245: Updates & Followup Fiesta

Topics:

- High Sierra 10.13.3 was released today, which makes sense as Joe just updated his PsiTool drives yesterday. Also released were iOS 11.2.5, Safari updates for 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, and Security Update 2018-001. Note that security updates are padded to three digits... At the rate we're going, might Apple hit 100 security updates this year? That's one every three days!

- If you want to get emails from Apple about product security when updates are released, subscribe to the Security-announce list

-Jerry came to the rescue of a client who wanted to clean up her inbox.  He found that Google provides a URL to request missing emails:
https://support.google.com/mail/contact/missingemails

-Sam has been experiencing an issue where replying to a selected message in Apple Mail actually creates a reply to the incorrect message.  A similar issue has occurred to him in voicemails.  At this point Jerry thinks Sam needs to have his eyes checked.

-Jerry gives us an update on his virtual receptionists, Smith.ai as Sam is exploring similar options.  A natural progression would be a service that can not only answer calls, but support your clients like our recent sponsor, FLEXdesk

-In a recent support call with a client, Jerry finds that their MacBook Air had a failed SSD module. These situations can lead to having to explain the "why" to customers.  Sometimes hardware simply fails.

-New MacTech Pro events and cities have been announced!
http://pro.mactech.com/go/ccp/

-Sam has follow up on using Daylite with his business and finds some functionality that he wasn't aware of
http://www.daylitemac.com

-CCP Theater!  Jerry and Joe role play what you might encounter with new client calls

-Joe gives us an update on his new/used 2015 MacBook Pro.  He recounts an issue where the battery reports that it needs to be serviced and then changes to a "good" condition.  He reports an uptime of 31 – nay, 33 days. Joe and Sam remark that they don't recall having had more than 10 days of uptime with their MacBook Pro 2016 models, although Sam has had better stability lately.

-Joe also follows up about having used Migration Assistant to switch to his new, used (and apparently slightly bruised) MacBook Pro 15-inch 2015, and notes that Safari Extensions needed to be reinstalled, surprisingly. But at least VPN configurations were not an issue, unlike back in the days of Mavericks (and Yosemite too?)

-Jerry is very excited about an iOS app called Drafts, a note taking app with impressive functionality.  Drafts is $4.99 in the App Store
https://agiletortoise.com/drafts/

241: "Not Dead Yet" With Weldon Dodd of Rewind Tech - Denver, CO

Topics:

-To start the new year, we are very pleased to be joined on our first live show of 2018 by Weldon Dodd of Rewind Technology in Denver, CO.  Weldon hangs with the crew as another host in case Sam goes missing again.
https://rewindtech.com

-Some things never change, the old HCS land grab jokes are in full swing

-Joe discusses the first zero day exploit of 2018, actually launched via tweet on New Year's Eve. Check out the IOHIDeous narrative on GitHub, kind of interesting! The vulnerability exists in a process called IOHIDUserClient which the macOS limits to having only a single instance at any given time, which happens to be spawned by WindowServer. So in order to exploit the vulnerability, we need to kill the WindowServer process. But terminating it requires admin privileges and essentially reboots the GUI, so this is not a viable mode of exploitation. But it turns out that by logging out the user, WindowServer releases its IOHIDUserClient temporarily, giving the exploit enough time to spawn its own instance of IOHIDUserClient and leverage it to compromise the system. The exploit can use "launchctl reboot logout" which does not display a warning dialog. The exploit can also use an AppleScript command to send loginwindow an event called "AppleEventReallyLogOut" (osascript -e 'tell application "loginwindow" to «event aevtrlgo»'), and loginwindow apparently doesn't care who sent the event, but it does display a dialog box as if the user selected "Log Out" from the Apple menu.

-Jerry wonders if this will be on the CCP test

-Sam recalls a story working after hours at a client when the alarm goes off

-Weldon shares his story of a Promise RAID gone wrong. Friends don't let clients pull drives out of RAID drive bays.  It also leads to a further discussion about how to handle RAID solutions and future expansion.

-A handy virtualization app for Synology, which Sam has used in conjunction with CrashPlan, is Docker: https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/feature/docker

-Jerry is busy building Minecraft worlds on Synology. He ends up needing a volume formatted as Btrfs.  Read more here: https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/Btrfs

-Time Machine and Synology has had a spotty past

-Sam discusses a Wi-Fi upgrade in NYC and replaced aging equipment with Ubiquiti Unifi. He also has some advice on utilizing a Cloud Key.

-He also mentions a handy workaround to test network settings remotely while still needing to reconnect to the remote computer.  Joe recalls a similar solution for another problem.

-Jerry talks about the Unifi In Wall units that he has set up recently: https://inwall.ubnt.com

Thanks as always to our Patreon sponsors!

Listen to the outtakes and learn the origin of this picture!

233: If I Could Turn Back Time

November 7, 2017

TOPICS:

- Sometimes sharing music in Apple Music using Messages doesn't work. Workaround: use "Copy" or maybe AirDrop works

- Discussion surrounding Apple Music, iTunes Match and streaming music.

- SpaceX lands rocket at sea, makes history - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr9cPpuAx8

- followup on Joe's migration to G Suite: I've stopped seeing progress bars and large numbers counting up and down in my sleep, and I've stopped having nightmares about drag and drop targets
SHARED CONTACTS FOR GMAIL - https://www.gmailsharedcontacts.com

 when cleaning up old mail using your IMAP client with Gmail:

1) "When I mark a message in IMAP as deleted": change to "Auto-Expunge off - Wait for the client to update the server."

2) When a message is marked as deleted and expunged from the last visible IMAP folder: change to "Move the message to the Trash"

3) Under the Labels section, remove the check mark next to All Mail and Important so that those labels will not show in IMAP

- Sam tells about a client sending out bulk emails and wishing to set up their own email server.

- Joe Share his thoughts on his new iPhone X

- Sam shares a story about declining service to a potential problem client.

- Joe shares a story about helping a client hide selfie photos
ImageOptim makes images load faster - https://imageoptim.com/mac

- We'd like to thank all of our Patreon sponsors for their tremendous support of Command Control Power. You really help make the show possible. We've talked about burnout recently... This show has been a labor of love, and your support sends a signal that you appreciate what we're doing so it really helps encourage us to keep doing it and putting out a show every single week. We've released over 232 episodes over the course of the last four years! We really appreciate all 40 of our patrons. For this monthly live episode, we'd like to specifically thank those patrons that pledge at a certain level. You truly make the show possible and we really appreciate it.

-A big thank you to all of our Patreon sponsors!

228: It's Better to Burn Out, Than to Fade Away!

TOPICS:

https://www.patreon.com/cmdctrlpwr

227: The Horse Has Left The Barn & Then You Burn The Barn Down!

We're sponsored this week by Watchman Monitoring, a favorite tool of ours that should be in every professional consultant's toolkit.

Visit WatchmanMonitoring.com/cmdctrlpwr and sign up for your free trial to find out how Watchman Monitoring can keep an eye on your client machines and notify you of over 100 issues. Be sure to tweet @cmdctrlpwr #CCPsentme to support the show!

TOPICS:

Joanna Stern - Day with Apple Watch 3
Apple Watch Series 3 Review: No iPhone, No Problem?
http://macs.ws/2x5y8UN

Prioritize WiFi Networks on Your iOS Device
https://pxlnv.com/blog/prioritize-wifi-ios/

Filemaker Tips
Configuring security for FileMaker Server 14 and earlier
https://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14169/

https://support.code42.com/CrashPlan/5/Troubleshooting/Stop_and_start_the_Code42_app_service

List of supported email clients for Sending Mail
http://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15667/~/list-of-supported-email-clients-for-sending-mail

215: Adam Engst of TidBITS Content Network for Apple Consultants & Will O'Neal

Topics:

This week Command Control Power is joined by not one, but two guests.  Adam Engst of TidBITS and Will O'Neal of Mid-Atlantic Computer Solutions.  Both guests share their perspectives on the TidBITS Content Network.  Adam is the publisher of TidBITS, a free email and web publication for the Macintosh community.  He has recently introduced the TidBITS Content Network, which provides professionally written, edited, and illustrated tips and articles that its members can use to update their blogs, create a vibrant social media presence, and power email newsletters that people will actually read. Will O'Neal was one of the first subscribers and both gentlemen offer information on not only the creation of TCN but how it can impact your business.  Enjoy!

TidBITS Content Network: https://tcn.tidbits.com/apple-pros/
-Sign up for a free trial today and get TCN content from both July and August!”

Adam C. Engst is the publisher of TidBITS, one of the oldest and most-respected Internet-based newsletters, distributed weekly to tens of thousands of readers. He has written numerous technical books, including the best-selling Internet Starter Kit series, and many magazine articles - thanks to Contributing Editor positions at MacUser, MacWEEK, and Macworld. His innovations include the creation of the first advertising program to support an Internet publication in 1992, the first flat-rate accounts for graphical Internet access in 1993 (with Northwest Nexus for Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh), and the highly successful Take Control electronic book series. In addition, he has collaborated on several Internet educational videos and has appeared on a variety of internationally broadcast television and radio programs. His indefatigable support of the Macintosh community and commitment to helping individuals has resulted in numerous awards and recognition at the highest levels. In the annual MDJ Power 25 survey of industry insiders, he ranked as the second (2000), third (2001, 2002), fourth (2003), fifth (2004), and third (2005/2006) most influential person in the Macintosh industry. He has also been included on the MacTech 25 list of influential people in the Macintosh technical community for both 2006 and 2007, and he was named one of MacDirectory's top ten visionaries. And how many industry figures can boast of being turned into an action figure?

Will O'Neal, founder and president of both Mid-Atlantic and Metro-Atlanta Computer Solutions, has been supporting Macintosh for nearly twenty years. He began his career in 1989 operating Linotronic Typesetters for Darby Graphics and worked his way into technical support after becoming an expert with early versions of page layouts, image editing applications and font management issues. He started MACS in 2002. Since then, the company has grown from just Will to twelve Apple enthusiasts, including six Apple Certified outside technicians. Will holds the title of Apple Certified Technical Coordinator, and he regularly attends classes around the world to stay on top of the latest hardware, software and solutions for business of all types and sizes. Because of Will’s vast experience and desire to stay current on ‘all things Apple’, he is also the Lead Technical Advisor for MACS. He has a passion for providing exceptional service and solutions to his customers.