Blog Archives

15/12/2023 0 Comments

A handy shortcut for quickly initiating a Quick Note on the Mac

Have you discovered the Quick Note feature on the Mac?

It is such a handy feature that allows you to start a new Note really quickly, for jotting down something - for example, a receipt number, a link, or some other text that you just need to pop somewhere, either temporarily or permanently.

I recently discovered a trick that makes initiating a Quick Note so much quicker on the Mac.

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15/12/2023 0 Comments

A new App for the iPad, iPhone and Mac (and much more) in iOS 17.2 & macOS 14.2

Apple has released its latest major update to the operating system on the iPad, iPhone and Mac - iOS/iPadOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2.

While this release includes important security patches (and should therefore be installed ASAP), it also includes some significant new features.

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13/12/2023 0 Comments

Adding descriptive text to bottom of a photo so it is always visible

I have been asked this several times in relation to photos, especially old photos - is it possible for some descriptive text to appear under the photo, and always be visible?

Apple's Markup feature, which is available from the Photos app, allows the addition of text to an image. But the text appears on top of the image, which is not necessarily what is wanted. And it's not easy to add a white background to the text, so that it is like a banner at the bottom of the photo. (Here's a members-only tip that show how you could use Markup if you do want to give it a go: Add Text to Photo using Apple's Markup.)

There is a particular app that I use that does a lovely job of this, adding a white background section at the bottom of the photo with whatever text you choose to enter - and even a date for the photo, if you choose to enter that. I have shown some examples from my own family photos in the image above.

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8/12/2023 0 Comments

I've received emails from Telstra saying I won't be able to send Bigpond emails from early 2024

In recent weeks, I have been contacted by several people who are Telstra Bigpond users, and who have received email/s from Telstra advising that they will no longer be able to send emails using Bigpond from next March - unless they update some settings on their device/s.

This can seem like an impossible ask for a lot of Bigpond users, who are generally not of the younger generations!

In fact, in many cases, the way in which their email account is installed on the computer or mobile device is not even covered by the instructions that are provided by Telstra, further confusing things.

In one email that I saw from Telstra, the instructions say to Remove the Account and re-add it. What the instructions fail to mention is that, if you do remove, you may lose all history of your emails, including all your sent mail.

So what is it that Telstra is asking clients to do and why?

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7/12/2023 0 Comments

How a scammer hijacked this client's emails - even after she changed her password

Yesterday, I spent time with a client who had been the victim of scammers/hackers a few days ago.

Her email account had been accessed by a hacker, and this hacker sent emails from her email account to a large number of her contacts.

The emails pretended to be from her, and asked these people for a favour involving a relatively small amount of money. But it was not just the sending of these scam emails to her friends and family (and other contacts) that was the problem.

It was what the hacker left behind that was really concerning. If you are ever hacked, it is important to know that changing your password is not necessarily the full solution.

The hacker may still have access to your incoming emails, even though they can't directly access your email account.

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1/12/2023 0 Comments

Multi-Factor Authentication using Apple's Keychain - for simple authentication using Touch ID or Face ID

As a protection against scams and hackers, important online accounts should all be set up with additional security (other than just a password) - something called Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).

An authentication code can be provided by an Authenticator app, one that has been connected to the account (through the account’s settings). Such apps are offered by Microsoft, Google and other providers.

The issue with some authenticator apps (e.g. Microsoft’s) is that the authentication is tied to a particular device and, for some types of online account, it is not possible to set up authentication via multiple devices. If the device that normally authenticates is not available, access to your account is not possible. I have been caught out by this in the past, as have other iTandCoffee clients - especially when changing iPhones.

This was something I was concerned about before I travelled, worried that if I lost my phone, I would be locked out of various accounts - something I didn’t want to have to deal with while away.

So, before travelling, I switched all my multi-factor authentications to use Apple’s Keychain instead of Microsoft's or Google's Authenticator. Keychain offers the same ‘scan a QR code’ setup that other Authentication apps offer.

The great thing about using Keychain is that all my Apple devices can provide the authentication codes - not just one. And I only need to provide my Touch ID or Face ID on the devices to see the authentication code magically appear.

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27 Sycamore St, Camberwell, Victoria Australia
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Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420

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Tips, Tricks and News
about all sorts of technology in your life!

A handy shortcut for quickly initiating a Quick Note on the Mac

A new App for the iPad, iPhone and Mac (and much more) in iOS 17.2 & macOS 14.2

Adding descriptive text to bottom of a photo so it is always visible

I've received emails from Telstra saying I won't be able to send Bigpond emails from early 2024

How a scammer hijacked this client's emails - even after she changed her password

Multi-Factor Authentication using Apple's Keychain - for simple authentication using Touch ID or Face ID

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Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420

to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products

YOUR CART

Tips, Tricks and News about all sorts of technology in your life!

A handy shortcut for quickly initiating a Quick Note on the Mac

A new App for the iPad, iPhone and Mac (and much more) in iOS 17.2 & macOS 14.2

Adding descriptive text to bottom of a photo so it is always visible

I've received emails from Telstra saying I won't be able to send Bigpond emails from early 2024

How a scammer hijacked this client's emails - even after she changed her password

Multi-Factor Authentication using Apple's Keychain - for simple authentication using Touch ID or Face ID

Receive great articles like this fortnightly to your Inbox

Follow us on Facebook

Join the iTandCoffee Club ​for free content, tutorials, videos, classes, offers, discounts and more

What's on at iTandCoffee ?

Archives

Categories

​​Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420​to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products

Tips, Tricks and News
about all sorts of technology in your life!

Receive great articles like this
fortnightly to your Inbox

Join the iTandCoffee Club

for free content, tutorials, videos, classes, offers, discounts and more

Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420

to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products