Afternoon Classes!
We’ve extended our OnZoom class schedule through mid-March, nowwith 1pm EST classes as requested. Each class is about an hour long and includes plenty of time for Q&A and individual attention. Topics: Mac and Windows basics, Gmail Cleanup and the newest class on Apple Photos.
See the full list here. (And more to come!).
A Quick Trick Everyone Needs
Do you know how to search your iPhone? It’s a HUGE timesaver and super easy. If you never learned how, check out this quick video demonstration.
And speaking of iPhones,please do keep yours updated; the next iOS version, 14.5, has some significant security improvements.
Password Managers are “Sticky”
Everyone should use a password manager, experts agree. I’ve been using the free version of LastPass happily for years, but (predictably) they’re about to start charging for it.
No one likes to pay for things that used to be free; what to do? While there are plenty of good alternatives, the problem with changing password managers is re-creating all those saved passwords in the new one. It’s a lot of boring tedious work, which is why they’re “sticky”–it’s so much easier to keep using what you have.
In many cases, it’s possible to at least extract the list of passwords you have already saved. If you have questions, we can help, or use the free password managers built in to Chrome and all Apple devices:
How to See Passwords Saved in Chrome (2021)
How to See Passwords and Logins on a Mac, iPhone or Ipad (iCloud Keychain)
Mac Alert: Silver Sparrow
A new type of Mac malware, dubbed “Silver Sparrow,” has been identified “in the wild” on 30,000 real people’s computers. (That may sound like a lot, but there are estimated to be 100 MILLION Macs in use worldwide).
Why experts’ eyebrows are raised:
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It doesn’t do anything bad–YET. It checks in with the “mother ship” once an hour, but we don’t know what it might do once activated.
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It’s designed to work on the new generation of Macs with Apple’s M1 processor as well as older ones (yikes).
Here’s the good news: it’s very unlikely you’re infected, and the free version of Malwarebytes should be able to detect and remove it.
Run a scan once in a while; this is a great reminder that Macs are not immune to malware.