YMUG Newsletter — for the 8th of March, 2020 CE
A collection of news and views, rants and raves, and some goofy stories compiled by Jerad Zimmermann, Esq.
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MACS, macOS, ETC
Did you accidentally give an app a permission on your Mac you didn’t mean to, or maybe just want to check what kind of access various software has across macOS? Follow along for how to check which apps have camera, mic, Photos permissions, and more.
https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/03/mac-check-app-permissions-camera-mic-photos/
There are three new Take Control e-books available for $10.49 if you follow one of the links below. You won’t see the discount on the first page but it will kick in!
Take Control of Apple TV: https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/cart/?add-to-cart=1167&pt=TCMUG&cp=CPN90219MUG
Take Control of Home Security Cameras: https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/cart/?add-to-cart=569396&pt=TCMUG&cp=CPN90219MUG
Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal: https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/cart/?add-to-cart=1079&pt=TCMUG&cp=CPN90219MUG
What is a proxy server? It’s a mediator or a replacement server. It gives your computer a different IP. In simple terms, proxy servers add more privacy to your online presence and also save a lot of bandwidth. Here’s how to set one up on a PC or Mac.
https://www.techjunkie.com/create-proxy-server/
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iOS, iPADS, iPHONES
How To Use AirPods To Spy On Others. This does work with my iPhone 6s and AirPods.
https://www.techjunkie.com/use-airpods-spy/
Apple reportedly rejecting coronavirus apps not developed by recognised institutions.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/05/apple-reportedly-rejecting-coronavirus-apps-not-developed-by-recognized-institutions
Apple has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of “secretly throttling” older iPhone models, as reported by Reuters.
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/02/apple-agrees-to-up-to-500m-batterygate-settlement/
Police use Apple’s Find My app to track fugitives during fatal police chase.
https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/03/police-find-my-app-australia-case/
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EVERYTHING ELSE
Are your AirPods acting up and not working correctly? The most probable cause for any malfunction of AirPods is outdated firmware. The good news is that you can update your AirPods firmware easily. The bad news is that you can’t do it without an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
https://www.techjunkie.com/update-airpods-firmware-without-iphone/
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THE MODERN WORLD AND ‘YOUR’ DATA
Over the past couple of years, the privacy-focused browser DuckDuckGo has been compiling a data set of web trackers. The company calls it Tracker Radar. Today, DuckDuckGo is sharing that data publicly and open sourcing the code that generates it.
https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/05/duckduckgo-tracker-radar-web-tracking/
New Intel chip flaw threatens encryption, but Macs are safe.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/06/new-intel-chip-flaw-threatens-encryption-but-macs-are-safe
A physical security key, like a YubiKey, is an excellent way to bolster your two-factor authentication and help keep your online accounts and data safe from attackers. Here’s what you need to know about using them on iOS and macOS.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/03/02/what-you-need-to-know-about-security-keys-on-ios-and-macos
Tesco is issuing new cards to 600,000 Clubcard account holders after unearthing a security issue. The supermarket giant said it believed a database of stolen usernames and passwords from other platforms had been tried out on its websites, and may have worked in some cases.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51710687
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced a fine of £500,000 for the international airline Cathay Pacific on Wednesday. It was for a data breach that occurred between October 2014 and May 2018, affecting 9.4 million users.
https://www.macobserver.com/news/cathay-pacific-fined-500000-for-major-data-breach/
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March 8th is the 68th day of this year and is also International Women’s Day! Yeah!!
Happy Birthday to: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German pianist and composer (b 1714, d 1788); Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist (b 1841, d 1935); Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English banker and author (b 1859, d 1932); Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b 1879, d 1968); Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (b 1921, d 1990); Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (b 1922, d 2008); Douglas Hurd, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b 1930 . . . wow, I didn’t realise he’s that old); Richard Fariña, American singer-songwriter and author (b 1937, d 1966); Michael Grade, English businessman (b 1943); Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b 1943, d 2010); Micky Dolenz, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor (b 1945); Randy Meisner, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b 1946); Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter and painter (b 1947); Gyles Brandreth, German-English actor, screenwriter, and politician (b 1948); Jonathan Sacks, English rabbi, philosopher, and scholar (b 1948); Gary Numan, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b 1958); Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor (b 1959).
Rest in peace these folks who died on the 8th of March: William III of England (b 1650, d 1702); Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (b 1632, d 1723); Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (b 1803, d 1869); Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States and perpetual good answer on the quiz show Pointless (b 1800, d 1874); Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Company (b 1838, d 1917); William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States (b 1857, d 1930); Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (b 1876, d 1941); Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer (b 1879, d 1961); Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (b 1893, d 1971); George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b 1904, d 1975); William Walton, English composer (b 1902, d 1983); Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (b 1914, d 1999); Edward Winter, American actor (b 1937, d 2001); Adam Faith, English singer (b 1940, d 2003); John Inman, English actor (b 1935, d 2007); George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (b 1926, d 2016); Kate Wilhelm, American author (b 1928, d 2018).
Some notable historic events that took place on March 8th: Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán (1576); Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion . . . I wonder where he found it? In a cupboard? (1618); The New York Stock Exchange is founded (1817); French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license (1910); International Women’s Day protests in St. Petersburg mark the beginning of the February Revolution (1917); Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis (1957); Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War (1965); The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences; Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision (1971); Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time (1979);While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an “evil empire” (1983); Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing (2014); The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapsed in stormy weather; what a shame, I’ve been there (2017).
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WWW = WEIRD, WONDERFUL AND WHY
NASA releases Curiosity’s 1.8 billion-pixel panorama of Mars.
https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/03/05/nasa-releases-curiositys-1-8-billion-pixel-panorama-of-mars/
Yes, yes, yes!! A scam call centre that targeted thousands of British victims has been raided by the Indian police, following a BBC investigation.
A Panorama broadcast hacked footage from inside the call centre which showed how staff charged people hundreds of pounds to fix non-existent computer problems.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51740214
The first ‘paragraph’ of a scam email I received this week:
WE THE MONEY GRAM URGENT REMITTING OFFICE HAVE SENT YOUR FULL
COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF $4.5millon TO YOU THROUGH MONEY GRAM, YOU WILL
BE RECEIVING 3,500.00USD PER DAY. NOW WE HAVE SENT THE FIRST PAYMENT
TO YOU.
NASA accepts applications for astronauts for the first time in four years. Hmm . . . I wonder if I’m too old now?
https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/02/nasa-opens-astronaut-applications/
At 91 years old, Mickey Mouse has waited a long time to finally get his own ride at a Disney theme park. On Wednesday, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/first-mickey-mouse-ride-disney-world/index.html
Japan Has Made a Kick-Ass Gaming Bed. Don’t tell my son.
https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/03/02/japan-has-made-a-kick-ass-gaming-bed/
A British comedian has legally changed his name to Hugo Boss to protest behavior by the German fashion company.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/02/uk/joe-lycett-hugo-boss-protest-intl-scli-gbr/index.html
A man in Texas who filmed himself licking ice cream and putting it back in the freezer of a Walmart supermarket has been jailed for 30 days. GOOD!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51762753
Air Wick’s new scented oil diffuser can be controlled with your iPhone. I’m definitely passing on this one!
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/02/air-wick-bluetooth-smart-diffuser/
Someone made an actual Jack-in-the-box version of Freddy Krueger! He’s from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. But you already knew that.
https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/03/03/it-exists-a-freddy-krueger-jack-in-the-box/
This Baby Yoda waffle maker is a actually a thing, i.e. it’s real.
https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/03/03/this-baby-yoda-waffle-maker-is-a-actually-a-thing/
Then there is this Darth Vader pen holder.
https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/03/07/the-force-is-strong-with-this-darth-vader-pen-holder/
There seems to be a new trend in Japan: formal funeral services …for love dolls, complete with rites led by a monk. At least, that’s the claim of the Human Love Doll Company, which offers the service, as well as the tautology, “love dolls are born to be loved.” Silicon soulmates shouldn’t be tossed in the trash as that’s believed to be bad luck in Japan, hence the need for “funerals” to leave your latex lover. The 30,000–90,000 yen (US$275–825) service includes the plastic paramour being “processed by a highly certified industrial waste disposal company” after the rites. At the highest price point, someone will read a letter to your polymeric plaything, and “a part” from the inanimate inamorata’s body will be sent to its owner afterward “as a treasured keepsake.” (RC/Japan Today)
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ABOUT YMUG
Chief Bottle Washer and television reviewer — Tony Crockford: support@ymug.org
Head of Department of Redundancy Department — Chris Brady: ymug@csjbrady.org.uk
with help from: Anzir Boodoo and Tim Pinder.
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Items for the newsletter . . . reviews, rants, raves, revelations and reflections to: Jerad Zimmermann, your participatory social mores editor: news@ymug.org
Thanks to Ian Thomas, Martin Pickering and Brendan Rowland who send me items of interest. And jokes.
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Join mactalk – YMUG’s official email list discussion group.
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SPECIAL PRICING FOR MUG MEMBERS
I’ve put the list of discounts up on the intertubes: The Take Control books are always available to MUG members for 30% off by the way.
(The page below is password protected which I can provide upon request. And don’t give the link to non-YMUG members or some of the publishers will get ever so cross about it.)
https://ymug.org/software_discounts
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