Take Control of Your Passwords, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of Your Passwords, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Joe Kissell |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 108 |
Release | 2024-03-21 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 1990783309 |
Overcome password frustration with Joe Kissell's expert advice! Version 4.1.1, updated March 21, 2024 Password overload has driven many of us to take dangerous shortcuts. If you think ZombieCat12 is a secure password, that you can safely reuse a password, or that no one would try to steal your password, think again! Overcome password frustration with expert advice from Joe Kissell! Passwords have become a truly maddening aspect of modern life, but with this book, you can discover how the experts handle all manner of password situations, including multi-factor authentication that can protect you even if your password is hacked or stolen. The book explains what makes a password secure and helps you create a strategy that includes using a password manager, working with oddball security questions like "What is your pet’s favorite movie?", and making sure your passwords are always available when needed. Joe helps you choose a password manager (or switch to a better one) in a chapter that discusses desirable features and describes nine different apps, with a focus on those that work in macOS, iOS, Windows, and Android. The book also looks at how you can audit your passwords to keep them in tip-top shape, use two-step verification and two-factor authentication, and deal with situations where a password manager can’t help. New in the Fourth Edition is complete coverage of passkeys, which offer a way to log in without passwords and are rapidly gaining popularity—but also come with a new set of challenges and complications. The book also now says more about passcodes for mobile devices. An appendix shows you how to help a friend or relative set up a reasonable password strategy if they're unable or unwilling to follow the recommended security steps, and an extended explanation of password entropy is provided for those who want to consider the math behind passwords. This book shows you exactly why: • 9-character passwords with upper- and lowercase letters, digits, and punctuation are not strong enough. • You cannot turn a so-so password into a great one by tacking a punctuation character and number on the end. • It is not safe to use the same password everywhere, even if it’s a great password. • A password is not immune to automated cracking because there’s a delay between login attempts. • Even if you’re an ordinary person without valuable data, your account may still be hacked, causing you problems. • You cannot manually devise “random” passwords that will defeat potential attackers. • Just because a password doesn’t appear in a dictionary, that does not necessarily mean that it’s adequate. • It is not a smart idea to change your passwords every month. • Truthfully answering security questions like “What is your mother’s maiden name?” does not keep your data more secure. • Adding a character to a 10-character password does not make it 10% stronger. • Easy-to-remember passwords like “correct horse battery staple” will not solve all your password problems. • All password managers are not pretty much the same. • Passkeys are beginning to make inroads, and may one day replace most—but not all!—of your passwords. • Your passwords will not be safest if you never write them down and keep them only in your head. But don’t worry, the book also teaches you a straightforward strategy for handling your passwords that will keep your data safe without driving you batty.
Take Control of Your Apple ID, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of Your Apple ID, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Glenn Fleishman |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 139 |
Release | 2023-09-22 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 1990783368 |
Prevent (or solve) problems with your Apple ID! Version 4.0, updated September 22, 2023 The center of the Apple world is the Apple ID. This little identifier ties up your access to iCloud, to purchased and streaming music, TV, and movies, and to all your devices. While an Apple ID account is critical, Apple has made it difficult to navigate the many features associated with it—and particularly to troubleshoot when things go wrong. This book helps you manage your password, enhanced security, and account details, and recovery options, like the Recovery Key and Recovery Contact. You will find it invaluable as a guide for every-day Apple ID questions, and in a pinch when you’re at wit’s end.n Everything Apple relies on your Apple ID. It’s a key that unlocks a long list of Apple products and services on any of numerous devices. iCloud uses an Apple ID, as does Apple Music; the App Store; the Music, TV, and Books apps; and more. An Apple ID protects your personal information, including email and iOS/iPadOS backups; helps you find a lost iPhone; and can even unlock your Mac. So it goes without saying that if something goes wrong with your Apple ID, you could be in for a world of hurt. Unfortunately, things go wrong with Apple IDs all the time. Fortunately, Glenn Fleishman, a veteran technology journalist and the author of Macworld’s “Mac 911” column, is ready to help with expert advice on how to manage your Apple ID—including how to prevent, solve, or work around most common problems! This latest edition is fully updated for all the changes released by Apple in 2023 connected to your Apple ID, as well as for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14 Sonoma, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and other Apple products and services. In this book, Glenn answers questions like: • What all is my Apple ID used for? • How does my iCloud account relate to my Apple ID? • What’s two-factor authentication and how do I manage it—and not get locked out of my account? • Should I invest in hardware security keys to up the protection of my Apple ID account? • What problems can two-factor authentication (2FA) solve, and how do I use it? • Are there other mechanisms I can use to ensure that I can recover an Apple ID in the event of a problem? (Spoiler: yes!) • What should I do if I have two or more Apple IDs or iCloud accounts? • Will I lose access to all my Apple media purchases if I move to another country? • Can I share an Apple ID with someone else? • What does an Apple One account offer and how does it interact with Family Sharing and iCloud+ storage tiers? • Is there an explanation for how code-based and hardware-based second factors protect my account and how they differ from passkeys? (Yes!) • What exactly should I do if I think someone is hacking my Apple ID account? • How can I recover a forgotten Apple ID password? • What happens if I’m assaulted or drugged and someone gains access to my iPhone passcode and resets my Apple ID? (Sadly, a too real, if uncommon, problem.) • What steps should I take if Apple locks me out of my account? • If I lose access to an email address associated with my Apple ID, what can I do? • What Apple ID changes in recent versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS do I need to know about? • How can I use Family Sharing to share data and purchases within my family? • What types of subscriptions can I manage with my Apple ID, and how? • Which payment methods can I associate with my Apple ID, and how do I manage them? And that’s just the beginning. Glenn has packed a remarkable amount of concise problem-solving information into this comprehensive book. Read it before you encounter Apple ID problems to minimize your risk, and if you’ve already encountered a problem, read it to find the best path to a rapid solution.
Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Joe Kissell |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 195 |
Release | 2023-03-27 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 199078304X |
Set up a rock-solid backup strategy so that you can restore quickly and completely, no matter what catastrophe arises. Version 4.4.1, updated March 27, 2023 This book helps you design a sensible backup strategy, choose and configure the best backup hardware and software for your needs, and understand how to make your backups as painless as possible. Creating and maintaining a solid backup plan is essential to anyone who uses a Mac, in order to prevent the loss of important data if disaster strikes—whether through hardware or software failure, theft, human error, or other mishap. In Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac, Fourth Edition, tech expert Joe Kissell explains how to design a sensible backup strategy, choose and configure the best backup hardware and software for your needs, and understand how to make your backups as painless as possible. His advice is equally useful to those who have never had a backup system and those whose backup systems are in need of an update. The fourth edition, a major rewrite, fully delves into the new challenges presented by Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, M-series Macs, and the ever-changing landscape of Mac backup hardware, software, and cloud services. It features entirely rethought advice about bootable (and non-bootable) duplicates, backup media, and disk formats, as well as changes in Time Machine and the weird world of APFS snapshots. This book covers macOS 10.14 Mojave through macOS 13 Ventura. Using this book, you’ll learn how to: • Design (or update) the ideal backup system: If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll find all the information necessary to assemble a reliable and easy-to-use backup system. If you’re updating an existing system, you’ll learn about what’s new in hardware, software, and online services that might affect the way you back up your Mac in the future. • Choose backup software: Apple’s Time Machine is both free and easy to use, but it’s not the best choice for everyone, and even if you do use Time Machine, you’ll certainly want to supplement it with other tools. You’ll learn about key features to look for in a backup app and find tips on using several popular tools. You’ll also discover the pros and cons of cloud backup services, and get help choosing the right one. (An online appendix covers dozens of apps and services.) • Shop for hardware: Depending on your needs and goals, you may need one or more external SSDs or hard drives, but the range of options (sizes, interfaces, speeds, and more) can be bewildering. Joe helps you find the best backup hardware, whether it’s individual SSDs or hard drives, RAIDs, NAS devices, or other options. • Make and maintain backups: Once you’ve selected hardware and software, you’ll need to know how to make your first backup, set up your backups to run unattended, and test them regularly to make sure they’re working as they should. This includes both versioned backups (which contain old file versions and deleted files) and—for some users—bootable or non-bootable (data-only) clones. And, you’ll learn about strategies for keeping extra backups offsite. • Operate Time Machine: If you choose Time Machine for versioned backups, you’ll learn how to back up and restore individual files, app-specific data (such as contacts), and even an entire disk. You’ll also discover why and how to encrypt Time Machine backups, how APFS snapshots work (inside and outside Time Machine), and what to do if Time Machine misbehaves. • Deal with unusual backup needs: If you deal with exceptionally large files (such as audio and video files), spend a lot of time on the road away from your usual backup hardware, run Windows on your Mac, or rely on cloud services to store essential data, you’ll want to take extra (or different) steps to make sure everything is safely backed up. • Manage your media: What happens when a backup drive fills up, or becomes so old that you worry about its future reliability? What if you want to archive older files for posterity, but not necessarily maintain them as part of your daily backups? Joe explains how to deal with media management tasks such as these. • Recover lost data: Backing up data can be easy, but restoring it is often more challenging. When you discover that data is missing—whether due to a disk error, theft, or a simple mistake—you need to know the exact steps needed to recover it and get back to work as soon as possible.
Take Control of iOS & iPadOS Privacy and Security, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of iOS & iPadOS Privacy and Security, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Glenn Fleishman |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 270 |
Release | 2023-12-13 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 1990783392 |
Master networking, privacy, and security for iOS and iPadOS! Version 4.2, updated January 29, 2024 Ensuring that your iPhone or iPad’s data remains secure and in your control and that your private data remains private isn’t a battle—if you know what boxes to check and how to configure iOS and iPadOS to your advantage. Take Control of iOS & iPadOS Privacy and Security takes you into the intricacies of Apple’s choices when it comes to networking, data sharing, and encryption—and protecting your personal safety. Substantially updated to cover dozens of changes and new features in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17! Your iPhone and iPad have become the center of your digital identity, and it’s easy to lose track of all the ways in which Apple and other parties access your data legitimately—or without your full knowledge and consent. While Apple nearly always errs on the side of disclosure and permission, many other firms don’t. This book comprehensively explains how to configure iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and iCloud-based services to best protect your privacy with messaging, email, browsing, and much more. The book also shows you how to ensure your devices and data are secure from intrusion from attackers of all types. You’ll get practical strategies and configuration advice to protect yourself against psychological and physical threats, including restrictions on your freedom and safety. For instance, you can now screen images that may contain nude images, while Apple has further enhanced Lockdown Mode to block potential attacks by governments, including your own. Take Control of iOS & iPadOS Privacy and Security covers how to configure the hundreds of privacy and data sharing settings Apple offers in iOS and iPadOS, and which it mediates for third-party apps. Safari now has umpteen different strategies built in by Apple to protect your web surfing habits, personal data, and identity, and new features in Safari, Mail, and Messages that block tracking of your movement across sites, actions on ads, and even when you open and view an email message. In addition to privacy and security, this book also teaches you everything you need to know about networking, whether you’re using 3G, 4G LTE, or 5G cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or combinations of all of them; as well as about AirDrop, AirPlay, Airplane Mode, Personal Hotspot, and tethering. You’ll learn how to: • Twiddle 5G settings to ensure the best network speeds on your iPhone or iPad. • Master the options for a Personal Hotspot for yourself and in a Family Sharing group. • Set up a device securely from the moment you power up a new or newly restored iPhone or iPad. • Manage Apple’s built-in second factor verification code generator for extra-secure website and app logins. • Create groups of passwords and passkeys you can share securely with other iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. • Decide whether Advanced Data Protection in iCloud, an enhanced encryption option that makes nearly all your iCloud data impossible for even Apple to view, makes sense for you. • Use passkeys, a high-security but easy-to-use website login system with industry-wide support. • Block unknown (and unwanted) callers, iMessage senders, and phone calls, now including FaceTime. • Protect your email by using Hide My Email, a iCloud+ tool to generate an address Apple manages and relays messages through for you—now including email used with Apple Pay transactions. • Use Safari’s blocking techniques and how to review websites’ attempts to track you, including the latest improvements in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. • Use Communication Safety, a way to alert your children about sensitive images—but now also a tool to keep unsolicited and unwanted images of private parts from appearing on your devices. • Understand why Apple might ask for your iPhone, iPad, or Mac password when you log in on a new device using two-factor authentication. • Keep yourself safe when en route to a destination by creating a Check In partner who will be alerted if you don’t reach your intended end point or don’t respond within a period of time. • Dig into Private Browsing’s several new features in iOS 17/iPadOS 17, designed to let you leave no trace of your identity or actions behind, while protecting your iPhone or iPad from prying eyes, too. • Manage data usage across two phone SIMs (or eSIMS) at home and while traveling. • Use a hardware encryption key to strongly protect your Apple ID account. • Share a Wi-Fi password with nearby contacts and via a QR Code. • Differentiate between encrypted data sessions and end-to-end encryption. • Stream music and video to other devices with AirPlay 2. • Use iCloud+’s Private Relay, a privacy-protecting browsing service that keeps your habits and locations from prying marketing eyes. • Deter brute-force cracking by relying on an Accessories timeout for devices physically being plugged in that use USB and other standards. • Configure Bluetooth devices. • Enjoy enhanced AirDrop options that let you tap two iPhones to transfer files and continue file transfers over the internet when you move out of range. • Protect Apple ID account and iCloud data from unwanted access at a regular level and via the new Safety Check, designed to let you review or sever digital connections with people you know who may wish you harm.
Take Control of Pages, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of Pages, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Michael E. Cohen |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 312 |
Release | 2023-10-10 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 1990783384 |
Unlock the power of Pages for Mac and iPad! Version 4.0, updated October 10, 2023 Discover how to make the most out of Pages! In this fully revised fourth edition, Michael E. Cohen digs deep into Pages, unearthing the nuggets of knowledge you need to make your work shine. Create complex documents of all sorts on your Mac or iPad, sync them via iCloud, and share them with other people.n Apple’s Pages word processor is a big, rich app with hundreds of features tucked away in nooks and crannies, making Michael E. Cohen’s comprehensive book an essential resource for newbies and experts alike. Whether you prefer to dive into the details or get quick help with a particular feature, this book has got you covered. Note: This edition of the book focuses primarily on the Mac and iPad versions of Pages, although it does cover the iPhone and web versions of the app to a limited extent. In this thoroughly revised fourth edition, Michael expands his already extensive guide, detailing all the changes Apple has made to Pages since the last version of the book was released, including support for macOS 14 Sonoma and iPadOS 17. Among many other new and updated features, learn about using Mail Merge, adding and working with 3D images, and collaborating with other users on a document. You’ll also learn how to find features that have been moved or renamed. With Michael’s help, you can navigate Pages like a pro. You'll also learn how to: • Find all the tools you need, whether on a Mac or an iPad • Do everyday word processing, including working with fonts, tabs, indents, rulers, search and replace, spell checking, and more • Format longer, more complex documents, with customized headers, footers, page numbers, tables of content, footnotes, and section breaks • Manage styles, including paragraph styles, character styles, list styles, and object styles • Create your own templates, complete with layout objects • Master the many multi-touch gestures in iPadOS that give you pinpoint control over page elements • Include complex tables and charts and make them look exactly the way you want • Customize layout and manipulate graphics like a pro • Collaborate with others in real time using iCloud • Share your documents across devices, using Mac, iPad, iPhone, or almost any web browser
Take Control of Apple TV, 4th Edition
Title | Take Control of Apple TV, 4th Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Josh Centers |
Publisher | alt concepts |
Total Pages | 100 |
Release | 2023-12-13 |
Genre | House & Home |
ISBN | 1990783449 |
Everything you need to know about the Apple TV! Version 4.0, updated December 13, 2023 Whether you're considering an Apple TV, already own one, or have a smart TV or streaming device that supports AirPlay and/or the Apple TV app, you can more fully enjoy Apple’s ecosystem with this ultimate guide by editor Josh Centers. You'll learn about the best TVs and sound equipment to buy, how to maximize your Apple TV's picture quality, get the most out of the Apple TV app, control your media with AirPlay, and so much more!n Josh walks you through cables, ports, and setup, and explains how to use gestures and spoken commands with the Siri Remote—yes, you can talk to your TV! He helps you navigate and customize the Home screen, plus describes getting-started settings such as inputting your Apple ID and enabling parental controls. You'll learn how to use the TV app (whether on the Apple TV box itself, on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad; or on a third-party smart TV), and how you can best view home movies and TV shows. The book also looks at using an Apple TV to listen to your music or Apple Music, download and play podcasts from the Podcasts app, and browse your photos. In Take Control of Apple TV you'll also read about: • What's new in tvOS 17 • Which Apple TV model to buy—or whether you should get different hardware instead • Getting the most out of your the Siri Remote (either version) • Alternatives to the Siri Remote • Using Control Center on an Apple TV • Using a game controller with Apple TV • Controlling Apple TV with Shortcuts • Using AirPlay to beam the display of your Mac or iPhone screen to your TV • Making Mac or iOS/iPadOS audio play through your TV’s speakers • Making and receiving FaceTime calls on an Apple TV • Using SharePlay to watch shows with friends in other places • Running Home Sharing to play media from a local computer • Using one or more HomePods as speakers for your Apple TV • Using an Apple Watch to control your Apple TV • What you can do with Conference Room Display mode • How to tell whether an iOS/iPadOS app includes a free copy of its Apple TV version • How to reset or restore an Apple TV—useful for troubleshooting or for handing your device to a new owner
Take Control of 1password
Title | Take Control of 1password PDF eBook |
Author | Joe Kissell |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | |
Release | 2020 |
Genre | Computers |
ISBN | 9781947282315 |