Kibbles & Bytes Blog

Apple news, tech tips, and more…

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  • Block Telemarketing Calls Automatically

    Junk calls are one of the great annoyances of the modern world. You’re minding your own business when your iPhone vibrates in your pocket. You pull it out, curious as to who’s calling, but don’t recognize the number. You may notice that it’s in the same exchange as your phone number, suggesting that it’s a neighbor. But no. When you answer, it’s “Emily,” a pre-recorded voice wanting to sign you up for a resort vacation, give your business a loan or help with your credit card debt. Angered by the intrusion, you tap the red hangup button, wishing you had an old-style telephone receiver to slam down.

    There’s no way to retaliate against these bottom feeders, and the best option is to hang up immediately. For quite a few versions of iOS, you’ve been able to block a caller manually—just tap the “i” button next to the call in the Recents screen in the Phone app, scroll to the bottom, and tap Block This Caller. But that’s seldom worth doing since telemarketers often spoof the numbers they call from, making it unlikely you’d get a second call from the same number.

    Instead, I recommend taking advantage of a feature Apple introduced in iOS 10 that enables apps to block calls for you. Quite a few of these apps have appeared, with some of the best reviewed being Hiya, Mr. Number, RoboKiller, and Truecaller. Hiya and Mr. Number are both free and from the same company—Mr. Number is a stripped-down version of Hiya—whereas RoboKiller and Truecaller require an in-app purchase for a monthly membership.

    In general, these apps work by receiving caller ID information from iOS and comparing it against both your local contacts (to identify good calls) and a constantly updated database of numbers used by telemarketers (bad calls). Calls from your contacts ring through normally, as do calls from phone numbers not in either of those sets. That’s key since your doctor might call back from a secondary number, or your kid’s new teacher might call to talk about an upcoming snack day. But if you receive a call from a number known to be used by a telemarketer, the app can either identify it on the incoming call screen or block it automatically, sending it to voicemail.

    To enable one of these apps, after you download it from the App Store, go to Settings > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification and enable its switch. You’ll probably also have to do some setup in the app itself, providing your phone number, perhaps creating an account, and determining what should happen with different calls (Mr. Number is shown below, right). With Hiya and Mr. Number, you can copy a number from the Phone app’s Recents screen (tap the i button for a call, and then press the number to access a Copy button) and then look it up to learn more and see comments other users have made. And if you get a telemarketing call from a number that the app doesn’t recognize, you can submit it to protect others.

    RoboKiller claims that it wastes the telemarketers’ time by playing pre-recorded “Answer Bots” conversations to keep them on the line, preventing them from calling more people.
    Details vary by app, but the only real downside to using one of these apps is that it may ask for information about you or your contacts to improve its services. If that feels intrusive, investigate one of the apps that requires a membership, like RoboKiller, to see if it better answers your concerns.
    In the end, it comes down to how many telemarketing calls you receive each day, week, or month. If you’re lucky and get only one or two per month, it’s probably not worth messing with a call blocking app—maybe just send unidentified (and unexpected) calls to voicemail. But if you’re interrupted by multiple junk calls per day or week, give one of these apps a try and let it reduce the onslaught.

  • Use Apple Watch to Track Skiing and Snowboarding!

    Starting today, skiers and snowboarders can use Apple Watch Series 3 to track their activities via new updates to apps available in the App Store. Watch users can now record runs, see vertical descent and other stats, and contribute active calorie measurements directly to the Apple Watch Activity app. See, I have been thinking about you guys up in the north country!

    Apple Watch is selling well, in fact, Apple Watch outsold all competing smartwatches combined last year. One in five smartwatches sold was an Apple Watch. We have been selling quite a few Apple Watches at our stores and they do seem to gain functions pretty regularly. I love my Apple Watch and if I was a skier or snowboarder this new feature would be interesting. Emily and Artie might like it since they can be found out on the slopes from time to time.

    Developers are taking advantage of the built-in GPS and altimeter in Apple Watch Series 3 as well as custom workout APIs released in watchOS 4.2 to enable tracking of specialized metrics. App updates for Snoww, Slopes, Squaw Alpine, Snocru and Ski Tracks now track new metrics on the slopes including:

    *Total vertical descent and horizontal distance
    *Number of runs
    *Average and maximum speeds
    *Total time spent
    *Calories burned

    Apps can auto pause and resume and users will get credit towards their Activity rings; workout information will also be recorded to the Health app on iPhone with user permission. Using Siri, users can start Slopes and Snoww to track their runs using just their voice.

    Having the ability to track the details of runs with Apple Watch is an incredible asset for everyone from training athletes to skiers and riders just looking to have fun and stay active, said Jonny Moseley, Olympic Moguls Gold Medalist and Squaw Alpine Mountain Ambassador. The Squaw Alpine app for Apple Watch helps me when I’m out with my family to not only track exactly where my kids are on the mountain, but also compare our performance so I can make sure I’m keeping up with my sons and add some fun competition to our day.

    The updated apps are now available on the App Store and require watchOS 4.2 or later.

  • I have got some important visitors coming this week. My daughter Autumn and granddaughter Gracie come and then Khadija visits the next week. It will be nice to have some family hanging out!

    I did manage to learn a lot about wiring relays and was able to fix the brake lights on Grace’s motorcycle. That was a relief as it had me baffled for awhile. A few good YouTube videos on automotive relays finally got me pointed in the right direction. Now we are ready for our New Orleans trek.

    Spring training has started and the reports from Arizona seem to be great for the Cubbies. I am looking forward to a great season!

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don & Mike

  • Ransomware -What Me Worry?

    We have not run into too many cases of ransomeware on Macs but not only is it common on PCs, it has made it into plot lines of shows like Homeland on Showtime. Once your files are held hostage it is too late so it is best to be informed.

    Malware makes headlines regularly these days, and although Macs are targeted far less than Windows PCs, Mac users still need to remain vigilant. A particularly serious type of malware is called “ransomware” because once it infects your computer, it encrypts all your files and holds them for ransom.

    Luckily, despite the virulence of ransomware in the Windows world, where there have been major infections of CryptoWall and WannaCry, only a few pieces of ransomware have been directed at Mac users:

    *The first, called FileCoder, was discovered in 2014. When security researchers looked into its code, they discovered that it was incomplete, and posed no threat at the time.

    *The first fully functional ransomware for the Mac appeared in 2016, a bit of nastiness called KeRanger. It hid inside an infected version of the open source Transmission BitTorrent client and was properly signed so it could circumvent Apple’s Gatekeeper protections. As many as 6500 people may have been infected by KeRanger before Apple revoked the relevant certificate and updated macOS’s XProtect anti-malware technology to block it.

    *In 2017, researchers discovered another piece of ransomware, called Patcher, which purported to help users download pirated copies of Adobe Premiere and Microsoft Office 2016. According to its Bitcoin wallet, no one had paid the ransom, which was good, since it had no way of decrypting the files it had encrypted.

    Realistically, don’t worry too much. But it’s likely that malware authors will unleash additional Mac ransomware packages in the future, so we encourage you to be aware, informed, and prepared.

    First, let’s explain a few key terms and technologies. Apple’s Gatekeeper technology protects your Mac from malware by letting you launch only apps downloaded from the Mac App Store, or those that are signed by developers who have a Developer ID from Apple. Since malware won’t come from legitimate developers (and Apple can revoke stolen signatures), Gatekeeper protects you from most malware. However, you can override Gatekeeper’s protections to run an unsigned app. Do this only for apps from trusted developers. Even if you never override Gatekeeper, be careful what you download.

    Apple’s XProtect technology takes a more focused approach, checking every new app against a relatively short list of known malware and preventing apps on that list from launching. Make sure to leave the “Install system data files and security updates” checkbox selected in System Preferences > App Store. That ensures that you’ll get XProtect updates. Similarly, install macOS updates and security updates soon after they’re released to make sure you’re protected against newly discovered vulnerabilities that malware could exploit.

    Although regular backups with Time Machine are usually helpful, KeRanger tried to encrypt Time Machine backup files to prevent users from recovering their data that way. Similarly, a bootable duplicate updated automatically by SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner could end up replacing good files with encrypted ones from a ransomware-infected Mac, or a future piece of ransomware could try to encrypt other mounted backup disks as well.

    The best protection against ransomware is a versioned backup made to a destination that can be accessed only through the backup app, such as an Internet backup service like Backblaze (home and business) or CrashPlan (business only). The beauty of such backups is that you can restore files from before the ransomware encrypted them. Of course, that assumes you’ve been backing up all along.

    If you ever are infected with ransomware, don’t panic, and don’t pay the ransom right away. Contact us so we can help you work through your options, which might entail restoring from a backup or bringing files back from older cloud storage versions. There are even decryptors for some Windows ransomware packages, and such utilities might appear for hypothetical Mac ransomware as well.

    To reiterate, there’s no reason to worry too much about ransomware on the Mac, but letting Apple’s XProtect keep itself up to date, staying current with macOS updates, and using an Internet backup service will likely protect you from what may come.

  • The RAM Diaries

    In the wake of the holiday season, as the folks out there enjoy their brand new Mac products, one question I am frequently asked is, “can I upgrade or add more memory?”.

    Let’s take a look at the MacBook Pro. The short answer is no. If you have already purchased a MacBook Pro, (Mid-2012 Retina and beyond) you will be unable to alter the memory or RAM configuration post-purchase. However, with that said there are some current-gen models that do allow pre-purchase RAM configuration. These models include the 13” MacBook Pro (Non-Touch Bar) and the 13” MacBook Pro (w/ Touch Bar), both upgradeable to 16GB of RAM pre-purchase. But, in this circumstance, it should be noted that the current-gen 15” MacBook Pro’s come stock with 16GB RAM, no more and no less!

    In the case of upgrading an older generation model MacBook Pro, the Mid-2012 non-Retina models are the only Apple-supported MacBook Pro that offer an end-user RAM upgrade option up to 16GB.

    Lets shift focus over to the iMac. Virtually all across the board, the 27” iMac can be upgraded to a higher RAM configuration pre & post-purchase. The 21.5” iMac is a different story, however. Unfortunately, these models that are still supported by Apple are not end-user RAM configurable. These, along with the lineup of Macbook Pro’s, Macbooks, and MacBook Air’s have onboard RAM, meaning the RAM is built directly onto the Logic Board, making it impossible for end-user upgrades.

  • Reset Your Mac’s System Management Controller

    So your Mac is acting wonky and you have tried rebooting. And you’ve even tried reseting the PRAM (Note: Before resetting PRAM or the SMC, back up your whole system on an external drive with Time Machine Backup App. To do this, first turn off your Mac. Next turn on your Mac and hold down the Command+Option+P+R keys, at the same time.)

    You’ve seemingly done it all, but your Mac is still acting wonky! Now what? In some cases, resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) can be a resolution. This is sometimes the last simple option to restore basic level system functions to your Mac, particularly for power and hardware related issues.

    Process of elimination it is a form of diagnostics. If a PRAM or SMC reset doesn’t fix your issues, you might want to see a ACMT (Apple Certified Macintosh Technician) because your Mac could have a hardware failure.

    So what does the SMC do? The SMC controls most power functions on newer-model Macs. Resetting the SMC can resolve some computer issues such as no start up, no display video, sleep issues, fan issues, battery and so on. Resetting the SMC is not a cure-all, but it’s a good last-resort before bringing your machine in for service.