Beware bogus Adobe Flash "installers"Q: Which one of these Adobe Flash update notifications is legitimate? (to enlarge an image, click it) Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 A: None of the above. Al...view more
Fix corrupted Contacts databaseAlmost every problem involving Contacts (and its predecessor Address Book) can be fixed by forcing it to rebuild the database it uses to display your contacts. If you are having problems with edits not saving, deletio...view more
User Tip Effective defenses against malware and other threats
Effective defenses against malware and other threatsQuestions regarding the use of "anti-virus" or similarly categorized "Internet security" products frequently arise on this site. Many of them are from new Mac users whose previous computer experience was limited to tr...view more
How to create a boot cloneOverview— Part of a prudent backup plan is having a Boot Clone. This along with an independent Time Machine (TM) back-up will help save your bacon in most any type of data lose, system corruption, catastr...view more
Use Messages to share a screenYou used to be able to use iMessage to share a screen through the old iChat interface, but the seemed to get clunkier and clunkier or stopped working. I accidentally discovered that you can now do this through the Mes...view more
User Tip OS X El Capitan: ABC Extended Keyboard Capabilities
OS X El Capitan: ABC Extended Keyboard CapabilitiesApple’s ABC Extended input source (formerly called : "US Extended") lets you type a vast number of accented and special latin characters. A common standard reference for its codes is at http://symbo...view more
User Tip Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages
Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pagesProblem: An unexpected popup or unsolicited webpage (examples below; click to enlarge) appears alleging the detection of "viruses" or the existence of some unsafe condition that needs to be addressed with grea...view more
Show Home Library Folder TipFor everyone… If you want to see a "View Options" panel that has "Show Library Folder" as an option no matter what view you are using in the Finder, make sure your Home folder is enabled in the Finder Sidebar ...view more
What’s New in El Capitan 10.11.2 Apple has recently released the second update of OS X El Capitan. Version 10.11.2 improves the stability, security and fixes minor bugs. According to the official Apple website (https://suppor...view more
User Tip What to do if your printer driver is incompatible?
What to do if your printer driver is incompatible?With each new OS X release many printer drivers become incompatible. Even more often, printer manufacturers stop support for older models. Rather than discarding your printer, consider this alternative...  ...view more
A method to quit all apps at onceQuit all open apps. I came about a thread where someone wanted to know if all apps must be closed before the mac is shutdown. In the discussion another person asked why it is not possible to close all apps at once. I ...view more
Using SpotlightIf you have problems searching for items on your Mac, rebuilding the Spotlight Index can help. Use these steps to manually rebuild the Spotlight index for a folder or disk. Choose Apple menu > Syst...view more
How to install adwarePreface The purpose of this User Tip is not to serve as instructions for installing malware. Clearly no one wants to do that, but intrusive and annoying adware has emerged as an increasing threat to one's Inte...view more
OS X Fonts For Specific LanguagesOS X contains a number of fonts intended to be used for specific languages and scripts when the appropriate input sources for those languages are active. Many of these fonts also contain standard Latin cha...view more
User Tip How to Use New Secure Notes on OS X 10.11.4
How to Use New Secure Notes on OS X 10.11.4As you might have heard, Apple has recently released OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan with a number of improvements to users worldwide. The update brings several new features including the support of Live Photos is Messages, a...view more
Mail preview pane hide/showThe message preview area in Mail shows the contents of the selected message. In El Capitan (10.11) the preview pane is shown to the right of the message list. In the earlier OS (or if the classic mode is enabled in El...view more
User Tip Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question
Writing an effective Apple Support Communities questionThe purpose of this User Tip is to help you write a question that will draw out the best volunteers on this site - experienced users who can help solve your problem competently and quickly. Presumably, that's what bro...view more
User Tip Removing Duplicates - Manual Labor or Dedicated Apps?
Removing Duplicates - Manual Labor or Dedicated Apps?Using a Mac for work always means that you will end up having a mess on your hard drive. Lots of documents, PDFs, images, schemes you no longer need take up precious space on the drive and create true chaos. Anywa...view more