Apple Quick Tips Newsletter Vol V

We have to start this newsletter by touching on the recent reports of an Apple computer targetted Trojan 'virus' called Flashback. Flashback reared its ugly head last week and has caused widespread hyperbole and minor panic. It's the first legitimate virus most Mac users have encountered and has resulted in a flood of "I told you sos" from the PC community. So far it has infected over 650,000 computers. Evidently this piece of malware poses as a Flash installation tool. Upon infection the trojan targets specific webpages, modifying them with the intent of committing pay-per-click fraud.

If you're running Lion 10.7.3 or Snow Leopard 10.6.8 you are not in any danger. Apple has already released a patch that fixes the hole in the Java application, and if you do a simple software update you will have no problems with this Trojan. Apple has also announced that it will release a removal tool in the next few days.

For Macs running Mac OS X v10.5 or earlier you can protect yourself by disabling Java in your web browser's preferences.

For anyone confident with using the Terminal command line interface, you can check for the existence of the virus (and remove it if it is there) F-Secure has posted the instructions here, and recently added a more user-friendly detection tool. Feel free to contact me for more information.

Now on to the tips.

iTunes Home Sharing. This is one of my favourite features in iTunes, perfect for a home with multiple computers, mobile devices and iTunes libraries. Simply go to the advanced tab in your iTunes menu bar, turn on Home Sharing using your Apple ID and do the same for all your devices. You can find the control in your Music settings of your iPhone and iPad. Once Home Sharing is on you can access all the music and other files in any of your iTunes libraries from any of your devices.


Creating Multiple iPhoto Databases As our iPhoto libraries continue to grow, thus gobbling up computer space and speed, it can become necessary to run multiple iPhoto libraries, for example a working library, an archived library, or a topic-specific library. You'll probably want to export photos from your main library to add to the new library, then close the iPhoto progra. Now hold down the Option key while re-opening. You're given a dialogue that will allow you to either create a new library or toggle between your existing libraries. Give the new library a name and then import the selected photos into your new library.

Four Favourite iPhone Apps
Everlight Free - A flashlight app right on your phone.
Remote - Allows you to control your iTunes library or Apple TV from your phone
Shazam - This app is for music lovers, it will help identify untitled songs in your iTunes library or on the radio.
Dragon Dictation - Records your voice and transposes it into text. Actually works.

Notice of telephone phishing scam directed at Apple users.

Notice of a telephone phishing scam directed at Apple users, a client of mine was just called by someone with an accent claiming to be from Apple, that her emails were being compromised, and directing her to go to her computer, open Safari and start typing. She asked to speak to his manager and the line went dead.

More than likely they're trying to sell some kind of bogus security software with the aim of obtaining your credit card number or other personal information.

Be aware, Apple would and will never phone you for any reason, especially to discuss sensitive security issues regarding your computer. Either collect the number off your call display and forward it to the RCMP, or simply invite the caller to go pound sand and carry on with your day. DO NOT buy any software from these scammers.

Up Your Media's Quick Tips Newsletter Volume IV

Rebuild iPhoto Library. From time to time, through no fault of your own, your iPhoto database may become corrupt and unable to view some of your images. Your first step in repairing those issues is to rebuild that iPhoto database. Quit the program and then reopen it while holding down the command and option keys until you're prompted to rebuild the library. You'll be offered a list of options, choose the one(s) you want and click rebuild. Go here for more information on the rebuild process.

Send bulk email to address book group. It's dead easy to create email groups in your Mac Address Book application, and just as easy to send a bulk email to that group. In your address book app, simply click the + (plus) sign in the bottom left of the window, title the group and drag contacts from the main database into the new group. When creating a new email in your Mac Mail app, click the address icon in the menu bar, then simply drag the group name into the address pane in the message. Your application will send the email to all addresses in that group.

Shortcut to your iPhone camera. Now and again you'll see something you need to shoot quickly. Rather than going from your lock screen to your home screen to your camera app, simply press the home button on your phone twice, click the camera icon and shoot. Tada.

Shaw Outgoing mail issues. I've had lots of calls lately from clients experiencing problems sending mail through their Shaw accounts. Don't bother waiting on hold for an hour or more, this solution should work for you. Go to your mail program, go to Preferences in the Mail menu, select Accounts and go to your shaw SMTP account dropdown box. Choose 'Edit SMTP server list' and click the Advanced tab. If your 'use default ports' is selected, choose 'use custom port' instead and input one of the custom ports available to you (25, 465 or 587) If that port still doesn't work, select a different one until your mail starts sending as normal. Let's hope Shaw works out this problem soon.

Change your computer's password. Believe it or not, you could someday forget your computer's administrator password. To change your password, boot up the computer from your original system disk, or a retail Leopard or Snow Leopard disk by holding down the C key as the computer starts up. Choose a language and click the arrow to continue. From the Utilities menu, choose password reset then input a password that you will remember. Unfortunately your keychain access utility, which stores the rest of your account's passwords, such as mail, skype, wifi etc, will be deleted, but at least you'll be able to administer your computer and perform software updates.

Now's the Time to Create Your Personalized iPhoto Calendars - Here's How

As 2012 approaches, now is the time to create your own personalized calendar using iPhoto. This simple process is a big part of the iPhoto experience and can result in some beautiful, professional-looking calendars that use your own photographs and images to create a unique keepsake or gift that will keep on giving throughout the year. The skills will also apply to creating hardcover books and cards for all occasions.

The first step is to choose the photos you will use. Using the Command ⌘ key, click on the individual photos you want to include and then click the create icon on the bottom right of the iPhoto window. From there, choose calendar, and then choose one of the themes or designs available. If you want to use other images (art, cartoons, scans) that are not photos you must first import them into your iPhoto library.

After choosing the theme, you're greeted with a dialogue where you can specify what month the calendar will start, how many months to create, whether or not you want to include National holidays and even calendar events from your own iCal application, such as birthdays, anniversaries etc.

Each individual page gives you the option to include one photo or two, three, or even up to seven, and which photos to include for which month. There are layout, option and photos dialogues available in the lower right corner. You can always include more photos than originally selected in your project by dragging them from your complete photos list onto the calendar icon on your left sidebar. Many of the themes allow you to add a description to the photo. You can continue to edit, crop, or enhance individual photos by double-clicking the photo on the page.

Once you've arranged the photos in the order you prefer, click the 'buy' button and log in with your Apple ID. You can have the calendar shipped to yourself or shipped to the recipient. You can even have it gift-wrapped. Note, there is no volume discount, and your calendar will cost $19.99 whether you buy 1, 50, or 1000.