New Horizons

I've just been accepted as a contributor to the Mac review site MacApper. As new posts are published there, I will link to them here. I will also continue to drop my own tiny Mac nuggets, and of course any news that pertains to MacBuddy.

Safe Computing

Macs are relatively safe from malicious software, but they are not immune. Just like senders of spam, the people who write viruses, worms, trojans and the like are counting on the user to be either trustful or ignorant. The good news is that a few precautions are all that's needed to keep yourself safe.

1) Vigilance. If an application wants to run an update, and especially if it requires your password to do so, make certain you know where the update is coming from. Never update any Apple software through any channel other than the Software Update utility, or from Apple's website.

2) File Sharing. I love something for nothing, but the cost/benefit ratio of downloading software from the internet using BitTorrent or LimeWire falls well on the other side of "not worth it." Clever pranksters can hide malicious code in an application written for OS X very easily, and you'll never know it's there. It may not even present itself when you launch the infected program, but lay dormant or affect a different area of your system. Seriously, don't share files.

3) Surfing. Not as mich of an issue for we Macs, but some web sites try to install programs on your computer. Firefox and Safari will warn you if it thinks a website is problematic.

4) Email. Never open an email attachment from someone you don't know. Ever. Never follow a link from the email of someone you don't know. Ever.

A healthy does of suspicion and common sense will keep your Mac malware free for years.

Spotlight Quick Tip

Spotlight can be a great time saver if you know exactly what you're looking for. For example, if you want to open an application that is not in the Dock, rather than navigating to the Apps folder, open Spotlight and start typing (the default is command-spacebar but you can change this in System Preferences). The application will appear usually after a few letters, hit return and the the App launches.

iPad first thoughts

So, it appears to be an ebook on steroids. Not really a computer, and definitely more than an iPod. My initial reaction: not bad.

I was hoping it would have a more robust operating system than the iPod and iPhone, but it appears to be running the same style OS. So, no multi tasking. But that does mean all the apps that currently available for the iPhone platform run here.

I think the killer app market is the college market. If I were a college student I would be praying for textbook publishers to get my books in the iBook format ASAP. Imagine carrying around a 1.6 lb device you can also use to take notes and email assignments. My spine is still maladjusted from higher education. I can also envision a future where textbooks will include video, Flash (but not until Apple supports it on the iPad/iPhone platform), and music.

The other day I was looking forward to an end of wild speculation over the iPad. That was a bit premature. In the absence of the physical experience, the blogosphere will be alight with continued, albeit slightly better informed, speculation. Until they are available in stores to fondle and monkey with, there really isn't a good sense of the "magic" Apple is claiming this device possesses. If the experience of actually holding the thing compares to what it was like holding an iPhone for the first time, I imagine there will be a magic moment.

Clean Slate

Everyone and their dog is talking about the Mac slate computer that does not yet exist. The best analysis I have yet heard belongs to NPR's program "Marketplace," which described tablet PCs by describing a prop from Star Trek: The Next Generation – the PADD.

I am quite skeptical of all the "information" as to what Apple's new tablet computer will be. The iPhone rumors didn't do justice to the game changing nature of the iPhone, so perhaps the Mac focused media is trying too hard to establish the new device's potential. Only two days remain until the announcement. Frankly, I can't wait. Not because I'm excited about the iPad/iTablet/iSlate/iCarumba, but because I'm excited for the speculation to stop.

Drag and Drop Plus

Every window in Mac OS X has a title bar at the top, showing the name of what you are viewing. When you are viewing a window in the Finder, it displays title of the folder you are in and an icon next to it. You can move that icon by clicking and dragging it anywhere you wish, and it will relocate the folder.

The folder icon in the title bar can be dragged anywhere to move the entire folder

I have never found much use for this feature in the Finder. What is useful about this feature is that it doesn't apply only to the Finder. You can drag the Title bar icon in any application that supports the feature into any other application. For example, to place the example picture above into this post, I took a screenshot and edited it in the Preview application. Then, when I wanted to add the picture I dragged the Title bar icon into the dialog box asking me to select the file for upload. That looked something like this:

A window in a window: this shows a window in the application Preview, and dragging the title bar icon. 

It's useful anytime you want to move files between applications. The two caveats are that the file you want to move must be saved, and  sometimes when you drag this icon what will appear is the path to the file, not the contents of the file itself. SimpleText, for example, would show the path of my screenshot1 file, but Word would import the picture itself.

It is a feature worth playing with. It may save you a couple of steps, especially if you are editing different related files in different applications.

Go Phish!

I have been getting a rash of Phishing emails the last couple of days. Phishing is when a spammer sends an email that looks like its from a legitimate company, say Bank of America or Western Union. "Something terrible is going on with your account! Click here to fix it." The idea is that one of the random thousands – or millions – who get the email will actually click on the link. The page they are sent to looks official and asks for identifying information, which the person will likely enter, and suddenly that person's identity belongs to the internet.

I have received five emails and counting. They are all appear to be from a mail account like notifications@ or operator@ or security@ christopherguilmet.com, informing me that . . . well, let them tell you:

Dear user of the christopherguilmet.com mailing service!

We are informing you that because of the security upgrade of the mailing service your mailbox (christopher@christopherguilmet.com) settings were changed. In order to apply the new set of settings click on the following link: *link removed*


Best regards, christopherguilmet.com Technical Support.

Message ID#824ZRS796VGH3DDL573563HT3M93

What are some of the subtle clues that lead me to believe this is phishing? well, for starters, 1) technical support at christopherguilmet.com is ME. 2) There's also the awkward grammar. 3) They do not call me by name but say "user of the chris...guilmet.com mailing service." The exclamation point makes it seem so friendly! 4) The link they ask me to follow was different from what appeared. 5) They posted a long, technical looking link, but in fact the link goes somewhere just different enough that someone might not notice (I know this because I option-clicked the link, selected "Copy Link" from the menu that appeared, and pasted it into a text document to look at it. You could also hover over it if you are using Mac Mail, and the actual link will appear after a few seconds).

Phishing emails are very common. This particular one is probably automated. They almost certainly don't know that the website they're phishing is not a service provider, and has a client base of exactly one. But it does illustrate how canny, and dangerous, phishing is.

To protect yourself from being phished, NEVER follow the link in an email claiming to be from your bank, service provider, or anyone else, unless you are expecting it. NEVER reply to the email, or click on an unsubscribe link. When you do, you are letting the spammer know that it is a valid address with a human being on the other end (and really, they are not going to unsubscribe you from anything).

Look at the email: if your name or your user name does not appear in the email it is probably spam. When in doubt, contact the customer service department of the institution and find out if it is from them. Most large corporations, especially ones that deal with your sensitive information, have a fraud department. Forward the email to them.

Always view your email with a tiny bit of suspicion. That's the best way to stay protected, and to keep your valuable personal information out of the hands of spammers.

MacBuddy up and running

MacBuddy is officially up and running today, with the first wave of email announcements. Thanks to all of you who have stopped by. Leave a comment or two if you like or, better yet, become a fan on my Facebook page.

Much thanks!

Quick Look Bonus

Quick Look technology was introduced with Mac OS X Leopard. Quick Look lets you view a preview of a file without the application that created it. It's very handy when you're looking for something and you don't know exactly what or where it is.

Now let's say you're in Word, and you want to open a document you haven't worked on in a while, and you can't quite remember what it's called (this happens to me with frightening regularity!). As of Snow Leopard Quick Look works from the Open Document dialog of any application. So you can hit Command ()-O, and in the dialog that appears, highlight any document and hit the space bar. A Quick Look window will appear, giving you a preview of the document without having to fully open it. It's a great time saver!

Happy New Year

I love that the first day of this year looks like code: 01/01/10 or 010110, or 22 if you're converting from binary. Happy Nerd Year!