in Your Mac

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
Side view of an open laptop with a book open over top of it. Stacked books to each side and blurred library shelves in the background.

You may be used to Mac apps using red underlines to mark misspelled words, but did you know that macOS has also long included a fully featured Dictionary app? It provides quick access to definitions and synonyms in the New Oxford American Dictionary and the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, along with definitions of Apple-specific words like AirDrop and Apple ProRes RAW. But that’s far from all it can do. Read More from “Take Advantage of the Reference Library in Your Mac”

Loose Lips Sink Chips: Beware What You Say to AI Chatbots

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
all blue image, digitally created. side profile of a face coming out of the screen of a laptop.

Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing/CoPilot, and Google’s Gemini are the vanguard of a significant advance in computing. Among much else, they can be compelling tools for finding just the right word, drafting simple legal documents, starting awkward emails, and coding in unfamiliar languages. Much has been written about how AI chatbots “hallucinate,” making up plausible details that are completely wrong. That’s a real concern, but worries about privacy and confidentiality have gotten less attention. Read More from “Loose Lips Sink Chips: Beware What You Say to AI Chatbots”

Use 1Password to Enter Your Mac Login Password

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh, Passwords
blurred image of a hand using a laptop trackpad in the background. in the foreground, an icon for 1Password that looks like a lock waiting for a key and a dialog box asking for the computer's password.

We think of 1Password as being helpful for entering passwords on websites and in iPhone and iPad apps. But its Universal Autofill feature has a hidden capability that lets 1Password enter your Mac login password when you have to provide it to change certain system settings, install apps, format drives in Disk Utility, and more. Read More from “Use 1Password to Enter Your Mac Login Password”

Send Photos in Messages Faster with This Hidden Shortcut

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Photo
person holding a phone in their hands. torso of person is shown but blurred.

On the iPhone and iPad, to send a photo to a Messages chat, tap the ⊕ button and then tap Photos in the list that appears to reveal the photo picker. That’s not difficult, but it requires an extra step you can avoid with this tip. If you’re running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, instead of tapping the ⊕ button, touch and hold it for a second to bring up the photo picker immediately. Read More from “Send Photos in Messages Faster with This Hidden Shortcut”

Changing Passwords Periodically Doesn’t Increase Security

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Passwords, Security/Privacy
printed calendar page laying over a keyboard with the words "time to change password" written on it in red. eye roll emoji in the top left corner of the image.

Does your organization or some financial website require you to create a new password periodically? This practice was recommended long ago, but some organizations haven’t kept up with current recommendations that discourage such policies. If you’re bound by a password expiration policy, you can use this article to encourage your IT department or financial institution to update its approach to password security. Read More from “Changing Passwords Periodically Doesn’t Increase Security”

For the Best Mac Webcam, Use Your iPhone

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
desk with a computer monitor on it. monitor has an iPhone attached to the top. on screen is a woman smiling with her palms facing up on each side of her

The near-ubiquity of videoconferencing is a lasting effect of the pandemic. The ease of gathering a group virtually usually more than makes up for the downsides. Despite that, many people still appear in video calls with low-resolution, poorly lit video that makes the call less effective.

A better webcam is an easy way to improve your video, and the best readily available webcam may already be in your pocket. Read More from “For the Best Mac Webcam, Use Your iPhone”

How to Avoid Head-Tracked Spatial Audio for FaceTime Audio Calls

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
a man with short dark hair wearing a long-sleeved red shirt has his hands up to his ears as if to amplify the sound. blue angular sound waves are superimposed over the image

If you listen to a FaceTime Audio call using AirPods and hear the other person’s voice moving annoyingly from side to side as you turn your head, the problem is likely head-tracked spatial audio. In general, spatial audio attempts to make sounds seem to come from all around you, and its dynamic head-tracking option adjusts the audio for each ear to simulate how the sound would change as your head moves. Read More from “How to Avoid Head-Tracked Spatial Audio for FaceTime Audio Calls”

Annoyed by Inline Predictive Text Suggestions? Here’s How to Turn Them Off

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Macintosh
Apple MacBook Pro computer on desk with window of large text that reads "You can turn off inline predictive text if you tire of it completing what you type. the phrase "at you type" is light gray, suggesting that is the text that will autofill if you hit the space bar

In a slight nod to the hype surrounding generative AI, Apple added inline text prediction capabilities to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. They can be helpful, particularly on the iPhone and iPad, where it’s often much easier to tap the Space bar than to finish typing a word or sentence. But that’s less true on the Mac, where a fast typist can be slowed down or derailed by the suggestions, and some people dislike having an AI finish their thoughts. The feature is easily turned off. Read More from “Annoyed by Inline Predictive Text Suggestions? Here’s How to Turn Them Off”

Use iOS 17.3’s Stolen Device Protection to Reduce Harm from iPhone Passcode Thefts

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Security/Privacy
two women talking blurred in the background. in the foreground, a disembodied hand picking up a cell phone as if to steal it.

Last year, a series of articles by Wall Street Journal reporters Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen highlighted a troubling form of crime targeting iPhone users. A thief would discover the victim’s iPhone passcode, swipe the iPhone, and run. With just the passcode, the thief could quickly change the victim’s Apple ID password, lock them out of their iCloud account, and use apps and data on the iPhone to steal money, buy things, and wreak digital havoc.

In essence, Apple allowed the passcode, which could be determined by shoulder surfing, surreptitious filming, or social engineering, to be too powerful, and criminals took advantage of the vulnerability. It’s best to use Face ID or Touch ID, especially in public, but some people continue to rely solely on the passcode. Read More from “Use iOS 17.3’s Stolen Device Protection to Reduce Harm from iPhone Passcode Thefts”

You Can Now Have Zoom Meetings on an Apple TV

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics
a conference room of people around a desk looking at the tv screen with another meeting participant on screen

When Apple introduced tvOS 17 last September, an eagerly awaited feature was its support for FaceTime calls, using Continuity Camera on an iPhone or iPad to equip an Apple TV with the necessary camera and microphone. FaceTime on the Apple TV requires a second-generation Apple TV 4K or later and an iPhone running iOS 17 or an iPad running iPadOS 17. Read More from “You Can Now Have Zoom Meetings on an Apple TV”

Help! My Account Has Been Hacked—What Should I Do?

Posted on by Tim Hannon in Passwords, Security/Privacy
hands typing on a keyboard with a red alert symbol superimposed on top

How would you realize that one or more of your Internet accounts—email, social media, financial—have been hacked? (Some prefer the terms “compromised” or “breached”—you may hear them from support techs.) Unfortunately, there’s no telltale warning sign because “hacked” could mean any number of things. Read More from “Help! My Account Has Been Hacked—What Should I Do?”