23/8/2015 0 Comments Be careful what you say in an iMessage. Someone unexpected might be getting the message!So often, I hear comments that iCloud does not work properly and causes problems in families. One of the key complaints is that family members end up getting each others' message, and iCloud is usually blamed for this problem. The reality is, iCloud is not really the problem when it comes to any device 'confusion' in families. It is that the various devices in the family have not been set up properly. Be careful what you say in iMessage! It is important to be aware of the potential existence of 'iCloud confusion' in the families of the people that you send messages to. Because of this incorrect iCloud setup, you can never be sure who will see a message that you send! Kids or husbands might also be getting your messages! In many cases, people just throw their hands up and assume it is just a 'quirk' of iCloud and iMessage. It is not, and can certainly be rectified quite easily. If you need help with sorting out your family's iCloud confusion - and ensuring that others are not getting your Messages (and perhaps your Contact, Calendars, etc), contact iTandCoffee on 1300 885 420 (or email enquiries@itandcoffee.com.au). Another way that your Messages may be seen by others Another way that your messages can be seen by unintended eyes is when messages appear in full on the owner's Lock Screen. This can be prevented - ie. you can tell your iPhone and iPad to only show the message in full if the screen is unlocked. When the screen is locked, an alert will simply appear saying that a message has been received, with no details. Find out how you can prevent full display of your message on your Lock Screen in the below Handy Hint, available for members of The iTandCoffee Club. (Sign in here first, if you are not already signed in.) Not yet a member of The iTandCoffee Club? Why not join today, for access to iTandCoffee's vast library of Handy Hints, special members-only information sessions and other special offers advertised from time to time. Related articles and hints
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23/8/2015 1 Comment How is the average person (especially a pensioner) supposed to cope with Centrelink OnlineGripe time. Over the past week or so, I have spent a not-insignificant amount of time trying to assist my parents to do a couple of things online in relation to Centrelink and their pension. Firstly, they received a letter advising that they had to complete an online declaration in relation to their tax. So they came to me for assistance with this, given that they are very new to the world of online accounts, and have previously steered clear of any financial transactions using the internet. Even I found the process confusing, and was not sure at the end of it whether we had set up an online account with Centrelink. So we figured that, while we were at it, I should assist them to ensure that they have a MyGov account for any future online management of their Centrelink business. That's where the fun started. For my Dad, we had to set up a new Gmail email account in order for him to register with MyGov - because it is not possible for them both to use the same email address that is their current shared email address. This, then, meant that we had to set up this email account on my Mum's iPad, so that they could receive any emails sent to this new email account. What average retiree would be able to perform these two tasks? Once we had set up the MyGov account for my Mum, we were given the option to link her pension card to the MyGov account. We entered all the required details (exactly as shown on the Pension Card), only to be told that the details didn't match Centrelink's system and that Mum would need to call Centrelink to sort it out. We tried to set up this same link in Dad's MyGov account, only to get the same message. We tried multiple times (just in case it was something to do with how we were entering their address details), but received a rejection each time with no explanation of what was wrong - only that the details didn't match. So, Mum and Dad were forced to sit on the phone for at least an hour waiting to get through to Centrelink, only to be told that their online attempts failed due to the fact that they needed to attend Centreline IN PERSON with various pieces of ID evidence, in order to link MyGov to their Pension accounts. So, a long and tedious wait in the Centrelink queue awaits them this week! Why could the website not include that information? So much wasted time, energy and frustration! It was so co-incidental that my sister then saw this article link in this weekend's Age online, describing a soon-to-be mother's equally frustrating experiences with Centrelink. I am sure it not just my own parents who are frustrated and bamboozled - and just a little terrified - of Centrelink's push to get its clients online. If you know someone who needs help with getting set up and using these (or any other) online services, get them to contact iTandCoffee on 1300 885 420. 23/8/2015 1 Comment Let's get together and sort out where to store all those passwords - free* session at iTandCoffeeHow am I supposed to remember all my passwords? Where can I store them safely? These questions are asked every week at iTandCoffee, multiple times! So, let's get together and look at how to solve this password problem once and for all. Join iTandCoffee for a FREE* 1-hour (approx) session where we will set up and learn to use a great app that allows you to safely store all your passwords and gain easy access to them whenever you need them. This session will be held on Friday 3rd September at 10am at iTandCoffee, 34 High Street Glen Iris. For more details and the book, click here! *Session is free for members of The iTandCoffee Club. Non-members can attend for a cost of $30. Not yet a member? Join the Club today! 21/8/2015 0 Comments Customising the 'Sent from my iPhone' (or iPad) sign-off on your iPad and iPhoneThis one came up a couple of times this week during classes and appointments. Many people still have the 'Sent from my iPad' or 'Sent from my iPhone' automatically appearing in every email that they create. While this can be a handy way of excusing poor typing skills/spelling/grammar - by blaming the 'too small' on-screen keyboard perhaps - most people prefer to sign off with a more personalised 'email signature'. My own email signature includes my name, and contact details for iTandCoffee (as shown below). Find out how you can set up your own customised 'email signature' in the below handy hint, available for viewing by members of The iTandCoffee Club. (Sign in here first, if you are not already signed in.) Not yet a member of The iTandCoffee Club? Why not join today, for access to iTandCoffee's vast library of Handy Hints, special members-only information sessions and other special offers advertised from time to time. Regards, Lynette Coulston iTandCoffee a: 34 High St, Glen Iris, VIC 3146. t: 1300 885 420 e: enquiry@itandcoffee.com.au w: www.itandcoffee.com.au f: www.facebook.com/itandcoffee Disclaimer: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are address. if you have received this email in error, pleas notify the sender immediately and delete the email from your system Related Handy Hints and Articles
Handy Hint 4: Quick access to Drafts in Mail on iPad & iPhone Handy Hint 10: 'Save The Date' provided in an email or message Handy Hint 23: A new email feature - 'Send Again' Handy Hint 24: Oops - I didn't mean to delete that! How to undo. Handy Hint 25: How can I save documents and photos that I get in emails? Handy Hint 52: Saving PDFs to your iPad or iPhone Handy Hint 56: A nifty trick for deleting all mail from a mailbox! Handy Hint 57: Understanding Mailboxes in Mail Handy Hint 59: My iPhone (or Mac) knows people's email addresses but my iPad doesn't! Handy Hint 74: Why can't I send my emails when I am overseas or just away from home? Handy Hint 111: How to stop your Mail app from grouping your iPad and iPhone emails Blog Article: How to solve the problem with sending your Bigpond mail - before you travel! Blog Article: Where is the trash can for my Gmail emails!!?? Blog Article: Sending a mail message to a group on your iPhone or iPad - is there a way? Blog Article: Are you finding it hard to control your 'Swipe' in Mail iOS 8? Blog Article: When non-junk mail is suddenly junk iOS 8: Move a draft email out of the way to look at other mail iOS 8: New Swipe gestures when previewing mail
A client who came to iTandCoffee this week told me about the '60 Minutes' report on Sunday 16/8/15 where, purportedly, "60 Minutes uncovers huge mobile phone security vulnerabilities".
This client understood from this report that EVERYTHING that she did on her phone was able to be seen and heard by these 'hackers', including anything that she typed - passwords, credit card information, etc. So, I watched that '60 Minutes' item last night to see just what it was alleging. I found myself incredibly frustrated and annoyed. The report was just so sensationalistic and misleading, and made out that this was the first time that such vulnerabilities in the mobile phone network had been revealed. What a load of rubbish! It also made it sound like your 'data' was able to be easily stolen whenever you use the mobile phone network. If you listen closely to their ambiguous report, it becomes clear that they are only talking about your phone calls and SMS messages, not your 'mobile data'. They only refer to passwords and information that you may inadvertently 'give away' in these phone calls and SMS's. Additionally, the German 'hacker' that they showed had been given access to the mobile network by the German government. What random hackers out there are given that sort of 'carte blanche' access to a mobile network! I think it has long been known that you cannot be certain of the privacy of your mobile phone conversations and SMS's, especially if you have a high public profile or have some reason to be particularly concerned about someone 'listening in'. Personally, I figure that if someone wants to hack me, they'll not hear or see anything of much interest! I saw nothing new in that appalling story that would make me concerned about using mobile data on my mobile devices. It perhaps just re-interates the message that you should never send any private, identity, financial or password information by SMS or email. Here is an article I found today on this very topic, which also discusses what a 'beat-up' the story was. Still waiting on some furniture (especially the rest of the chairs - the white ones are temporary) and getting closer to finalising new branding and signage for the front of the shop. But it's getting close!
Here are some more pics of how the shop is looking this week - this lot taken during the day. Just love sitting in the new armchairs with the sun streaming in the window! You might see me there a bit when you drive by! Tea and coffee facilities raring to go for the first classes, due to start soon. I was just setting up a new iPad, and ventured into the Photos app for the first time - only to see this screen pop up. This has prompted me to include a warning to iPad, iPhone and Mac users ... Make sure that you FULLY understand what iCloud Photo Library is, and how it works, BEFORE you tap/click the 'Use iCloud Photo Library' option. Tapping the option can result in unexpected cost, and loss of access to your photos. The fine print at the bottom of the screen definitely does not make it clear just what clicking the presented option will mean! The safest option at this point is to choose 'Skip' at the top left. You can always turn on this new Apple feature at any time (via Settings -> iCloud -> Photos), if you later decide that you do want to use this service. Have you already turned on this feature? Do you fully understand what it means for your photos? Find out more about iCloud Photo Library at 2 FREE* Information Sessions
If you have already turned 'on' this feature (or are just interested in finding about more about it), you might want to come one of the FREE* 1-hour Information Sessions scheduled over the next two weeks at iTandCoffee in Glen Iris. Numbers are strictly limited - the first session, scheduled for Tuesday next week, is filling fast. Click/tap here for more information or to book. *These information sessions are free to iTandCoffee Club members. Non-members can attend for a cost of $30. Or, why not Join The Club today? 15/8/2015 1 Comment Classes and free information sessions now available at the new home of iTandCoffee. Join us!
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An iTandCoffee client was caught out by yet another clever scam email this week.
It came from someone the person knew and said that the sender had shared a file via a Dropbox link This is something that Dropbox users do all the time! So the recipient of this email clicked on the link and got a real-looking screen that requested login information - email address and password. In this client's case, multiple passwords were tried (along with the family email address), but each time the result was a screen showing no documents. So, the email recipient called the person who 'sent' the email - only to be told that the email had resulted from the sender being caught out by the same scam and also inadvertently giving away email address and password information.
BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE! Once again, please be very careful of clicking on links in emails.
One thing that was interesting about this case is that, when I tried the link in the scam email (as part of my research for writing this article), I got the below message on my Mac.
This is due to a built-in setting on my Mac that warns me about any suspect sites that I try to access. My iPhone and iPad also have this setting turned on as a precaution against 'phishing' emails.
Does yours?
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What's on at iTandCoffee ?Below is our list of videos, classes and other events that are coming up soon.
Videos shown are offered for eligible members of the iTandCoffee Club. If you have questions, why not join fun and informative 'user group' meetings, held once a month. All iTandCoffee classes are run as online classes (using Zoom), which means you can attend from anywhere. |
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