News

For latest news of the Apple-sphere, look back here. Recent Articles, information, my Apple thoughts and more…..

(Some articles and information may link to other websites not associated with MacWizardry)

And just like that, May is upon us.

Not much on the Apple front so far, but next month Apple have WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) and that’s normally when we get announcements for the next version of macOS, iOS etc. And possibly some new hardware. So keep an eye out for that next month!

Few updates to software this month, so ensure to grab those. And a bit more info about MacStealer - so ensure to be aware of that.

Enjoy your May (and don’t forget 4th May is “May the 4th be with you” (May the force be with you - Star Wars).

Apple announce they are closing off “My Photo Stream” on 23rd July 2023

Just to finish off the month, Apple announced via an email to all of their customers, they will be closing off ‘My Photo Stream’ - which basically means if you want your photos in the cloud, you have to go to iCloud Photo Library (and for most people then have to pay more in a monthly fee for additional storage.

You can read Apple’s announcement here.

I know a lot of clients, myself included, used this feature, so it will be a shame to see it go. 

But to help people out I have written an article with more information about it here.

A few interesting things to round off the month of May…

With WWDC not too far away now (early June), where we’ll see the latest information on what’s next in iOS, iPadOS, macOS and anything else that Apple decide to release, there’s still been a few interesting articles and things released before the end of the month. Some of the more interesting ones can be read below.

Apple release iOS 16.5 with some new features. More info here.

Facebook get fined a record $1.3 Billion over EU data transfer to the US. You can read about it here.

Apple release Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad. Some details about it here.

Apple latest Ad campaign talking about Health Data Privacy. Quite a good little video clip you can read and view here.

iOS 17 due to be announced next month looks to include a Dedicated Journaling App and Mood Tracking, which you can read about here. As well as updates to Wallet, Find My, SharePlay and Airplay - info about this here. And lastly (but not least I’m sure) it’s meant to also get an update that will turn an iPhone into a Smart Home Display on the Lock Screen. Info about this here. I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about these features next month.

And WhatsApp looks to get an update so you can use a Username to keep your Phone Number Private. You can read about it here.

So quite a bit of interesting looking info coming through to round off this month. And next month looks to be a good one to keep an eye for also once we see more announced at World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Stay tuned!

MacBook Air 15” ??

Next month (June) is WWDC and the rumours are we may see the MacBook Air can a 15” model to match the 13.6” model. So that could be a good machine to add to the range. So definitely something to keep an eye on for next month.

You can read a bit more about the rumours for it here.

Rapid Security Response Updates

Apple have added a new feature to their updates now called “Rapid Security Response Updates”. Basically this means instead of them having to do a whole .1 or .2 update to macOS or iOS, they can just release smaller security updates at random times. So we may see these appear more regularly if something needs to get patched or a fixed for security.

You can read more about them here and here.

Safari Browser second most popular again

If you ever wondered how popular certain browsers are, there’s a small article over on MacRumors about it, and Safari has moved to second spot again over taking some of the others (but they’re all still a small percentage compared to Google Chrome.

Personally I like the Syncing features of Safari, additional security it has as well as other features - so it’s always my “go to” web browser. But still interesting to read.

You can read the article here.

** BEWARE ** “MacStealer malware has been identified

A security research firm have identified a new piece of Apple malware dubbed “MacStealer”. It has the ability to grab iCloud passwords, files and credit card details stored in browsers.

Thankfully, it’s something you have to download first. So as long as you’re cautious where (and what) you download off the internet and be aware of any installer asking for your computer password, then hopefully you should be alright. As it has to have actions from the user to install it. So if you’re vigilant in reading installers, checking what things are installing and just being aware - then you shouldn’t fall for activating it.

You can read more about it here and here

If you don’t have it already then MalwareBytes for Mac is well worth grabbing (Even just the free version is fine), as they regularly update it with new things out there.

You can download it from here.

And as long as you’re cautious and vigilant and keep regular backups, plus the above checker, all should be okay.

Apple also have a background checker for a lot of things called XProtect, so hopefully we’ll see that get updated in the next few days as well. (Though as this can be run as a standard download with user input - it may be harder to check for. I’m sure Apple will release some info over the next few days on this also).

Have you considered if your computer stops working or could be down for quite a while?

If your computer crashes or is down for a long period time, or even if it’s going to be away for service work for a while, have you considered the down time this could cause to yourself, your work and/or business?

There is a way that an external drive can be set up beforehand where in these sort of circumstances you can still be up and running relatively easy - even if your computer has to go away for days to be repaired.

It’s a relatively cheap and easy process. 

If you would like to find out more about how this can be set up for yourself or your business please feel free to drop me an email or call to discuss.

Be aware of “Fake webpages” advising you need to update.

So there is a bit of a rise on the number of webpages or fake links that will try to trick you into calling a number or clicking a link to “update” some piece of software.

I’ve written a page with a bit more info on it here