Greetings Mac Doctor followers!
It’s been awhile since I posted; I have been very busy! The good news is that I’m working on new video class content, starting with a “Photos for Mac Overview”. This video class will feature the 4.0 version of Photos, found in the latest version of Mojave. With any luck at all, I should have it available before Thanksgiving.
In other news, I continue to be discouraged by both the volume and variety of internet/email/phone scams happening these days. On top of that, hardware scams are even beginning to appear. For example, there was a report in a recent cyber-security email newsletter I receive, stating that a “nefarious hacker” was recently spotted at DefCon selling custom-made USB Lightning charging cables that look exactly like the ones that come with your iPhone. The problem is, the cables are embedded with special technology that allow a hacker to take control of your computer!*
From now on, you’re going to want to be sure the charging cables you buy are from a reputable source!
Then, on the data-breach front, it has recently come out that CenturyLink was one of the casualties of the “MongoDB” server breach, and for the last 10 months, more than 2.8 million customer information records, including names, addresses, emails & phone numbers, were left exposed. Apparently, the data was all locked down on Sept. 17th, and CenturyLink is assuring customers that “the data involved appears to be primarily contact information and we do not have reason to believe that any financial or other sensitive information was compromised.”*
*(Both of the previous two pieces of information come courtesy of the National Cybersecurity Center, whose newsletter I subscribe to.)
Appropriately, October is National Cybersecurity Month, and as such, I’d like to share a few other relevant links. First off, the Office of Homeland Security provides resources and toolkits to help improve awareness of online security and privacy protection:
And with the Census coming up next year, it’s important to be aware of potential census scams. In another recent newsletter, the Colorado State Demography Office shared a couple of good resources:
I really hate to focus on the scarier aspects of our technology-related lives in such detail, but I feel strongly that the only way to protect ourselves is to be educated and vigilant.
Here’s to a beautiful fall; hopefully you’ll hear from me again soon!
Cheers! John