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<title>HDMS Blog</title><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/enquiry.php</link><description>You might find it useful&#x21;</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2010 HDMS</dc:rights><dc:date>2011-06-07T17:40:02+10:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:59:38 +1000</lastBuildDate><item><title>Hackers use Flash bug to target GMail</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><category>Useful or interesting</category><dc:date>2011-06-07T17:40:02+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/8c9177773080cf6a331da117d30f153f-33.php#unique-entry-id-33</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/8c9177773080cf6a331da117d30f153f-33.php#unique-entry-id-33</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Adobe has confirmed that a bug it patched over the weekend is being used by hackers to target Google's GMail users.


According to a Macworld report, 'Cross-site scripting flaws are often used by identity thieves to hijack usernames and passwords from vulnerable browsers.   In this case, browsers themselves are not targeted; rather, attackers are exploiting the Flash Player browser plug-in, which virtually every user has installed.   Adobe said that Google reported the Flash Player flaw to its security team.'


Adobe strongly recommends all users on all platforms with all browsers using Flash to update their Flash plugins.   This also applies to Google Chrome users, which ships with Flash plugin already incorporated.


[ As a side-note, this is one of the reasons why Apple doesn't allow Flash on its iOS devices - the Flash technology is a plugin to the web browser, not a stand-alone application, and it would mean Apple would have to release a whole new iOS update each time Adobe bug-fixed or security-fixed their plugin.   ]


Do you have the latest version of Flash installed?   Check here!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple Security Update combats trojans</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2011-06-06T13:48:18+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/20bdd082b2fae054e573976666bf472a-32.php#unique-entry-id-32</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/20bdd082b2fae054e573976666bf472a-32.php#unique-entry-id-32</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple has released Security Update 2011-003 for Snow Leopard, in a bid to combat the increasing threat from trojan malware. ...  No other system versions have been released at this time.


The update adds a new item to the Security PreferencePane in System Preferences (Automatically update safe downloads list).   This works to download a daily update to Mac OS X's built-in 'XProtect' malware detection technology.


I found it also reset Safari's preferences to check 'Open 'safe' files after downloading', which is the default setting.   I usually uncheck this as a matter of course - but whether it needs to be checked for the update process to happen is not clear, as are other aspects of its functionality. 

...In further developments, the authors of the MacDefender malware and its variants have ramped up their game by renaming their payload in different versions that coincide with legitimate anti-malware products, causing confusing for some users.   All users should take extra care when downloading and installing software from the internet, especially anti-malware products.


UPDATE: The daily update process doesn't seem to be working for some people, for whatever reason.   This utility will both check the version and last update time for your installation, and gives you the option to manually update.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple acknowledges MacDefender trojan</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Useful or interesting</category><dc:date>2011-05-26T08:18:45+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/69221a0c401e5e25223051e167317b02-31.php#unique-entry-id-31</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/69221a0c401e5e25223051e167317b02-31.php#unique-entry-id-31</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple has acknowledged the MacDefender trojan threat, and has published how to avoid and remove directions in this support article.


There will also be a software update coming shortly that will automatically detect and remove the trojan and its known variants.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mac Defender Trojan is out there</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2011-05-19T09:56:57+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/f50609ee0f3a1726e77735a43cdb850f-30.php#unique-entry-id-30</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/f50609ee0f3a1726e77735a43cdb850f-30.php#unique-entry-id-30</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[For only the second time in over two decades of Mac service and support, I was called out to deal with an infected Mac (the last time was back in the days of System 9!).


...It uses social engineering to make the victim believe that their Mac is infected with malware (alert from the 'Apple Security Centre'), and installing it will fix the problem. 

...Net has a detailed article with screenshots on this particular piece of legitimate-looking scamming malware, known variously as MacDefender, MacProtection or MacSecurity.


Reports seem to suggest that the incidence of exposure to the malware is linked to returned results from searching for images with Google Image, with re-directs injected into normal, legitimate websites that have had vulnerabilities exploited.


...If you have been infected, and not yet removed the trojan, but have had a backup of your Mac since being infected, another MacFixIt article offers help on managing the clean-up.


...This will stop archive files and other types of file from being opened automatically - you'll need to go into your Downloads Folder now to open them.


...This will detect malware that is downloaded onto your Mac from email or websites and alert you to remove it before it has the chance to cause mischief.


&bull; Don't download and/or install software that comes from unknown or untrusted sources, no matter how attractive or promising it looks - this is just social engineering.


&bull; Think twice before entering your admin password into any installer that requests it - it's the only way it can deliver its payload deep into your system.


&bull; Exclude your Downloads Folder from your Time Machine (or other backups), so that the payload installer isn't carried through to your backups.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>When Flash player isn&#x27;t working properly</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Useful or interesting</category><dc:date>2011-05-17T10:46:00+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/77ed000f1095bf187ff74b436e91d708-29.php#unique-entry-id-29</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/77ed000f1095bf187ff74b436e91d708-29.php#unique-entry-id-29</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Like it or not, Adobe Flash media content is still predominant on the Internet - and to display it in Safari, or Firefox, you need to download and install the Flash browser plugin.   Google Chrome comes with the Flash player plugin already installed, but it uses the same user Library files to operate, which may give similar results if troubleshooting your installation.


A problem I came across was that, for the most part, Flash video on websites I visited loaded and played back as expected, but on a couple of website this was not the case, and a check of system requirements indicated that there should have been no issue.   On one site, a Flash-driven tool on a particular page 'went crazy' and couldn't be closed down, and loading this same page on two separate Macs gave the same problem - but not on a Windows PC!   So it had to be the installation of Flash Player on both Macs (both running the same latest version).


...As Adobe had taken Flash Player v10 out of beta and was moving away from v9,  I upgraded by downloading the latest version from the Adobe website, running the installer, and repairing permissions.


What is not apparent, is that when you upgrade or update versions, you must first remove the previous version from your system, and how that happens varies with the version you have installed:


...The uninstaller should remove the PreferencePane, but if it doesn't option-click on it and delete it that way.


Whilst the above removes the Flash player plugin, it doesn't remove the associated Library files - and that's where the problem was! 

...Only then you can download and install the latest version of Flash Player from here with a reasonable degree of confidence that it'll behave as expected! 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple Fix Snow Leopard Font Bug</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2011-04-29T08:12:43+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/4dbe093ca8788b47cf57a429f410e3b7-28.php#unique-entry-id-28</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/4dbe093ca8788b47cf57a429f410e3b7-28.php#unique-entry-id-28</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple have released the Snow Leopard Font Update 1.0, which addresses the displaying and printing of certain OpenType fonts in Mac OS X 10.6.7.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mac OS X 10.6.7 Font Bug Alert</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Useful or interesting</category><dc:date>2011-03-30T09:00:26+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/dc38fed83b6ac9fe917bb277ed801253-27.php#unique-entry-id-27</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/dc38fed83b6ac9fe917bb277ed801253-27.php#unique-entry-id-27</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A number of online sources, including the respected TidBits news site, are reporting a bug that seems to have been introduced in the latest Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update.


The full article is here, but the bottom line is that it appears that due to changes in Snow Leopard font security, some OpenType Postscript fonts may no longer render or print correctly, may cause PDFs not to be correctly formed, and may cause application crashes when called.


Whilst this 'bug' doesn't appear to affect applications and processes that use their own printing and rendering engines (like InDesign, for example), those that use the Apple system printing mechanism, like Microsoft Word, or 'print to PDF', may fail.


The recommendation at the moment is not to install this update.   If you have installed the update already, there are a number of potential workarounds suggested in the TidBits article, but the only definitive fix at the moment is a system re-install and update as far as 10.6.6, until Apple comes up with a permanent solution.


UPDATE: Apple have now released an update to address this issue.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple updates for Mac OS X&#x2c; iOS&#x2c; ATV 2</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2011-03-28T11:41:01+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/1366d4a4679eec632020765884974d70-26.php#unique-entry-id-26</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/1366d4a4679eec632020765884974d70-26.php#unique-entry-id-26</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[&bull; Mac OS X 10.6.7 is available in both Server and Client versions, as well as a special Early 2011 MacBook Pro edition. ...  Always backup your critical data beforehand, and run a permissions-fixing utility before and after the installation.


&bull; Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' gets security updates for Server and Client versions.


&bull; iOS 4.3.1 : for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, iPad 1+2,  and iPod Touch Generations 3 + 4.   Hot on the heels of the iOS 4.3 release, this update contains critical bug fixes from the first version. 

...[Hint: if you have more than one of the same iDevice (eg: two iPhone 4's), in different accounts / on different machines, then you can download the update file on one machine, then copy it to the correct location on the other machines, to save having to download it more than once.


Quit iTunes, then go Home > Library > iTunes > iPhone Software Updates (or iPad Software Updates, or iPod Software Updates). ...  Relaunch iTunes, connect iDevice, select it, and hit 'Update' - the software will then just 'unpack' and install.   I recommend 'forcing' a backup of the iDevice first just in case you need to do a restore later.]


...If you go to the Apple Support Downloads website, you'll also find updates for Java, Safari, various printer drivers, and Apple applications.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Silent Summer Killers</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Useful or interesting</category><dc:date>2011-02-03T16:31:23+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/6e1547691bbd028ce158df7d400e02f1-25.php#unique-entry-id-25</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/6e1547691bbd028ce158df7d400e02f1-25.php#unique-entry-id-25</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[One was for a Mac Pro that's been sitting under a desk for a number of years that suddenly would occasionally fail to boot, and when it did, it would hang in the middle of a task.


...After it was cleaned out, I ran a series of hardware tests and found two RAM modules (different makes, different capacities) were failing (causing the boot-up failures), and also the thermal sensors that control the temperature of the processors were also dead, causing the processors to overheat and shut down when under stress, causing the hangs.


...The vents at the bottom of the screen were totally clogged up with dust, and the single fan that draws air up and pushes it through the chassis was suffocating.   The inside of the iMac, especially the graphics card which itself generates a lot of heat had literally 'cooked', and on later inspection, the hard-drive had started to develop bad blocks as was on its way out, too.   By placing it in front of the sunny window, clogged with dust and unable to draw cooling air through the chassis or dissipate it through the casing, it had no chance.


Two other call outs were for an older PowerMac G4 and a year-old iMac, both of which would no longer boot up. ...  Electrical storms and everyone turning on their aircon units can cause power spikes or surges that can easily blow a power supply in a computer, or big-screen TV or projector, or any other electrical device for that matter. 

...They are designed to provide your device with a regulated 'clean' power supply, and blow their fuse when there's a surge, putting less stress on, and providing good protection for, your device's power supply unit. 

...&bull; It's also possible with some Macs to control the internal fan speeds and speed them up to assist with cooling that way. 

...Given they spin at 5400rpm, 7200rpm or faster, hour after hour, they get hot quite quickly, and if they exceed their safe working temperatures they too can 'cook' and fail, potentially taking your data with them. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple iTunes 10.1.2 and other updates</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2011-02-03T15:37:19+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/ddda590d74183a965aa651cd4b25c10f-24.php#unique-entry-id-24</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/ddda590d74183a965aa651cd4b25c10f-24.php#unique-entry-id-24</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple have released iTunes 10.1.2 update for Mac and Windows, which 'improves stability and performance'. 


Also new from Apple is Apple Remote Desktop 3.4 Client, MacBook Air (Late 2010) Software Update 2.0, iDVD 7.1.1, iMovie 9.0.2, as well as updated Snow Leopard drivers for Epson, Brother and Lexmark printers and AIO devices.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple releases Snow Leopard 10.6.6 Update with Mac App Store</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2011-01-06T15:15:55+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/8c30aee5aa259e7b58ccb045405f155c-23.php#unique-entry-id-23</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/8c30aee5aa259e7b58ccb045405f155c-23.php#unique-entry-id-23</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[This week, Apple have released Mac OS X 10.6.6 Update for Snow Leopard Client and Server. 


This release includes all the improvements in the previous 10.6.1, 10.6.2, 10.6.3, 10.6.4 and 10.6.5 updates (as well as the previous security updates), and 


addresses a cropping issue with some postscript printing in landscape page orientation.


Probably the key component of this is the inclusion (by default) of the new Mac App Store feature, best described as an iTunes-like store for Mac apps.   Developers can now sell their wares directly, and the process automatically installs the registered-to-you software and tracks future updates.   Unlike buying software from the web as you have done in the past, this process does not give you a downloadable installer you can use to reinstall or backup.   More the mac App Store can be found here.


Download the Mac OS X 10.6.6 Combo Update for Client (1.06GB) and Server (1.15GB) here.   The Combo Updaters can be used on any 10.6.x installation.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Free Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-12-08T16:54:18+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/9321abc6e838b212c7c2f3233586565e-22.php#unique-entry-id-22</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/9321abc6e838b212c7c2f3233586565e-22.php#unique-entry-id-22</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Sophos, a well-regarded player in the PC and Mac anti-malware field, has made their Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition a free product.


The EULA says it's not to be used for commercial purposes, and comes with adequate documentation, simple installation, and community-forum style support.


System requirements:


	&bull;	Mac with Intel or PowerPC processor


	&bull;	256 MB of memory


	&bull;	150 MB of available disk space


	&bull;	Mac with OS X 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard)


	&bull;	Supports all Apple Mac hardware including iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air


For more information, and to download, go here.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple updates QuickTime for Leopard and Windows</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-12-08T16:32:50+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/f8c7a2ed2965e6466fb3bb1bd2ca1f17-21.php#unique-entry-id-21</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/f8c7a2ed2965e6466fb3bb1bd2ca1f17-21.php#unique-entry-id-21</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple has released QuickTime 7.6.9 security update for Leopard and Windows.


The update may be downloaded here, or via Software Updates.   [ This security update was incorporated in Mac OS X 10.6.5 update for Snow Leopard. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Enabling AirPrinting</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-12-08T15:02:33+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/c6cadf9f19bffc1d40c9a9347bab28d4-20.php#unique-entry-id-20</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/c6cadf9f19bffc1d40c9a9347bab28d4-20.php#unique-entry-id-20</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[One of the most taunted features of iOS 4.2 was the added ability to print from IOS 4.2 enabled devices, but its necessary counterpart was removed from the recent Mac OS X 10.6.5 update at the last moment.


Under AirPrint, iOS 4.2 devices can print wirelessly to printers on the same wireless network.   Pre-release developer versions of Mac OS X 10.6.5 update allowed virtually any printer to be accessible; this functionality was removed with the public release, limiting printing to a select few 'AirPrint Enabled' HP printers.


Typically, the Mac OS X 'developer' community decided to work around this limitation, and there are now a couple of ways to circumvent the limitation:


AirPrint Activator from Netputing.com, a freeware 'hack' that will enable a Mac OSX 10.6.5 + iTunes 10.1 hidden feature to allow your shared printer to be visible on your iOS 4.2.1 devices.


Printopia, from ecamm.com, a US9.95 application that doesn't hack the system, and shares your Mac's printers with your iOS 4.2 devices plus adds a virtual printer, allowing you to save print-outs to your Mac as PDF or JPG files to save paper.   There's a demo to try it first.


If you're running Windows, there's a tutorial here on how to enable AirPrint (I haven't tried this out, so use at your own risk!)


[Mac OS X 10.6.6 Update is in development, apparently, so perhaps Apple will revisit AirPrint in that, or release stand-alone installers...]]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple release iOS 4.2.1 unifying update</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-11-22T14:39:04+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/2a54de9df0d43e8f0997286f0e3c60d6-19.php#unique-entry-id-19</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/2a54de9df0d43e8f0997286f0e3c60d6-19.php#unique-entry-id-19</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The much-anticipated release of iOS 4.2 has finally landed!   This release equalises the operating system versions across qualifying iPhones, iPods and for the first time, iPads - giving the popular tablet the same feature set as the others.


The release had been delayed due to a last-minute wireless bug being found and squashed, so the actual version available from iTunes is 4.2.1.


 


Detailed information for iPhone and iPod can be found here.   Specific information for iPad users can be found here.


Make sure you force a backup of your iDevice before installing the update, so that should anything go wrong with your installation, you can restore your data from the latest backup.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple release Safari updates</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-11-18T13:43:43+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/52ab1dd39c2031b63a81b029d9d1b737-18.php#unique-entry-id-18</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/52ab1dd39c2031b63a81b029d9d1b737-18.php#unique-entry-id-18</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Apple have released updates to Safari for Tiger, Leopard/Snow Leopard and Windows.


This update contains improvements to usability, compatibility, stability, accessibility and security, including the following:


	&bull;	More accurate Top Hit results in the Address Field


...	&bull;	Fixes an issue that could cause content delivered with the Flash 10.1 plug-in to overlap webpage content


...	&bull;	Improved stability when typing into search and text input fields on www.netflix.com andwww.facebook.com


	&bull;	Improved stability when using JavaScript-intensive extensions


	&bull;	Improved stability when using VoiceOver with Safari


...	◦	Safari 5.0.3 for Leopard / Snow Leopard


	◦	Safari 4.1.3 for Tiger


	◦	Safari 5.0.3 for Windows
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple release iTunes 10.1&#x2c; Security updates</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-11-17T14:30:06+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/0a3002cde766531bf6332e88daa35f0f-17.php#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/0a3002cde766531bf6332e88daa35f0f-17.php#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[This week Apple released iTunes 10.1 for Mac and Windows.


This release is seen as the precursor to the forthcoming unifying release of iOS 4.2 for iPod, iPad and iPhone.   It also introduces AirPlay content streaming from iTunes to the new AppleTV.


There were also Security Updates released for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Client and Server.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple releases Snow Leopard 10.6.5 Updates</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-11-17T14:07:35+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/07570e89ce81337fde5d24fe59b2954f-16.php#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/07570e89ce81337fde5d24fe59b2954f-16.php#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[This week, Apple have released Mac OS X 10.6.5 Update for Snow Leopard Client and Server. 


Note: Apple pulled it's original release of the Server update as there had been reports of issues with DNS and LDAP after applying the update, and re-released a v1.1 version on the 15th November.


...	◦	address performance of some image-processing operations in iPhoto and Aperture


	◦	address stability and performance of graphics applications and games


...	◦	address a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an AirPort Extreme


	◦	resolve an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal


	◦	address an issue where dragging an item from a stack causes the Dock to not automatically hide


	◦	resolve an issue with Wikipedia information not displaying correctly in Dictionary


...	◦	resolve a VoiceOver issue when browsing some web sites with Safari 5


The download page for the Mac OS X 10.6.5 client version can be found here, and the revised server version here.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mac OS X Trojan Warning</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-10-27T08:35:15+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/76f5875d5edbe0a8a8ef0ae8d5170dbd-15.php#unique-entry-id-15</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/76f5875d5edbe0a8a8ef0ae8d5170dbd-15.php#unique-entry-id-15</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A new Trojan horse malware that affects Mac OS X has been uncovered by Macintosh Security site SecureMac. 


According to an article published by MacFixIt, the Trojan is called "trojan.osx.boonana.a" and is being disguised as a video and distributed through social-networking sites like Facebook.


The Trojan horse appears as a link on people's Facebook pages that may have the text "Is this you in this video?"   in the link.   When the link is clicked, the Trojan will run a Java applet that will download other files to the computer and run an installer automatically.


To read the rest of the article and download the removal tool, click here.


Bottom line: only download files from trusted sources, and be very suspicious if prompted for your Admin password!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mac Office 2004 Update problem</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><category>Updates</category><dc:date>2010-10-15T07:11:14+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/a6e74e3b436e77a710132b656a124a57-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/a6e74e3b436e77a710132b656a124a57-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A couple of days ago Microsoft released updates to both Office 2004 (11.6.1) and Office 2008 (12.2.7) for Mac. 


Whilst the Office 2008 update seems to have passed without incident, there have been numerous reports of users unable to open spreadsheets in Excel 2004 after applying the update.


Microsoft is apparently aware of the problem and investigating it, but until a fix is released the only option is to downgrade the installation by reinstalling from your original software disk, then reapplying the Office 2004 11.6.0 update (the last stable update), or restoring to a pre-update version from a Time Machine backup.


UPDATE: Microsoft have released the Office 2004 11.6.2 update to address this issue.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>iOS4 Daylight Saving Bug</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-10-11T21:54:05+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/028ff9b826565178a1af40670f2b3047-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/028ff9b826565178a1af40670f2b3047-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With the advent of daylight saving in NSW at the beginning of this month, those of you with iOS4-enabled devices with Alarm Clock set for recurring alarms might be wondering why they're going off an hour earlier than set.


The fact is there's a bug in iOS4's handling of the change in Daylight Saving.   It seems to apply only to recurring (eg: daily) alarms set in Alarm Clock, but does not affect alarms set in Calendar.   Apple are aware of it (it hit NZ a week ahead of Oz) but choose not to publish the fact until they release a fix.


Apparently, according to sources at Apple, the fix has been made, but won't be released until the November release of iOS4.2 - coinciding with the Daylight Saving changes in the US.   Apparently, we easterly Applephiles are smarter, more adaptive, fewer and less vocal than the Americans, who would be phoning their class-action attorneys an hour earlier than usual if they experienced the bug.


Fortunately for the chosen few, the work-around is easy: simply advance your dodgy repetitive alarms in Alarm Clock by one hour (eg: 6am > 7am) for it to trigger correctly ('7am' goes off at 6am) until the fix is released in November, when you should be able to adjust the timing to true.


From what I gather, the Alarm Clock app uses a different mechanism to trigger its alarms than Calendar, hence the disparity in the issue.   Alarms set in Calendar function correctly, so you could also set them there, too, just to be sure!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple post iOS 4 and Exchange fix</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-07-07T17:44:00+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/96a61f4c7cceb933a368e740d9809c97-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/96a61f4c7cceb933a368e740d9809c97-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[&lsquo;Immediately after updating to iOS 4, some users may notice that Exchange ActiveSync Mail, Contacts, or Calendars do not sync, or sync very slowly.   In addition, some Exchange Server administrators may notice their servers running slowly.&rsquo;


Apple have identified this issue and released a fix here.   You need to access the page on your iDevice to download and install the updated configuration profile.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Moving music off your iPod (or iPhone)</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-05-25T17:13:00+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/c9536910c43d3aa3d86e7ff448f308a1-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/c9536910c43d3aa3d86e7ff448f308a1-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[From time to time I'm asked how to get the music and videos off an iPod and into iTunes on a Mac.   This might be in a situation where a hard drive has crashed and there's no backup of the purchased iTunes Store content, or the iPod is being 'relocated' from one machine to another.


Have a look at a simple freeware utility called expod, which does just that.   Music and videos are copied from the iPod into iTunes without altering them, and any DRM-locked content will remain that way, so this application can't be used to copy purchased material to other machines for 'sharing' purposes.


Other similar transfer software


&bull; Senuti (US$18.00)


In a similar vein, Macroplant's freeware iPhone Explorer allows you to mount your iPhone (iPod Touch and iPad) and explore (and fiddle with) its contents, too:


"iPhone Explorer lets you use an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad as if it were in disk mode or a flash drive. iPhone Explorer is an iPhone browser for Mac & PC that lets you browse the files and folders on your iPhone as if it were a normal USB flash drive or pen drive.   You can use the easy drag-and-drop methods to add or remove files and folders from the iPhone.   Compatible with all iPhones and iPod Touches including the new iPhone 4 and iOS 4 firmware."]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Virtualisation software</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Tutorials</category><dc:date>2010-03-17T17:10:00+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/37cb033074e5b744a7e1098824033e51-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/37cb033074e5b744a7e1098824033e51-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The continuing lack of a Mac version of the ATO's eTax software prompted me to have a look at virtualisation software to be able to run Windows on my Intel-based iMac.


Since the advent of Intel processors in Macs, the ability to run other operating systems on a Mac computer other than Mac OS has been well documented and commented on (such as this Macworld article), from Apple's included Boot Camp solution, to the commercial applications Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and CodeWeaver's CrossOver, so I'm not going to repeat it.


I've been using Parallels Desktop 5 to run Windows XP, not only for eTax, but also because the software that allows me to update my satnav or add new maps is also Windows-only. ...  On my iMac it runs fast enough to do the things I ask of it, although it is a big memory (RAM) consumer, which means ideally you need to have a lot of RAM installed on your Mac if you intend to run Windows side-by-side with your Mac applications.   Parallels Desktop 5 costs $120.00 inc GST, plus you also need a legitimate retail copy of Windows XP or better (OEM versions that ship with PCs typically are hardware locked and won't install on other machines). 

...If you have a version of Windows to install (or any other operating system, such as Ubuntu or Fedora Linux (download the Live CDs)), then consider Sun Microsystem's VirtualBox.   It's a free Mac OS X application, easy to configure and install operating systems into, and you can have multiple systems running at the same time! 

...Finally, if you don't mind a bit of a geeky tinkering and an almost straightforward solution that is free, doesn't require an installation of Microsoft Windows, and works for many Windows applications, then WINE is the way to do. ...  You can also download Windows applications, like eTax, in Safari in Mac OS X, then Finder > Open With and choose Wine to launch or install.   Like I said, it's almost straightforward, and not as polished as a total Mac OS X GUI application  - but it's free, so what do you want!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Downgrading from iOS4 on an iPhone 3G</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Tutorials</category><dc:date>2010-07-27T16:54:00+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b41940fe5cf1f97a3963307b45d69051-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b41940fe5cf1f97a3963307b45d69051-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Loving a challenge and not being a quitter, I stuck it out for a month - but eventually the glacial performance of my iOS4-enabled iPhone 3G wore me down and I decided to downgrade to the eminently more user-friendly iOS3.1.3.


...Downgrading is not a procedure endorsed or supported by Apple - iOS upgrading is a one-way ticket in their book - but given the vast amount of angst amongst early 3G adopters, it didn&rsquo;t take long to track down a simple set of instructions on how to go about it without hacking or jailbreaking the iPhone. 

...Unless you plan to set the phone up as &lsquo;new&rsquo; after the downgrade, you will need to have a v3 Backup to restore from, as you can&rsquo;t restore from a v4 Backup. 

...2) Initiating the process to download / install iOS4 from within iTunes will have removed the necessary IOS 3.1.3 firmware .ipsw file from your ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates folder to Trash back in June, so if you&rsquo;ve emptied your Trash since then, too bad.   No point in going back into Time Machine to retrieve it either - the folder ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates (and ~/Library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates) is NOT backed up by Time Machine by default. 

...The one downside to the 3G downgrading is that since the release of iOS4 in June, a number of Apps you may own/use have been upgraded for iOS4 compatibility and functionality, and may not/will not run under your restored IOS3.1.3.   If the Apps in iTunes have been upgraded to requiring iOS4, they will not install onto your iPhone v3.1.3 (like Apple iBooks, for example, and Sydney Traffic Cameras whose current release version is iOS4-only). 


If you downloaded the App updates as they became available, and didn&rsquo;t know they were v4 only, those Apps will be installed in your iTunes Apps library (~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Mobile Applications/), but will not be installed on your iPhone or replace the earlier installed versions. ...  However, as this iTunes folder is backed up under Time Machine, you can go back and retrieve the pre-v4 versions of your Apps, replace the later version, restart iTunes and then install them and you&rsquo;ll be good to go.


If you have an iPhone 3Gs that&rsquo;s not working well under iOS4, whilst it can be downgraded the process is not as straightforward as the 3G, and it would seem your best bet is to do a restore and setup as new, not a restore from backup. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>DNS servers and name resolution issues</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-03-25T15:25:00+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/cebbc3ec06a9e605f806f18ab28442d4-7.php#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/cebbc3ec06a9e605f806f18ab28442d4-7.php#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[This particular morning, they couldn&rsquo;t send or receive email, with an error message to the effect that it couldn&rsquo;t find their own-domain mail server. 

...I also pinged their WAN IP address and that was fine, too, so at least up to their router all was well.   So I got them to launch Network Utility, and ping their mail server - it came straight back that it couldn&rsquo;t resolve that address, which suggested a DNS issue.


As is typical of most ISPs, they were provided with both a primary and a secondary DNS server address to put into their Network preference settings. ...  Although not strictly essential to be manually added to each workstation as the router provides that information, it does speed up the process when browsing.


So on troubleshooting, we found that the primary DNS address gave no access, but the secondary did, but still didn&rsquo;t resolve their email server address. ...  [ To be fair to the ISP, they had notified the customer, but to an obscure catch-all admin account on the own-domain mail server which wasn&rsquo;t monitored ]. 

...If, in the unlikely event that both your ISP&rsquo;s DNS servers go down - what to do as a back-up?   One solution is to add into (or replace) your DNS server list the addresses of the OpenDNS servers (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220): precise information on how to do this can be found here for most computing platforms and system versions. 

...[ From the OpenDNS website: &ldquo;OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Font management in Mac OS X</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Tutorials</category><dc:date>2010-03-25T15:16:00+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/986eaad4f2e782a35f6aa55898c3de2c-6.php#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/986eaad4f2e782a35f6aa55898c3de2c-6.php#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Font management in Mac OS X has always been something of a dark art, compared to the simplicity of Mac OS 9 and earlier, given there are multiple locations where fonts may reside, and Apple&rsquo;s &lsquo;hard-wiring&rsquo; in of certain fonts.


To help shed some light on the subject, there's an informative article written by a commercial studio JKL Studios, covering:


...Required fonts for OS 9 (Classic).


...What is a font suitcase and why do we have them?


...What are they and which is which?


...Fonts you can and cannot use in OS X.


...What to do in font emergencies.


...&bull; Suitcase Fusion 2 : font management and repair software


&bull; FontNuke : is a free utility that removes corrupt or troublesome font cache files


&bull; FontDoctor : industry standard software for font problem diagnosis, repair, and organisation]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>When wireless networking isn&#x27;t an option</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-04-16T15:15:22+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/fdfb3c8cbe67887017e655d4aae0e6a7-5.php#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/fdfb3c8cbe67887017e655d4aae0e6a7-5.php#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Wireless networking is a convenient solution for most computer users these days - it often comes as standard, it&rsquo;s reasonably fast and (when properly managed) secure, and gives the user the freedom to use their machines without being tethered by network cables.


...Environmental factors, such as overly thick walls or a preponderance of steel or reinforced concrete between the broadcasting station (the point where the internet enters the premises) and the user can cause weak or no signal transmission.   So too can interference from other emitting devices on the same frequency band  - such as microwave ovens, cordless telephones and other wireless broadcasters in the immediate vicinity. 


And then there&rsquo;s a customer of mine who had a perfectly good, adequately functioning PowerMac G4, whose dilemma was that the only economically viable wireless solution available was an original Apple Airport 802.11b on eBay for around $120 second-hand.   This customer had just moved to a new flat, ADSL2+ was available, for which she already had a basic modem/router - but the single incoming phone point was across the other side of the flat in the kitchen.   So she either had to run a long cable from kitchen to study across the floor, or go wireless, which in this case would have involved buying a new wireless modem/router and an Airport card for her PowerMac - all for an 11 Mbit/s maximum throughput. 

...Using a basic starter kit containing two plugs and ethernet cables, I was able to network the ADSL modem/router and the PowerMac G4 through the domestic power supply with a maximum throughput of 80 Mbit/s - faster than even 802.11g! 

...And the beauty of this solution is that you can simply add more plugs when you want to add more network points.   With Mac OS X there&rsquo;s no additional software or configuration required, and the cost was about the same as what she would have had to spend buying a new wireless modem/router and slow-as Airport card!


If you think this solution would work for you, please contact me for more information and pricing!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Power protection for your Mac</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-04-16T15:12:28+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b117b66e19abb99a703acc22005dfa9e-4.php#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b117b66e19abb99a703acc22005dfa9e-4.php#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Gusting winds bring down tree branches onto power-lines and sub-stations melt down under the blazing sun....or rising floodwaters!


Power surges, brown-outs and black-outs are becoming regular features, and whilst the flicker of the lights is a minor annoyance to us, that same surge can have a devastating effect on your computer.   Crashed hard drives, loss of data, burnt out power supplies and fried logic boards - I've seen it all resulting from a hot day when the power went haywire for an instant.


...Putting a UPS between your Mac and the power supply is one inexpensive form of insurance. 


An Uninterrupted Power Supply works in two ways - firstly, it filters the power coming to your workstation so that you don't get hit with spikes and surges, and secondly, if the power goes out, its battery capacity can give you the opportunity to save what you're doing and allow you to shut down gracefully, or if unattended, shut it down for you.


If you run a server, or your Mac is on 24x7, then a UPS is an absolute must! 

...For example, my 600VA UPS is enough to protect my iMac, external FW drive and ADSL modem/router - and gives between 5 - 10 minutes of time before shutting the Mac down automatically via its USB link into Mac OS X's UPS System PreferencePane.   That way my equipment is protected if there's a surge or blackout, even if I&rsquo;m not there.


...That's less than 50% of the cost of a new power supply and 10% of the cost of a new logic board. 

...With widescreen Plasma and LCD TVs now more popular than ever, you should consider electrical protection for the $$$ you've invested on your Home Theatre system. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Data recovery options</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-04-16T14:53:55+10:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/a038f839c8364f775dd7f7f470ec16c5-3.php#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/a038f839c8364f775dd7f7f470ec16c5-3.php#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It can happen in an instant - your hard drive crashes, or the wrong file or folder is accidentally dragged to Trash and flushed away, or the wrong keystroke combination is evoked - and your data has disappeared to byte oblivion. 

...Simplistically put, your data (files, folders etc.) is stored on your hard drive in sectors that are flagged as 'occupied' when you've written/saved/copied your data. ...  So basically your data is still there, just not listed in the file directory, and has the potential to be recovered as long as it hasn't been overwritten.


Once you realise there&rsquo;s a problem, the most important thing to do is stop using the computer, as further activity on the disk may reduce the chances of successful data recovery!


...Ideally (to prevent your deleted files from being overwritten) they should be installed on another system-enabled drive (like a FireWire drive or another Mac) and the Mac with the lost files either booted up off of the FireWire drive or in FireWire Target Disk mode if connected to another Mac by FireWire cable.


...Both products have a downloadable demo that'll scan your HD for your files and present what they find (and be warned this process may take hours to scan a whole drive!).   Then their approach is different - if Data Rescue II has found your missing files, you can purchase it online for around US$100 for the unlock code that'll let you recover all your files. 

...Depending on how how much of the deleted files were overwritten before the recovery process started determines how intact and how useful the recovered data might be - hence you should try the demos first before investing in the recovery. 

...We've covered this topic before, but If you don't have a backup strategy in place now, then you should get one happening before you need to rely on it.   Not only that, but once you've got your backup up and running, check it periodically to see that it's working and that it's capturing all your precious data and that it can be restored in the event of an oops!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Retrieving deleted JPEGs from your camera</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Hints and tips</category><dc:date>2010-03-17T14:48:57+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/db9668065fe6b579acb5d87bd9a19f76-2.php#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/db9668065fe6b579acb5d87bd9a19f76-2.php#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Recently my son finally decided to do something with the photos he'd taken on his digital camera over the last holiday - but when he went to import them into iPhoto, there was nothing on the storage card! 

...He has an Olympus digital camera which stores pictures on an SD (Secure Digital) flash memory card.   When you plug the camera into the Mac via USB cable, it mounts the volume on the desktop, and iPhoto launches and imports the images on the card.   The images in the camera are stored in JPEG format.


...It creates a clone disk image of the flash card on the desktop, then scavenges it for content.   It found and recovered all 165 images and copied them to a designated folder.   It takes a while to make the byte-by-byte clone in the first instance (and the bigger the flash card, the longer it will take), but it was worth the wait to retrieve the 'lost' images. 


Exif Untrasher will try to locate images on your camera&rsquo;s memory card (CF card, SD card, memory stick or anything else) and save them to your Mac.   It only supports JPEG file format, so if your camera stores images in a different format, such as RAW, there are similar commercial utilities available which will cover a wider range of file formats.


&bull; HDMS may also be able to recover lost data from flash and other media types -  0409726817 ASAP!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Backing up = data insurance</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Tutorials</category><dc:date>2010-03-17T14:43:46+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/937d8890e1f22a00ac7e9a8f71cd52e6-1.php#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/937d8890e1f22a00ac7e9a8f71cd52e6-1.php#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[For most people there are two broad types of backup solutions: onsite and offsite, where onsite means the backup is in the same location as the data source, and offsite means the backup is stored elsewhere beyond the data source.


...On the plus side of onsite backups, it means that in the event of a data loss your backup is to hand and recovery can begin pretty much straight away.   On the flip-side, because your backup is in the same location as your data source, it&rsquo;s also equally vulnerable to theft or fire or other disasters and as such you lose both your original and backup data.


...The advent of cheap mass storage, hi-speed internet access and &lsquo;cloud computing&rsquo; has opened up another source of data protection: sending your data to a offsite data centre located somewhere else where it too will be backed-up in a more secure and protected environment than you could probably achieve by yourself.


...Pros for offsite backups include the fact that your data is stored in a well-protected data centre well away from your data source, cons include the fact that the initial upload can be time and data-allowance-consuming in the first instance (but its incremental after that), and that the data is out of your immediate control.


...Depending on licensing and configuration, industrial-strength Retrospect can back up pretty much anything to pretty much any brand and storage format you care to name - disc, drive, tape, internet...and it can backup multiple platform devices over a network to a central location. 

...Ultra-simple to configure (you plug in an external drive, it asks you if you want to use it as your backup drive, you say yes, then off it goes!), and is particularly good for those &lsquo;whoops&rsquo; moments when you didn&rsquo;t really mean to delete that file or your life story document suddenly got corrupted and won&rsquo;t open.   By default it backs up everything every hour, until it fills the drive, then it deletes the old stuff as it goes to make room, and as such can be a resource hog and needs to be connected to the drive at all times. 

...Once a day if you can afford to lose a day&rsquo;s work without it being too much of a drama, maybe once a week for a folder that doesn&rsquo;t change very often...if you can&rsquo;t afford to lose anything then possibly Time Machine in its hourly default cycle would do (so the most you lose is an hour&rsquo;s worth of work) or invest in a RAID Level 1 device.


...If the data isn&rsquo;t stored in a compressed, proprietary format (like Retrospect, which has a recover feature built-in), and is in &lsquo;Finder-readable&rsquo; format, then it should be as simple as drag back, or clone back in the event of a total drive failure, or step back in time and recover the file if you use Time Machine. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A guide to successful software updating</title><dc:creator>support@hdms.com.au</dc:creator><category>Tutorials</category><dc:date>2010-03-17T14:41:20+11:00</dc:date><link>http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b28a68153314fdae2d1f101ef56317da-0.php#unique-entry-id-0</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.hdms.com.au/links/links/blog_files/b28a68153314fdae2d1f101ef56317da-0.php#unique-entry-id-0</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We all know that a) no software is perfect, and b) no two workstations are configured, installed or accessorised alike, so how to make sure the next System (or application) update you install goes according to plan?


...If you are running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, use Apple Time Machine to make a backup, or a third-party utility like SuperDuper! 

...If you have the System disc handy, or a third party utility like Disk Warrior, boot up from it and make any disk and directory repairs it needs.


4) For any incremental System update (eg: 10.5.5 > 10.5.6), anecdotal evidence suggests NOT using the Software Update incremental updater (System Preferences > Software Update), but instead going to the Apple Support website and downloading the Combo updater, which will update any point release installation to the latest (eg: 10.5.1 > 10.5.6), and generally includes any Security or other updates that have been released since the last System update. 


Note it will be several hundred MB in size compared to the incremental updater, but it&rsquo;s oh so worth it, especially if you have several machines to update. 

...It may also restart itself again during the process - this is quite normal, as is the longer startup time (subsequent restarts should be back usual time).


...&bull; Often the updates makes changes to the core framework of the System or application(s), and installed third-party drivers, plugins or hacks may no longer be compatible and cause instability or crashing (this often happens with Safari, for example). ...  You might also want to run a system utility like YASU or OnyX to clear caches and check the integrity of Preferences, which can sometimes become corrupted during the update process.


&bull; The periodic Security updates and Apple application updates are generally fine to install from Software Update - just be sure to Repair Permissions before and afterwards, and likewise for any third-party software updates you perform, too. 

...&bull;&bull; One final word of caution: System, Security and application updates are generally recommended and serve to fix, secure and enhance your computing experience - but even the pros at Apple and Adobe and others stuff up from time-to-time with their installers or their updates, so please don't always be in a rush to be an early adopter, especially in a production environment! ]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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