There’s a common misconception that, if you’re using a Macintosh, your computer can’t get viruses. This myth has been spread far and wide through mass disinformation, but it first started through an old advertising campaign. At one point, because apple machines only made up around 10% of the personal computer market, most virus creators wouldn’t target Mac OS. This is no longer the case, however, and if your mac is acting up these days it may be time to get help.

A Rise in Popularity, a Rise in Vulnerability

A new study was just released by Carbon Black and Bit9 showing that this year saw 5 times the malware of the last 5 years combined. This could be bad news for any homes, offices, or public spaces that use OS X (Macintosh operating system) and don’t have protection software. The percentage of Mac users has risen from 10% to 16.4% over the past several years, providing incentive and an opportunity to Apple users. The incentive is an increased target base, and the opportunity is the fact that said base has believed they don’t need to browse or download with caution and don’t need to use preventive software.

This report was not a small scale analysis either; it looks at information gathered from all over the world, using over 1,400 instances of infected machines. In addition, a different study found almost 600k instances of Trojan virus attacks. Those two pieces of evidence should be more than enough reason to take action today.

Prevention over Treatment

As with real life medicine and preventing real life viruses, prevention is better than trying to cure an infection. Take precautions like not pirating media or programs, using anti-virus software, and downloading add-ons like NoScript and AdBlock to make websites safer to browse. AdBlock stops any ads from appearing without exception, including ads from sites you like to visit that rely on ad money for revenue. So if you do follow our recommendation, be sure to whitelist any websites that you like to make sure they continue to get the support they need to make the content you enjoy! NoScript is an add-on that stops Javascript from running unless you approve the source. That means that some web features may not always work without you disabling the script blocker. As for anti-virus, we at tekRESCUE highly recommend Avira, AVG and Avast, which all have free options.

If Your Mac is Infected

If you already believe you have a virus or malware, you can either seek professional help, or start with some anti-malware programs to run. MalwareBytes is a program that’s good for scanning a computer and telling you if an infection may exist, and Hijack This and Super-Anti Spyware are also helpful for this purpose. Keep in mind, however, that virus scanners don’t always find everything, so a “no malware found” message doesn’t always mean your machine is in the clear. This is where the added expertise of professionals comes in handy.

We hope this has convinced you to take the necessary steps to ensure computer safety and be more careful even when using an Apple computer. Remember, an infection on your computer can steal passwords, bank information, identity and more. You should deal with any potential infections as quickly as possible. The myth of virus-free Macs has been pervasive, but with the proper steps we can actually make it true.

As with any type of worthwhile investment, it can be really frustrating to have it become defected in some way. This is also the case when it comes to having a Mac. By the time one would have all kind of viable information, games, and other treasures on a Mac, it will began to slow down which could be really frustrating, especially considering how important computers are in this highly technical age. Nevertheless, there are measure one can take to increase the speed of a Mac. But before taking on the following steps, it would behoove anyone to take caution in backing up the computer data.

1. Replacing the hard drive with an SSD

SSD, aka solid-state drive, is easy to do, and it makes a big impact in performance. For upgrading to a SSD for pictures, all one must do is to buy the appropriate SSD at a reliable place like Amazon and replace it with the use of a screwdriver to hold the hard drive in place. It may be required to purchase a USB cable kit as well.

2. Adding more RAM- memory

It’s important to obtain the proper memory for the specific Mac. The Apple support page would assist in showing the memory specifications for different models as well as show an illustrated tutorial on replacing the memory.

3. Clean up space on the hard drive

This could be done in various ways. For one, uninstalling old apps may be required, if it’s not needed anymore. AppZapper can uninstall the apps since Mac OS X doesn’t have an uninstaller built in. Secondly, cleaning up the apps still in use would gain plenty of space. And lastly, it’s important to delete huge files that are unused. Chances are they are not needed especially if it hasn’t been used in a long time, or even remembered.

This is done by using “Finder” to search for the big files. Then, one must choose “file” and then “find” (or Command-F). Next, one must click on the pull down menu, select other, check “file size”, uncheck any of the other boxes, and click on “OK”. Afterwards, one must change the “equals” pull down menu to “is greater than” and alternate from KB to MB. The minimum file size must be chosen, and then there is the option in deleting any file no longer needed.

4. Staying updated with OS X

There are free upgrades on new versions of OS X that Apple releases sometimes. So, it will behoove anyone to check periodically on the Mac App Store’s update tab. It’s also important not to ignore when there are notifications that updates are ready for installation. If these steps are not adhere to, the Mac may not run safely and smoothly.

Since the dawn of the computer era, user preference has been a big deal. Maybe not in the very beginning because there was very little competition. However, since graphic user interfaces hit the market in 1984, computer popularity began to skyrocket. A year after Apple Macintosh released the first GUI computer, Microsoft debuted their own version of user interface experiences in the last fiscal quarter of 1985. Now that we have established the GUI masterminds, let’s look at the pros and cons of user experience. Here is where the controversy comes in!

So, whether if you’re a Mac user or Windows user, you definitely have an opinion about the one you’re not using. Polls, statistics, and other researched data place Windows at the top of every list. Some will argue that it is due to their expansive strategy, making it more available to the public. Windows is known in the technical community as an ‘All-arounder’ being that it has extensive compatibility with third-party hardware and software. Mac users get the luxury of exclusiveness and one of a kind machines. Is this a good thing? It’s time to take it to the ring and let the pros and cons of Apple and Windows duke it out!

The Ups and Downs of Apple

Apple’s reputation is a matter of subjective opinion and comes with positives and negatives, as with any other product. Studies show that Mac users are happy with their system and consider it a
lifestyle choice.

Pros:
As with any product, there will always be pros and cons to consider before making a purchase. Computers are no exceptions. How well does Apple fair?

• Macs come preloaded with software known as Bootcamp. Bootcamp allows Mac users to dual boot, either booting to an OS X or to a Windows OS.
• Tailored software that is designed to work efficiently on Apple machines.
• Preloaded software doesn’t contain bloatware that slows the PC down.

Cons:
Surely, with all the greatness, Apple has some kind of shortcoming that makes it appear less desirable. Let’s see what they are.

• Limited upgradability. Apple machines have minimum upgrade options, leaving power users who require upgrades, empty-handed.
• Shortage of certified resellers and repair technicians. Apple unlike PC does not have contracts with tons of outlets—offering repairs to their machines. Chances are you will have to visit the closest Apple store, wherever that may be. Apple stores are unique and cater only to Apple products. With this being the case, Apple also limits the number of stores they have available to the public, turning repairs into a hassle if you do not live near a large city.
• Poor backwards compatibility. Apple machines can support newer OS X’s but some features may not be available for older Mac users. Apple users are forced to upgrade their machines in order to take advantage of newer software and OS.

Getting into PC Business

In the world of the digital era, when you ask someone what type of computer they are using, 90 percent of them will respond with a Microsoft Windows computer. This doesn’t mean PCs are better than Macs. What this means is that Windows has more accessibility than Apple. There are greater means of exposure for Microsoft products. This is related to the partnerships and contracts they hold with other manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, HP, and Toshiba just to name a few. So, how does Windows stack up against Apple?

Pros:
Available in nearly every city, PC users take advantage of how easy they are to obtain for the general masses. So what makes PCs so great?

• Maximum interchangeability. PCs are known for the ability to upgrade, upgrade, and upgrade. Every component on the PC can be replaced or upgrade with very little struggle. This is a result of the numerous companies that have access to product PC parts and software outside of Microsoft’s thumb.
• Repair shops are everywhere. Window users can stop by a wide-range of stores to get repairs and gadgets.
• Compatible with the past. One of the most notable features of PCs that chump Macs is the ability for outdated PCs to support newer operating systems as well as newer PCs supporting forgotten software. Unlike Mac where older models lose features when upgrading to a new OS, PCs rarely experience this problem and upgrading between Windows is seamless and painless.

Cons:
Where is Microsoft PCs dropping the ball?

• Poor resale value. Unlike Apple products, which hold their resale value for years, PCs lose their value quickly.
• Bloatware slows down brand new PCs. Window computers are packed full of third party software known as bloatware. These ‘added bonuses’ do more harm to the computer than not having them. It causes the PC to slow down and reduces the performance of the PC.
• Unfriendly user interface. Apple prides itself on ‘ease of use’ and is committed to making the user experience as simple as possible. PCs while to most seem straight forward are not as user-friendly. Once again this falls under a matter of preference.

The Final Consensus

Whether if you are PC user or a Mac fanatic, both come with a reasonable list of pros and cons. There are no right or wrong reasons to purchase one over the other. It all boils down to a matter of preference. Each PC and Apple computer have their key features to attract certain users. Make a wise decision when choosing your next computer system by doing a little research. Do not make ill-informed purchases!

Your iCloud account is freakishly easy to hack. You really need to read this.

Randy

http://mashable.com/2014/09/04/i-hacked-my-own-icloud-account/

This happened to me! Not very fun. I suggest just not using iMessage at all but it’s OK if you still want to.

Randy

https://www.yahoo.com/www/tech/not-receiving-all-of-your-imessages-heres-how-to-fix-85735759199.html

So much to learn. Hope this helps

Randy

http://www.redmondpie.com/50-siri-voice-commands-to-help-you-get-the-most-from-apples-voice-assistant-video/

Technology meets a .50 caliber rifle. The kind of stuff we like at tekRESCUE.

http://www.redmondpie.com/iphone-5c-meets-50-cal-rifle-filmed-on-iphone-5s-in-slo-mo-video/

http://bgr.com/2013/03/20/iphone-android-data-usage-study-387882/

This is the story of how one man’s digital life was ruined because of Apple and Amazon’s lax security measures. This is a must read.

Randy

From Wired.com: http://m.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/

So you’ve installed Mountain Lion. It won’t take you long to realize that Java is not installed or enabled by default. Since the world practically runs on Java you are going to need it. There isn’t an obvious way to install or enable Java so here’s a little tutorial to help you out. In this post I am not going to even begin to address why in the world somebody at Apple thought it would be good to disable Java by default. Something about a “security risk” I’m sure….

Anyway, here’s the tutorial:

1) Use spotlight to search for and open “Java Preferences.”

2) The system will probably say “There is no Java to configure. Would you like to download the latest version now?” or something similar to that. Click Yes.

3) Once that is done, make sure Java is enabled like in the screenshot below. Reload your browser and you’re done!