TechKnowledge

TechKnowledge

The scam of a thousand phone calls

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Another season… another new scam. The latest thing going around this season is a series of persistent phone calls. The messages make you aware of a compromise to your iCloud account. But it’s not one call, it’s a TON of calls, and the calls may continue to come in for several days. The persistency of the calls may make you wonder, ‘Is this legitimate?’
 
The answer is ‘No.’ If it were true that your iCloud account had been compromised, Apple would never call to inform you. Apple has way too many customers to keep tabs on every single account. They might send you an email, but even then, it would be months after the compromise had occurred. These things are rarely discovered and reported right away. What lets you know it’s a scam is the sense of urgency and persistence. Scammers love to press your panic button, because they hope panic will bring you to swift action. The faster you move, the less likely you are to calm down and realize the scam before it’s too late. That’s why scam messages always include a sense of great urgency… a telltale red flag! The calls should subside sooner or later, so be patient, ignore the calls, delete the voicemails, and live your life.
 
Now that we know about this scam, let’s talk about the role that you play in protecting your iCloud account. There’s an easy way to find out if your iCloud account (actually called ‘Apple ID’) is protected. This involves enabling a feature called two-factor authentication, or ‘2FA’. 2FA is triggered when you sign in to your Apple account, either on the Web, or when setting up a new Apple device. 2FA prompts you to enter a 6-digit code in addition to your password. You might receive this code on your phone as a text message, or you might receive it on another Apple device you use as a system pop-up message.
Your password is your first method of authenticating yourself. The 6-digit code is your second factor of authentication. Those codes are one-time use, so no need to save them. I expect many people are familiar with 2FA codes, because anytime you sign in online to your bank or investment account website, you are undoubtedly sent a 2FA code to your phone to authenticate that the person signing in really is you.
 
2FA adds an extra step for you, but makes it much harder for cyber-criminals to access your account. A criminal might be able to get your password, but it’s not likely they’ll also have access to your phone. If you’ve got 2FA enabled, then you can rest easy and laugh it off when those scam calls come in and make you think your iCloud account has been compromised.
 
So, how do I enable 2FA? I’m so glad you asked. On your iPhone, open the Settings app, tap [Your Name] at the top, and then tap Password & Security. This screen will tell you if you have 2FA turned On or Off. If it is Off, tap Turn On Two-Factor Authentication, and follow any prompts. That’s it… your Apple account, which includes iCloud, is now protected.
 
I hear people say that they dislike having to deal with this extra step. I also hear people say that they don’t use the cloud or have anything in the cloud worth protecting. I would bet that most people have more in the cloud than they realize. Consider this – Do you sync your Notes between devices? Do you keep your passwords in your Notes app? Do you see where I’m going with this…? It’s the cloud that syncs your notes between devices. Please don’t keep your passwords in your Notes app, but if you insist, then at least make sure 2FA is enabled!
 
To those worried about the extra steps that 2FA presents… You do have the choice to leave 2FA turned Off, however once 2FA is turned On, it cannot be turned back Off. For those a little annoyed by 2FA, I will say that you won’t be bothered with it for every sign in. For example, 2FA is not triggered every time you make an iTunes purchase or download an app. You’ll only see it when you setup a new Apple device, or you access your Apple account from the Web. It’s a really good idea to enable 2FA, and I highly recommend it. It should also give everyone peace of mind that your Apple account is protected, especially when the scammers start calling.
 
It’s a jungle out there. Stay safe. :O)

Email Blackmail Scam

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So here’s the scam… Out of nowhere, you receive an email from someone you don’t know, and in their message they claim to know that you’ve been looking at porn online. They know this, they say, because they activated your web cam, they installed key-logging software on your device, and they’ve been monitoring all your online activity. They say that they are going to expose this activity on your social media accounts, thereby destroying your reputation and character. That’s not even the worse part… they seem to know one of your commonly used passwords. Right there at the top of the email message is your name and password, and then they describe your shameful behavior, before telling you that they will keep their mouth closed, if you’ll send hush money in Bitcoin to such and such address.

Have you seen this scam yet? If not…, you very well may soon, so you should know how to respond.

This blackmail scam is totally bogus, don’t fall for it! What gives this scam a ring of credibility is that they know your password… but which password is it, and how did they get it!? You may not know which account used that password, unless you tend to use the same password on many sites. Passwords are actually not that difficult for criminals to acquire. Yes, you should make your passwords unique and difficult to guess, but if your password is part of a password dump, then the complexity of your password doesn’t matter.

What is a ‘password dump?’ A password dump is when a hacker is able to get into the servers of a company where you have an online account, and the usernames and passwords stored on that server are acquired. Those usernames and passwords are then bought, sold, and exposed on the dark web for other hackers and criminals to use. A password dump is totally out of your control. We trust the companies that we do business with to keep this information safe and secure, but clearly, it doesn’t always work.

This is where this blackmail scam emerges. A criminal gets ahold of your name, email address, and your password (for whichever account was compromised). The criminal then sends you an email, stating your name, and listing the one password he or she knows, hoping that displaying this information combined with some nasty threats about ruining your character that this will be enough to frighten you into swift action. By the way, any email that puts a short timer on your response is always a HUGE red flag! They don’t want you to have enough time to calm down and figure out the scam, they want the initial panic to carry you through the action of sending the money.

So, what do I do if I get one of these email messages? Stay calm. Delete the message and live your life. Look through your little black book of passwords to see which online accounts use the password exposed in the email. Visit those sites and reset your password for that account to something different. You can initiate that process on most sites by clicking Sign In, but then instead of signing in, click Forgot Password, and that will walk you through the process. Don’t forget to write down your new password in your little black book. Do that for each site that used that exposed password.

That’s it. Stay calm, and carry on!  :O)

A new twist on an old scam

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Remember that age old scam where you inadvertently click something on a webpage and everything freezes… Then a phone number appears offering help and when you call, an Eastern accented voice convinces you to let them remote control your computer… and then he or she convinces you that you’ve got viruses and they can get rid of them for a low price of only $600…? I’m sure you’ve seen, or at least heard of this one. People still fall for it, but now that the public is getting more informed on this scam, it’s evolving. The next iteration involved these scammers cold calling you on the phone to let you know that you’ve got viruses on your computer. It seems crazy, but people fall for this one, too. By the way, if you get a call like this you should just hang up… there’s no way they can know if you have viruses on your computer.

Here’s the latest iteration of this same scam: You decide you need to call a company for some help and you’d like to ask some questions; maybe about your tax return, maybe about your Garmin device, maybe about your phone or internet plan, etc. So you open your computer and go to Google, and do a search for something like ‘Spectrum customer service number.’ Conveniently, a phone number appears, and you give a call. A pleasant voice answers the phone and seems happy to help. All of a sudden they change the subject from your questions to a more dire need…, all the viruses on your computer. Wait… what!? How did that happen!?

Somehow… these scammers have figured out a way to manipulate Google’s search results so that their fraudulent phone numbers appear at the top of the search results. Once you call that number, the same old scam begins again.

How do I avoid this?

The bottom line here is that you just cannot Google search customer service phone numbers. Ever. If you need a customer service phone number, what you can do is:

1 – Find a paper bill in your stack of mail that has a customer service phone number printed on it. If calling about a product you ordered, look for a phone number in the literature it came with, or look for a phone number printed on the box. Use those numbers to place your call.

2 – Visit the website of the company you’re trying to reach. This means typing the website address directly into the address bar of your browser… most of the time you can guess the site will be something like: companyname.com.

3 – Google search the company’s name to see if you can link directly to the company website. It’s still possible to reach a fraudulent site this way, but it’s less likely than Google searching a customer service number. Fraudulent sites often have pages that are missing or incomplete. Even though you might see links like; Products, About Us, Contact, etc., those links may not go anywhere because they are just pretense. Clicking around a bit and seeing multiple pages load correctly will make sure the site is fully fleshed out, a sign that a real company is likely behind the site.

Note how the latter two options both involve landing at the company’s website. Once you’re there, look for a link that says ‘Contact Us,’ or something similar in order to find a customer service number that originates from the company website, and not a Google search.

Once you’ve found a legitimate website, be sure to bookmark it so you don’t have to go through all that again. Next time you need to find the company website, you’ll have a bookmark that is known and trusted that you can use instead of Google searching. In similar fashion, once you’ve been on the phone with a company and you sense the number you called is the real deal, save it in your phone’s Contacts. That way you won’t have to scramble through paperwork to find a legitimate number next time. You might not think there will be a next time, but…, there probably will be a next time. So set yourself up for success!

What if I still somehow end up on the phone with a scammer?

Just hang up. Don’t give ’em a piece of your mind, and don’t give ’em your credit card number. Just hang up! Unfortunately, now that they have your number, they’ll be calling you over and over in the hopes that they can salvage the scam. They might even offer you a refund to keep you on the phone. Either don’t answer, or block their number, and sooner or later, they’ll leave you alone. If you did give out your credit card number, be sure to call your bank or credit card company and contest the charges.

It’s a jungle out there… be careful!

What to expect when updating to MacOS 10.15 Catalina

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I recently updated two Mac computers to MacOS 10.15 Catalina, and the transition has been good. There are some things I think you’ll want to know about the transition, and so this blog entry is a brief description of what to expect when it comes to the changes and new features in this system software update.

  1. How to Update – Apple changed the process for initiating the update in the last system software; Mojave. So, if you’re using something older than Mojave, you’ll go to the App Store > Updates section to initiate this update. If you’re using Mojave currently, you’ll open the System Preferences, and click Software Update to initiate the update. This is the new method, because it’s more consistent with the steps to run updates on the iPhone/iPad.
  2. Dark Mode – Once Catalina has been downloaded and installed, a brief setup process will make you aware of a couple new features by way of a few questions before your Mac boots up the startup screen. The first one relates to a new display mode called Dark Mode, which reverses the color scheme of your Mac from black text on white background to white text on black background. Dark Mode is much easier on the eyes if you like to work late at night. Dark Mode was actually introduced in Mojave, but now you’ll be presented with an option to have Dark Mode on Auto, which means that your Mac will turn On Dark Mode in the evening automatically.
  3. Screen Time – The other feature that’s new is something that first arrived on the iPhone last year; Screen Time. Screen Time is designed to report to you the amount of time that you spend on your screen so that you can at least be aware, and possible so that you can set limits for yourself, or others, or restrict certain apps or content on your device. Your Mac may also ask a few other questions during the startup process, depending on what version of the software you were using before updating to Catalina.
  4. iTunes – The BIG news with Catalina is the discontinuation of iTunes. Apple’s long-standing music app is now broken up into a few smaller apps; Music, Podcasts, TV. This is a good thing… iTunes had become a behemoth application, archiving medias of all types, and housing the digital storefronts for all those same media types. It was too much, and iTunes had become super clunky. As it already is on your iPhone, the Mac now reflects the same approach for different media types to have their own app.
  5. Relocated Items – Kind of a weird thing… once your Mac is updated to Catalina and you work your way through the setup screens, you’ll come to your Desktop and find a new folder there called Relocated Items. Catalina will locate some settings and preference files that are no longer compatible with the new system software. For whatever reason, Apple didn’t feel comfortable just deleting these files on your behalf, so they put them in a folder called Relocated Items. What should you do with them? You could tuck these files away for safe-keeping, but here’s my thought… The folder on your Desktop is actually a shortcut, it’s not the actual folder, that’s what the tiny arrow in the corner of the folder indicates. The real folder is located in your Shared folder, which is already tucked away out of sight. I would just delete the Relocated Items folder shortcut present on your Desktop, which won’t delete the actual Relocated Items folder that’s tucked away out of sight. If this year goes by and you never need those little preference files, we’ll delete them completely at that point.
  6. 32 bit apps – Apple is now (and has been) using 64 bit technology in Mac computers that allows the various apps available to your Mac to be more dynamic and powerful. Apple has been phasing out 32 bit apps for almost 10 years. What does this mean to you? Some apps that you might be using may not work after you update to Catalina. This could happen to old apps, apps developed by individuals (as opposed to big companies), niche apps, etc. What do I do if I discover an app that won’t work in Catalina? The first thing to do if you discover an app that won’t open is to visit the website for the company that developed the software. If you don’t know that information, try doing a Google search for the name of the app and see if you can get yourself to the website of the developer, where you might be able to download a new 64 bit version of the same application. You may need to contact the app developer and ask if they have a new version coming. It’s also possible that a software developer may have sent you an email a few months ago letting you know that a 64 bit version of their app is on the way. If that rings a bell for you, that’s the developers way of saying, “I’m working on a new version of my app, but I’m a little behind, so don’t update to Catalina quite yet.” I would take their advice and wait for further instruction from them. If all you’re doing on your Mac is surfing the Web, checking email, and working with Photos, you won’t have anything to worry about. If you are using some specialized apps, I recommend checking with the developer to see if updating to Catalina will create any problems. It’s not easy to downgrade, so please be cautious and attentive to this matter!

There are more changes and features in Catalina, but the 6 issues mentioned above are the most important to discuss. The Reminders app has been redesigned, the Photos app has a new layout for displaying photos, and there is more. But I’ll let you discover the rest!

Using dictation on the Mac

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Did you know that you can dictate email and text messages on your Mac just like you can on your iPhone/iPad? Perhaps you’ve seen a little microphone at the bottom of the keyboard on your iPhone/iPad, which you can use to dictate your messages. When using this, your device listens to you speak, and then converts your speech into typed words. It’s really convenient during those times you can’t easily press those little keys with your big fingers. 

Even though your Mac’s keyboard is bigger and more suited to typing, you can do the same thing on your Mac. You have to first turn On the dictation feature. Open your System Preferences (silver gears icon) –> Keyboard –> Dictation. Now click the On button. Note the Language (probably defaults to English but can be changed), and also note the Shortcut. The Shortcut is what will begin the dictation process. The Shortcut probably defaults to Press Fn (Function) Key twice (but can be changed as well).

Close out of the System Preferences, and create a new email message. Click in the body of where you would normally type your message. Find your Function key which is likely at the bottom left of your keyboard. Press the Function key twice (fairly quickly), and look for a microphone image to appear on the screen near where you’re ‘typing’, and then begin speaking. You’ll see your speech appear on the screen as typed text right before your eyes! Insert your punctuation by speaking it at the right moment. Say “comma,” or “period,” at the end of a sentence. You’ve got about 30 seconds to speak before your Mac automatically stops listening. Press the function key twice again, and continue your dictation. When you’re all finished, click the Done button below the microphone. Don’t forget to speak clearly, and turn any background music down low. 

Give it a try! You can use this trick anywhere on your Mac where you might otherwise type, including email and text messages, Subject lines, Search boxes, etc. Enjoy!

P.S. I typed most of this Blog post using dictation, although I had to go back and correct a few things, so expect at least a few errors along the way. 

My Google+ is going away!?

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I’ve gotten several emails from concerned customers in the last couple days regarding a mysterious email they’ve received from Google, saying that their Google+ account is going away. I’ve copied and pasted a portion of this message from Google. Take a look, and then see my comments below.

 

— — —

From: Google+ Team <noreply@plus.google.com>
Subject:Your personal Google+ account is going away on April 2, 2019

You’ve received this email because you have a consumer (personal) Google+ account or you manage a Google+ page.

In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content.

On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.

— — —

 

Friends, this is NOT a scam, and it requires no action for most people. Let’s first answer the question, “What is Google+ ?” It is Google’s answer to Facebook, a social media platform designed to connect Google users and provide a place to share photos, and communicate to large audiences. You may have never heard of it, and that’s because it never really took off. Facebook is a pretty big competitor, and Google+ was too late to the game, and couldn’t keep up.

 

“I don’t have a personal Google+ account,” you might say. Well, if you use Gmail for your email, then actually, yes, you do have a personal Google+ account. Your personal Google+ account is an online account that comes with many Google services, of which the primary is Gmail. Google’s other services are automatically a part of your personal account. Many people only use Google to search the Web, but if you use Gmail, then you also have a Google+ account. The language is a little confusing here, but think of your personal Google account as the umbrella, under which also resides your Gmail account, Google Photos account, Google+ account, etc. Access to all of those services comes bundled together with one Google account. Saying that you have a Gmail account is interchangeable with saying that you have a Google+ account. All these accounts tie into your personal Google account.

 

Getting back to the mysterious email now, due to the lack of people using the Google+ service (and a few data breaches), Google is shutting down the Google+ social media service. This means that Google+ is being removed as a service from your Google account. For those who never used the Google+ social media service, this means nothing for you. Your Gmail email service will continue to function as normal, and as mentioned in the email from Google, if you’re using the Google Photos service to store your photos in the cloud, that service will continue to operate as well.

 

For those who did or do use the Google+ service, this means that all message posts and photos will be removed and deleted unless you click the download link in the email you received.

 

Google+ will continue to function for Google business customers, as a part of the paid Gsuite services, but the consumer (personal) version of Google+ is done as of April 2nd, 2019. If you were never a Google+ user, then you can just delete that email from Google, and carry on as normal.

What is Spoofing?

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The New Year has brought us a new scam, and thankfully, it’s all over the news. I’ll keep this short because it is being reported widely, but I do want to add my own two cents. What’s happening is that spoofers are calling people pretending to be from Apple.

 

What is Spoofing? If you’ve ever heard of a movie spoof, it’s a movie that imitates characters from another movie, and the characters are imitated poorly for comedic effect. In the context of technology, spoofing is when communication is sent from an unknown source imitating a known source. But in this context, it’s not funny. It’s basically Phishing, only instead of a fraudulent email, it’s a fraudulent phone call.

 

Spoofers have figured out how to make it so your caller ID makes it look like you’re receiving a call from Apple. What compounds this, is that many people have a contact card saved in their Contacts for Apple (Apple put it there). When these spoofers call you, your iPhone matches the caller ID with the contact card on your iPhone and displays Apple’s info, making the call look authentic.

 

So what do they want? Oh, maybe they want you to know that credit card on file with the App Store is about to expire, or maybe they want to inform you that your Apple ID account is missing information and so they need to verify your password. I haven’t talked to them, but it really doesn’t matter what they want, the bottom line is this: Never ever give sensitive information to someone over the phone when they have called you! 

 

Think about it… why would Apple call you? Perhaps if you called them for help and you’ve asked that they call you back, or perhaps your Mac is at the Apple store being repaired. Even still, why would they need your Apple ID password, or your credit card information? They don’t need that information, and they’re not going to call you randomly to ask for it.

 

So what should you do? I already mentioned the most important thing to NOT do, but the next thing you should do is delete Apple’s contact card from your iPhone. I’ve never used it, and I bet most people have never used it either. This may not be enough though, the spoof call will still display Apple’s number, even if your Apple contact card is not there to authenticate it. A few other things you can do; don’t answer the phone if it seems suspicious, or, if you do speak to someone and it sounds legitimate, politely hang up the phone anyway, and call back using a number you know and trust.

 

Be safe, be smart, and spread the word!

Don’t close this window, you have a virus! (…not really)

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The latest scam going around is fooling many people, and this article and attached tutorials are designed to help you identify the scam and avoid being taken for hundreds of dollars. Here’s how this scam typically happens…

 

You’re surfing the web when all of sudden, a message pops up that says “Don’t close this window, you have a virus! Call the phone number listed below for immediate assistance.” So you panic. You then try to close the message, but the cursor is frozen and the window won’t close. You can’t quit your browser, and so you panic some more. Even though it doesn’t sound like a good idea, you decide to call the number, where a man or woman with a friendly eastern accent answers (not always true). You are quickly guided through installing software that allows the tech support agent to remotely control your computer. They guide you to some folders on your hard drive that you’ve never seen before, and show you some files that are named strangely. These files are identified as a virus, and the tech support agent offers to install some good anti-virus software for $700. You mention that you can’t afford this much, and so they offer to lower it to only $500. Perhaps you haggle to an even lower price, and then you give them your credit card number. After the money is paid, the warning message is closed and your computer returns to working like normal. You say goodbye to the agent and all is well again. 

 

Sound familiar? No doubt either you or someone you know has been affected by this scam. Some people pay the charges, while others hang up the phone before giving out their credit card number. Even if you avoid the charges, the agent will call you repeatedly over the next few months to try again to get payment.

 

So how do you avoid these scams? It’s best to understand what to look for and how to resolve these situations. Avoiding the pop-up warning messages can be tricky because it’s hard to know what was clicked to prompt the message. These messages seemingly pop up when viewing very innocent websites, which means that this scam can potentially appear anywhere. Often times, the messages appear when an advertisement is clicked, perhaps accidentally. It can also happen if you type in an accidental, but incorrect website address that’s off by even a single letter. Because you never know when one of these messages will appear, it’s best to know how to identify a scam and what to do to get out of these panic inducing situations.

 

I stumbled across one of these virus warning messages the other day while helping a client look for printer drivers online. The message that appeared even had a recorded voice telling me about all the malware on the computer. I knew what these messages looked like and how to resolve it, and so my client and I just had a good laugh instead of panicking. We closed the window and went on with life. You can do the same…

 

I hope to complete this article in more depth on this blog, but in the meantime, I’ve got a couple documents in PDF that you can download that will give you more information on what to look for, and what to do if you get caught in one of these situations. There are three documents below; one is for Mac users, one for PC users, and one for iOS users (iPhone/iPad). I recommend downloading the document(s) you need, printing them out, and keeping them near your computer so the information is handy when the situation arises.

 

For Mac users: Click Here

For PC users: Click Here

For iOS users: Click Here

Messages in the cloud (Updated)

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We’ve known this was coming… And on Tues, May 29, Apple did in fact release the iOS 11.4 software update for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod). This update does in fact provide mobile device users with the opportunity to use iCloud to synchronize their text messages with their other devices… for the most part (see The Hiccup below…). In the past, you could use any mobile device, and even a Mac computer to sign into the Messages app and receive text messages from your iPhone. But this was only for receiving messages, it didn’t truly synchronize. If it did truly sync, then when you delete a message here, it should delete over there, just like email does (should).

 

Messages couldn’t truly sync because it didn’t use the cloud, which is what enables synchronizing. Now in the latest update to iOS 11.4 for mobile devices, the option is now present. I expected that after running the update to iOS 11.4, that something would appear on the screen asking me if I’d like to enable this feature, but nothing like that happened. I discovered that Apple quietly placed the On switch for this feature in the iCloud settings page. If you’d like to see it, you can find it after you’ve done the update in your Settings app. From there, tap your name at the top, then tap iCloud. Glide up and you’ll see what wasn’t there before, a new item in the list; Messages.

 

Now, before you flip the switch to enable Messages in the cloud, there is something you need to know. This feature requires two factor authentication (2FA).  I’ve got a more in depth article on 2FA that you can read by clicking here, but for now, 2FA is a security feature that makes it harder for criminals access your Apple account, which protects your iCloud data. 2FA also makes it harder for YOU to access your own Apple account, and for that reason, some people prefer to disable 2FA. The choice to use 2FA or not is your choice, but if you want to use Messages in the cloud, you must also use 2FA. I thought I might try to be clever and just disable 2FA after setting up Messages in the cloud.  Well, it didn’t work… Messages in the cloud was automatically disabled when I disabled 2FA. No other features of iCloud require 2FA, but Messages do. This is probably because Messages may contain data that could be more sensitive than say, a list of contacts, or a bunch of vacation photos.

 

So, understanding that 2FA comes with Messages in the cloud, if you still like the idea of having your text messages sync across all your devices, tap that On switch in the iCloud settings screen so that it appears green. Make sure that the same switch you’ve enabled on your iPhone is also enabled on your iPad, or this won’t work the way it’s supposed to. It may take a little time to get all your messages uploaded to the cloud, but it should begin syncing relatively quickly.

 

So, who should use this feature? I think most people will benefit from this feature. Not only can your messages be kept in sync across all your devices, but it also frees up space on your device because the content of your Messages app is leaving the device and migrating to the cloud. This is really a pretty good feature that many have been waiting a long time to see.

 

So, who should not use this feature? I don’t think too many… maybe people who don’t like change, or people who don’t want to pay Apple .99/month for upgraded iCloud storage. You can’t increase the storage space on your device, but you can increase your storage space in the cloud. It’s nice to have the option to send more data to the cloud, which in effect, frees up more of the valuable space on your device.

 

The Hiccup – We’re still missing a small piece of this puzzle. In order for messages to truly sync with all our Apple devices, we need this feature to appear on our Mac computers. It’s not there as of May 29, but it is expected to arrive in the next MacOS update (any day now). When Apple releases a new feature, they usually release updates for both Mac and iOS at the same time, so that users can get the full benefit of the new feature on both computers and mobile devices. Not so this time. So right now, you can at the very least, get your messages uploaded to the cloud by enabling the switches on your iPhones/iPads, but your Mac computer can’t sync yet until Apple releases MacOS 10.13.5.

 

What about Windows computer users? The Messages app is only made for Apple devices, so syncing messages between your iPhone and iPad is as good as it gets (which is still pretty good). Mac users on the other hand, will soon have the ability to sync messages to all three devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac). It’s coming soon, so check back here on this blog for more information. I’ll keep you posted :O)

 

[Update]

 

Apple released the MacOS 10.13.5 update on Friday, June 1. This update adds the expected Messages in the Cloud feature that was previously released for iOS. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find the switch to enable the feature on the Mac.

 

[Sidenote]

 

Dear Apple, it would’ve been nice to have found the switch for Messages in the Cloud in the iCloud settings screen on the Mac, just like it appears on the iPhone or iPad. If you could make that a little more consistent, that’d be great. Sincerely, Gregg

 

OK then, if you’ve already enabled Messages in the Cloud for your iPhone and/or iPad, here’s how to enable the feature on your Mac after it’s been updated to 10.13.5. Open the Messages application, which looks like blue and white speech bubbles. Once open, in the menu bar across the top, click Messages, then click Preferences. In the window that pops up, click the Accounts button. In this window, click the small box next to, ‘Enable Messages in iCloud.’ That’s it, you can now close all the windows we just opened. That should begin the syncing process. Soon, you should see the same text messages on all your Apple devices.

 

This means that you can now receive and respond to text messages on whatever device is closest to you when a text message arrives. Don’t forget that now, unlike before, when you delete a text message on one device, it deletes on your other devices! I’ve been using the feature now for a few days and am enjoying the convenience of having my text messages synchronize between all my devices. Hope you enjoy it as well. Cheers!

Two factor authenti… whaaat!?

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A client of mine recently installed an update on her Apple device. She was greeted with a strange message saying something about Two Factor Authentication. I got an email soon after asking “Do I want it?” “Do I need it?” “What is it?”

 

Welcome to iOS 10.3.1 or macOS Sierra 10.12.4. These two recent  software updates (as of April 2017) for Apple devices are triggering requests to set up two factor authentication (2FA).

 

2FA is something that you’ve already been using for a long time. When you go to the bank and you want to cash a check, you often need both your bank card and an ID. When you go through security at the airport, you have to show them your boarding pass and your ID. These higher risk activities require two ways of establishing who you are. Someone pretending to be you could easily get their hands on one form of your ID without too much trouble. Getting their hands on a second form of ID is not impossible, but it is harder.

 

Apple would like you to consider protecting your Apple account and devices in similar fashion. The password that accompanies your Apple ID is only one form of authentication. Passwords can sometimes be guessed, phished, or otherwise bypassed. Even complex passwords can only do so much to protect your account.

 

2FA adds a second layer of protection to your account. Here’s when and how it works. 2FA appears either when you (or someone else) attempts to sign in to your Apple account on the web, or when you (or someone else) attempts to sign in to your Apple account when setting up a new device (Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc.). In these situations, you will receive a single-use code on one of your other devices. This six digit code must be entered in addition to the password in order to access the account.

 

The theory is that while cyber-criminals may acquire your password, they probably don’t also have possession of your other devices. The required code (sent to another device) can therefore prevent a hack.

 

While 2FA makes it harder for hackers to access your account and devices, it also makes it harder for you. The bad news is that even 2FA is not impossible to get around, so it may only thwart the lightweight hackers. The good news is that the heavyweight hackers are not typically interested in you. Hackers are usually more interested in large companies. There they can gain access to larger quantities of user data stored on company servers.

 

So what is at stake? Well, if a hacker does gain access to your Apple account, they could at a minimum see the data that you have stored in iCloud. This could include photos, contacts, calendars, reminders, notes, and possibly email. This is only true of email if you are using an Apple domain email address (mac.com, me.com, or icloud.com). Documents stored in iCloud Drive would also be accessible. A hacker may be able to delete this data, or possibly even hold your data ransom and demand payment to restore it.

 

So should I use 2FA? It is up to you if you want to use 2FA, and following are a couple scenarios and questions to help you decide. Are you somewhat tech savvy? Do you store documents in iCloud Drive? Do your notes, photos, or email contain sensitive or important data? If you answered ‘No’ to all questions, then 2FA may not be something with which you need to complicate your digital life. If you answered ‘Yes’ to any one question, then using 2FA is a good idea.

 

While 2FA is not new, Apple’s push for users to set it up is new. If you set it up and then decide it’s a pain, you can always turn it off. Setting up 2FA is your choice, Apple is not forcing anyone to use it. Follow the prompts on your devices to set up 2FA after you install Apple’s recent updates (as of April 2017).

 

You can also manage 2FA settings in your Apple account, which is accessible on the web at appleid.apple.com. Once you’ve signed in to your profile page, you can turn Off 2FA if you like. You can also change 2FA settings directly on your iPhone or iPad, but only if your software is up to date (as of April 2017). On your iOS device, tap Settings, then tap your name at the top, and then tap Password & Security. Sign in with your Apple ID password and you’ll have the options there to turn On or Off 2FA.