• November 14, 2023

    Four Solutions to Gotchas in macOS 14 Sonoma

    We’re seeing an increasing number of people switching to macOS 14 Sonoma, and for the most part, things are going well. However, Apple introduced some new features—and turned them on by default—that are causing some consternation. If you’ve switched to Sonoma or are planning to soon, here are four features you might want to know about.

    Hide Windows when Clicking on the Desktop

    The mo... Read more
  • October 5, 2023

    Tired of Nonstop Cookie Popups? Dismiss Them Automatically with These Extensions

    The European Union has for many years required that websites—at least those serving European users—gain informed consent before storing the personal data of those users. That data includes cookies, which are bits of information stored in Web browsers that websites can read and write. Cookies are widely used for remembering login information, saving user account information, maintaining a... Read more
  • October 3, 2023

    Want to Password-Protect a PDF? Follow These Best Practices

    We periodically field questions about password-protecting a PDF to prevent the wrong people from reading it. Lawyers want to ensure that drafts of legal documents don’t fall into the wrong hands, financial advisers want to keep confidential financial information private, and authors want to prevent their writing from being shared broadly on the Internet. Others don’t worry so much about a docum... Read more
  • July 4, 2023

    Learn to Identify and Eliminate Phishing Notifications

    Email may be the most common form of phishing, but it’s not the only one. Modern Web browsers support a technology that enables websites to display system-level notifications just like regular apps. These push notifications have good uses, such as letting frequently updated websites inform users of new headlines, changed discussion threads, and more. Unfortunately, push notifications can be ... Read more
  • March 28, 2023

    A Practical Guide to Identifying Phishing Emails

    Phishing is becoming an ever more common way for people to get in trouble when using the Internet. A phishing attack is some communication, usually an email, that tries to lure you into revealing login credentials, financial information, or other confidential details. A Read more
  • March 23, 2023

    Protect Your iPhone Passcode by Using Face ID or Touch ID

    This is troubling. Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen of the Wall Street Journal have published an article (paywalled) and Read more
  • February 21, 2023

    What Is Google Web & App Activity, and Should You Leave It Enabled?

    Earlier this year, some of our clients received an email from Google reminding them that they have Web & App Activity turned on. Those with a healthy dose of caution were concerned that it might be a phishing attack, but no, it’s legitimate. Their next questions were often, “Wait, what is Web & App Activity, and do I want it enabled?” Here are some answers. Read more
  • February 2, 2023

    How to Share a Contact Card without Sharing Everything in iOS 16

    Apple makes it easy to share contact cards on the iPhone or iPad—just scroll down in a contact and tap Share Contact. But what if you don’t want to share every piece of data on that card? To avoid oversharing in iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, tap Filter Fields at the top of the Share sheet and deselect the private items. If the card has a lot of data and you want to share only a few items, tap Deselect A... Read more
  • January 26, 2023

    What Is Advanced Data Protection for iCloud? Should You Enable It?

    In early December, Apple made a surprise announcement: Advanced Data Protection for iCloud. It’s not as though iCloud’s standard data protection is problematic, but it hinges on one architectural decision that makes some iCloud data theoretically v... Read more