Tips, Tricks and Articles about your Technology

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I was in the middle of a remote support session with a business client, when the sound of bongo drums rang out loud!

I thought that it must have been one of my client's devices that did that, or that I somehow started some music by hitting some keyboard shortcut.

But shortly after that appointment it happened again - and I realised that it was the 'alert' sound that my Mac was playing whenever a Message arrived!

I had not knowingly changed that alert sound (and have no idea why it changed), but it definitely needed changing back to the original sound.  Here's how this alert sound can be changed.

The Messages app has some wonderful special effects that are really worth discovering.  Here is one that I love using every now and then.  It is the 'send with echo' effect, and below are a couple of examples in very short videos (press play ▶︎ to watch each).

One of the topics discussed at Friday's iPad and iPhone user group related to image sizes, and how to adjust the size of images you send.

Recently, I sent a Message (using the Messages app) to a group of friends, from my iPhone to theirs, adding the screen effect shown on the right before sending.  

They had never seen a Message like that before, and asked how I achieved that effect!

It's actually very easy, using a feature added to the Messages app as part of iOS 10. It's a lovely way of making a message extra special.

Here's a really short clip showing the effect in action - tap/click ▶︎ to view.

We have created a Handy Hint that provides a 'how to' for this feature. Members can click/tap the below link to view this hint.   (You will need an iTandCoffee Club login to to view this tip - find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here.)

• Sending a special animation with your Message - a heart, balloons, fireworks and more

For users of iPhones who also have an iPad and/or Mac computer, there is a feature of the Messages app that many of you may not yet be taking advantage of.

The feature is called 'Text Message Forwarding'.

This feature allows you to receive BOTH iMessages and SMS messages on all of your Apple devices.  

Many of you will already be getting your iMessages (the 'blue' bubbles) on the iPad or Mac, but not seeing the 'green' bubbles on those devices (the SMS's).

Find out how to enable this Messages feature in this week's Handy Hint for iTandCoffee Club members.  

​Not yet a member?  Find out more about the Club here.  

If you have you been confused about why Apple sometimes shows that your device is in some other location, you are not alone.

In particular, the message says that 'Your Apple ID is being used to sign in to a device near ...' and shows a location that is (usually) in your current city somewhere, but just not necessarily at your current location.

This is one that iTandCoffee deals with regularly.  In a very recent example, Messages was failing to complete activation because the owner of a new iPhone 7 Plus was choosing the wrong option when shown a message on her iPad - a message indicating that someone was attempting to access her account 'near St Kilda Rd'.  

This was confusing, given she lives in Clayton - so she chose 'Don't Allow' every time it popped up.

Why do I get a message that shows a sign-in has been requested at some other location?

I know you will be asking "How do I add these other effects to my Message?"

Here is a really good article that gives you step by step instructions.

Have fun playing with these new effects.

In many, many previous articles, iTandCoffee has covered the various types of email scam that seeks to catch you out - try to tempt you into clicking a link or downloading an infected attachment.

Please also be very aware that such scams can come to you as a text message as well.

Here is an example that a client of iTandCoffee received just last week and, because we had on the day before been sorting out some issues relating to his Apple account, he had assumed that the message was about that same account.  

So often it is the timing of these texts or emails that cause people to think they are legitimate

Having clicked the link and signed in with his email address and password, this client then only realised that something may be amiss when he was asked for credit card details - at which point he contacted iTandCoffee.

We then needed to (very quickly) change his passwords for both his Gmail and Apple accounts - to prevent the perpetrators of this scam from accessing either of these accounts and doing any damage.  

He was lucky, as we got to his accounts before the scammers had a chance to access them.  Had we not done this, he may have been locked out of his account/s, his data stolen and other nasty damage may have been done.

If you receive something like this - either via email or text - and need help in determining whether it is legitimate or not, why not forward it to scamwatch@itandcoffee.com.au.  We can have a look at it, and let you know if it is legitimate (or not).

Related articles and handy hints

As you can see by the long list of previously published blog articles below, the topic of email scams is one that iTandCoffee features on a very regular basis.  Click on any of the below article names to read the full article.
​

• That scam 'Australia Post' email that could easily have caught me out this week!
• Beware of emails saying you have a parcel for collection!
• Help! My iPad's Safari has been locked by 'ransomware'.
• A nasty scam email from 'Microsoft'
• That 'Bunnings' gift voucher email again ...
• Another iTandCoffee client caught out by a fake Telstra phone call
• A new scam email to look out for ...
• A scam to be aware of if you lose your iPhone or iPad ...
• Please be careful not to fall for the Whatsapp email scam
• Apparently, my iCloud account has been banned!
• A new scam email with a different 'flavour'!
• Yet another scam email that I have received - this time from 'Woolworths'
• Facebook post about ATM PIN reversal is not true!
• This week's Scam Watch: Beware of emails from 'Bunnings' and 'Apple'
• Do you use the same password for everything?
• Beware of emails from your friends - they may be dangerous!
• Is iCloud Safe?
• A scam to be wary of when selling on Gumtree
• Securing your Hotmail account (or live.com or outlook.com account)
• Beware of Telstra scam calls about your internet or phone service
• Scam email alert!  Beware!
• A scam email from 'Apple'

I heard a very sad tale this week - about a family of Apple device users who, because of the incorrect setup of iCloud on their respective devices, is now in a terrible state of turmoil and upheaval.

When 'text' messages are not so private

One member of the household was involved in a very private set of communications with another person outside the family, using the Messages app on the iPhone - thinking that this was just 'texting' and that no-one else would see the 'texts'.

Unfortunately for that member of the household, other members of the family also received the very private replies on their own devices - revealing to them some disturbing information that was never intended for their eyes.

Bl**dy iCloud

The person telling me this story started with the words "Bl**dy iCloud!". 

Too many times I hear this - that mis-directed iPhone Messages are interpreted as a deficiency of iCloud.  This is then perpetuated as a reason to 'mistrust' iCloud.

What went wrong?

In fact, it is just that (unfortunately), this family's iCloud and iMessage setup was all wrong. 

Instead of using separate Apple IDs when signing in to iMessage on each device, they have made the mistake of using a common 'family' Apple ID, shared by two or more members of the family.

To make matters worse, they had probably also signed in to iCloud using that same Apple ID on each of their devices.

This would mean that their iCloud setup would be a tangled mess, one that results in family members seeing (and perhaps deleting) each others' Contacts, and maybe seeing Calendar events that were not their own.  (They may even have ended up seeing each others' passwords, and more.)

Have you made the same mistake with iCloud and Messages?

It's time to check your own iPhone, iPad and those of the rest of your family.  Do you also have this iCloud confusion?

Please feel free to tell us about your iCloud woes below - or ask a question of iTandCoffee.

If you are in an iCloud mess, iTandCoffee specialises in helping families in this situation.  

Contact Us for assistance - you can visit the iTandCoffee shop in Glen Iris, or we can come to you in Boroondara, Stonnington and surrounding suburbs.

iTandCoffee has a fantastic, informative guide to iCloud, called 'Introduction to iCloud'.  We are offering this guide for FREE for a limited time to iTandCoffee Club Members.

Visit The iTandCoffee Clubhouse to find out how to get this guide››

If you are not yet a member of The iTandCoffee Club, it only costs $30 year to gain access to great offers like this, as well as regular free/half-prices sessions, unlimited access to iTandCoffee's Handy Hint library, free videos of classes, slideshows of classes and more.

Find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here››