Perhaps one of the more ubiquitous problems that OS X users encounter is a periodic inability to maintain a steady Wi-Fi connection. While for many people Wi-Fi is relatively stable, for others there may be times (sometimes quite frequent), where the connection will drop, give an error, and otherwise refuse to join. There are many reasons why Wi-Fi connections may do this, including everything from electromagnetic interference to faulty configurations, so troubleshooting it may be daunting. However, if you find yourself running into this issue regularly, then there are a few quick fixes that should get you up and running again. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2015
How to take screenshots on any supported Apple device
Capturing the current view of your Mac or iPhone can be useful for communicating exactly what you are seeing on your screen to someone. This can be great for troubleshooting and guiding someone on a specific procedure, but can also be useful for quickly preserving an image or some text you are seeing. Most Apple devices that display content support a screenshot option, and this can be invoked in most conditions to capture what you are seeing. Continue reading
How to require a password for shared printers in OS X
If you have a printer set up on your Mac, then sharing it has always been a relatively simple process. Doing so allows anyone on the local network or who have remote access to the current system via iCloud’s Back To My Mac service, to see your printer as a nearby printer in the standard print dialogue. By default, this setup allows anyone to print to the shared printer; however, you can also set restrictions to require authentication before printing is allowed. Continue reading
Tackle Pro Video Formats 2.0.1 always appearing in Software Update
If you use your Mac for professional video editing with Final Cut Pro X, Motion, or Compressor software, then you may have been presented with the recent Pro Video Formats 2.0.1 software update to give you the latest compatibility with various codecs you may use to import and export video. However, as can be the case with updates at times, even though you download and install it, your Mac may repeatedly display this update as being available, despite having installed it. Continue reading
iCloud syncing in Photos causing Wi-Fi hangups in OS X 10.10.3
Some people who have updated their Macs to OS X 10.10.3 are noticing dropouts in Wi-Fi connectivity. While such problems have affected past OS X versions, in these cases often the problems only started after updating to version 10.10.3, and not before. Whenever Wi-Fi problems crop up in OS X, unfortunately there can be a myriad of reasons that might take meticulous troubleshooting to fix; however, one issue that seems common to many affected people is some interference with the iCloud syncing features in Photos. Continue reading
Fix missing ‘New Message’ sound in Mail after upgrading to OS X 10.10.3
When you receive messages in Mail, you have the option of sounding an audio alert so you know new messages have arrived. However, after upgrading to OS X 10.10.3, you might find yourself in a situation where despite Mail otherwise operating normally, the alert sound you choose will not play, or may not play at all times. While not a problem that will affect the use of your Mac, it does put you at a slight inconvenience if you have grown accustomed to this sound for checking your mail. Continue reading
Two fixes for Yosemite Recovery Update 1.0 always being available
Along with the OS X 10.10.3 update, Apple issued Yosemite Recovery Update 1.0 to fix a few bugs and enhance the Recovery process for systems running OS X Yosemite. The update is available only through the App Store’s software update service, and while this service should only show software that has not been installed, for some people their systems are constantly showing this update as being available. This continues even after attempting to install the update multiple times. Continue reading
‘No iOS Zone’ flaw may crash unpatched iOS devices
A bug exists in iOS 8 that will allow a maliciously configured Wi-Fi hotspot to crash any iOS device that connects to it. The flaw, was found by security researchers at Skycure, and operates by manipulating SSL certificates. When your iPhone or iPad connects to one of these hotspots, it may suddenly restart, and then continue doing so in a loop as long as it attempts to reconnect to the same hotspot. Continue reading
Manage a Mac pausing during Setup Assistant
If you set up a new Mac with a clean installation of OS X Yosemite, then you might find yourself in a situation where the OS X Setup Assistant utility pauses and hangs with the spinning color wheel. This may persist for minutes on end, and have you assuming the setup has failed, requiring you to manually reset your Mac. However, when you do so, the same behavior persists. Continue reading
Rootpipe vulnerability still affects Macs despite patch
Despite having issued an update that patches the recent security flaw in OS X called “rootpipe,” security researchers are demonstrating that OS X is still open to this ongoing vulnerability. Rootpipe is a backdoor flaw in OS X where a hacker can break the OS X sandboxing rules that isolate running processes. In doing so, a program that does not have admin access can gain these privileges and get full root privileges to the system. Continue reading