An ancillary security feature in the Apple ecosystem involves Apple Watch and its ability to authenticate a Mac. With a few prerequisites, the device has the power to serve as a secure token in place of your password or other biometrics. As I mentioned in Biometric Boons, Part 2 — Face ID, Apple Watch [...]
iOS 18 makes much of the prior data in Keychain Access, including website logins and Wi-Fi networks, more accessible in a new app called Passwords. This app also makes it easy to help others join Wi-Fi networks by sharing a QR code. As I wrote in iOS 17 Hot Tips #3, it’s so simple [...]
Earlier this month, in an unexpected twist, Apple launched an online tool to transfer purchases from one Apple account to another. First, a little history… Since Apple launched iTools in 2000 and the iTunes Store in 2003, users have been able to maintain an account identity with Apple for purposes of syncing data and/or [...]
When taking a photo on iPhone, you can easily add a caption to label the image. This can be especially useful when you’re on a nature tour, your device is offline, and you want to later upload the image to iNaturalist to validate its identity. In Costa Rica, Kimberley took thousands of photos, using [...]
Sometimes websites malfunction and the provider’s tech support or your own Google-fu recommends you delete cookies. If updating your web browser or restarting your device doesn’t help, this is a viable option, with one caveat: Don’t delete cookies for all websites. As I discussed in Are You a Cookie Monster?, there are various types [...]
Did you get a new Mac this holiday season? Are you hoping to clean up your old one before migrating a lot of crud? Even if you just want to clean house, check your storage for iOS Files, which I previously mentioned in Tech Check. The category is mentioned ever so briefly in this [...]
Apple and other application developers consistently make it easy to discover and install software updates. Outside of the App Store, which manages updates for apps delivered through that channel, there is often a command in the Application menu or Help menu to check for updates. And, operating systems have a place of their own [...]
As I alluded in Protect Your Identity, online account servers are periodically breached by hackers; malware additionally steals users’ private information, including email addresses and passwords; and people put themselves in even more risk when they play into phishing scams. Many of my clients feel they are not at risk, don’t have anything private, [...]
Since publishing Energy Saver Best Practices three years ago, Apple has reorganized settings related to display and computer sleep. The company has also built new Macs that more efficiently manage energy usage and make shutdown less necessary for conservation — so much so that the newest Mac mini moves the power button to the [...]
The last two weeks, I outlined the steps to set up Touch ID and Face ID on your iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac. These biometric technologies enable you, without fear, to increase your device and data security while only storing your fingerprint or likeness locally on each device. This week’s discussion is about passkeys: a [...]
