Tag Archives: mac

Time to get a Password Manager – 1Password tested!

HowTo, Software, , , , , , ,

1PasswordLogoWe’ve used 1Password for quite some time (around 5 years, if not longer) so thought a post here to talk of its merits was justified.

If you’ve not heard of a password manager before, in short it’s an application that helps you generate strong and random passwords and makes it easy for you to save them and use them for any web site or service you may use. They hold your details in an encrypted database that not even the developers have access to. If you get locked out you have lost your passwords, which is why many services offer an emergency access code that they recommend you print and keep in a safe and secure location.

Many password managers integrate well with many popular operating systems (Windows, Mac, and even Linux) and all the popular web browsers, and phones. The idea being that you can access your secure passwords wherever you are and even when you don’t have internet access.

1Password syncs with your Cloud Account using the 1Password Families subscription which allows 5 members of your family to use the service across platforms.

We all know that one person who has the same password for every account they use. When you think about it, that’s one password that a hacker needs to guess and voila, they have access to your email where they then can see all the accounts you may use and gain access to as well. Once they’re in they can probably make orders with your Amazon account, and other web shops where you have your card details saved.

Not wanting to scare you here, but the same time give you an insight of what so many people do…

You can take a trial of the service by following this link https://start.1password.com/sign-up/family?l=en

We’re in no way affiliated with 1Password and not being paid for this post. We just love the software and recommend it for your password manager too!

Why you shouldn’t pay for PC security

Macintosh, Security, Software, , , , ,

We are firm believers that you shouldn’t have to pay for antivirus security for your PC or Mac.

If the manufacturers of the operating system have left it vulnerable in any way then they should be the ones that pay or there should be free alternatives. So, without further a do, here is some great free software you can use to keep your computer secure.

With Mac, viruses aren’t so much the issue as is malware, this is generally due to the way the OS is developed (and based on Unix).

PC:

For a little while now Microsoft have provided free software in the form of Microsoft Security Essentials, and now Windows Defender, which is built in and updates when Windows updates. So cancel your annual Anti-virus subs and download this instead!

Link: http://go.frantik.it/mse

Note; this is for Windows 7. If you have 8 or newer it’s built in and you don’t need to worry.

Mac: We have provided links to a couple of great AV packages for Mac previously! See the following: Free Antivirus For Mac

On checking these are probably still on top. Don’t hang around and test either today!

Alternatives:

We always recommend using Malwarebytes Free too to use in addition to the above and this can be used once a week or month just to make sure your computer is protected.

Link:  http://go.frantik.it/mbam

 

Virgin Media Customers Get F-Secure Antivirus

F-Secure

 

We’ve recently changed our ISP to Virgin Media and were kindly surprised when we found that we could get the industry renound antivirus softare “F-Secure SAFE” for free to install on up to 5 computers (PC and Mac versions available) for one year.  After this it is available at a reduced price of £25pa.

Virgin’s explanation and more details on this are available at the following link: http://store.virginmedia.com/discover/broadband/security/f-secure-safe.html

It is also good to see that Virgin discuss the fact Macs aren’t susceptible to attack, and have further useful information on how to keep your computer safe when connected to the Internet on this page. Well worth a read!

We are not affiliated with Virgin Media in any way or form and this post is for informational purposes only.

 

Cloud Backup – Profiling Backblaze

IT, Macintosh, , , , ,

Backblaze LogoAs we have discussed previously, the importance of backing up your work and backing up your computers is growing increasingly as more and more of our work is computerized.

Many people already have local backup in the form of Windows Backup or Time Machine if on Mac, which is great, but also relies heavily on physical hardware and for that to be connected for the backup to run.

Being Mac fans ourselves, we run a local Time Machine backup. We also wanted to have an offsite backup, always on and ensuring that all our files were backed up.

We won’t go into too much detail about the different types of backup, different backup schedules and so on as that can all get a little bit too complex for one post but after much research of backup solutions we have found Backblaze to be reliable and work well. We have tested it on our Macs with the free trial, and satisfied, are now very happy with what it provides.

Backblaze is both Windows and Mac compatible, offers continuous backup, encrypts your data on the fly and allows you to restore data wherever you are!

For more information check out the site and get a free trial now: www.backblaze.com

Note: we’re not affiliated, we just really like the service!

Running Mavericks with Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac

IT, Software, , , , , , ,

osx_hero_2xI made it my aim this week to set up Mavericks, the new release of OS X, within a Parallels VM.

Firstly, I was trying to get it running without the newly announced client.

I had read the KBs on the Parallels web site which announced that you couldn’t install the new OS from a DMG directly but you had to have a VM with OS X 10.8 to then upgrade before going ahead (you can find that KB here).

Below are the steps I took.

1. Downloaded the NEW Parallels client designed to support Mavericks. This was version

Build 8.0.18494 / (Revision 886912; June 17, 2013).

Download Here.

2. Install OS X Mountain Lion. You can do this quite easily using the Parallels wizard (it uses the installer from the recovery partition). Make sure all updates are installed.

3. Download the Mavericks 10.9 Developer Preview and copy this to the Mountain Lion VM.

4. Very Important -> Move the Mavericks installer app to the ApplicaMavericks in Parallelstions folder on the Mountain Lion VM.

5. Run the Mavericks installer app from Applications in your Mountain Lion VM; run through the installer, selecting Macintosh HD as the disk to install to. It will begin the installation and will restart. This takes some time. It took me about an hour.

6. That should be it, your OS X VM should have now restarted and updated correctly to Mavericks.

Please do leave comments and I will try my best to help where possible.