The Mac School

How To Speed Up My Mac

2010-04-05T10:34:00.013-04:00

Spring Cleaning

How to speed up my Mac

Do you remember when your Mac was brand new? It was fast, huh?
With the time your mac may have became a little sluggish, a bit slow to respond.
Wait ! Don't sigh!
You can do something! They're apps for that!

They are a bunch of free apps in fact, each of them doing a great job at speeding up your Mac.
Let's look first at the culprits, and the ways to fix the issue(s)

Multiple languages
Each programs ships with at least 10 to 12 languages ready. Some of them are out with more than 50, including Klingon, Swahili & Breton (!) Unless you are using all them on your Mac, you may just need few. For the most of us: one.
Removing them will free up to 7GB of space.
Prog to use: Monolingual or CleanMyMac

Universal Binaries
Once upon a time, it was Power PC, now it's Intel Chips.
Some progs are still written for both, hence a lot of the code is useless either for one or the other.
(If you are on Power PC and are going to move to Intel soon, skip that step)
Progs to use Xslimmer or CleanMyMac

Caches
Cache(s) are made to store information that you may need to re-use. If you use Safari, Firefox or Google Earth, you probably have (large) cache hogging your hard drive.
You can do the following test: Open Google Earth and make a flight over New-York-Paris-London-Boston. Then Re-do it. Much faster now: The Cache!

Yes, it's faster but I recently discovered that the cache for my Google Earth -only- was 650MB.
If you add all the other App using a cache ... you have few gigs there.
Progs to use: The App itself, Onyx, CleanMyMac

Apps
If you uninstall your Apps by trashing the App itself, there is a great chance that they are not properly removed and you left dust balls behind you. You need to remove those apps properly, along with the plists and attached folders (resources, folders, icons, etc)
Progs to use: AppCleaner, CleanMyMac

Memory
Memory is in high demand!
If you start you Mac with 10 Apps on "Open at Login", then have everything on the face of the earth running by default (Bluethooth, Universal Access, etc ) it will drain the resources.
Take a look at Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. You'll see what's running at login.
I love DropBox, but i don't need it, I kill it. Ditto for Airport (WI-FI). I used to launch everything at login, just by convenience; I quickly stopped doing that.

A quick look at Activity Monitor may make you gasp: RAM use @ startup: Photoshop 70MB, Firefox 70, Excel 70 Etc. Some Apps (i.e Photoshop) may go up to the gig.

Progs to use: Your common sense, iFreeMem

Diverse Junk
Logs, System Junk
Logs are kept for diverse reasons, i.e crashes etc. unless you have repetitive issues, you do not need to keep them for ever.
Progs to use: Finder, CleanMyMac

Double Trouble
Because I am a reformed windows user, I have a tendency to backup everything. And then backup the backup. Still, sometimes it's not enough. (50 crashes on Excel and counting. Thank you MS)
Because of that, I end up with duplicates and triplicates. Chipmunk does the trick: It checks your HDD for duplicates. After that, it's your decision to delete or keep.

Fragmented Files
OS X has a self control over fragmented files, hence you do not need a defragmenter. The thing that you can do for large files is to copy or move the files or directory to an external HDD, Delete them on the original and re-copy to the HDD. It does not make miracles but when re-copied, they are copied in one block. issue: it does change the date and time on the file, and it's time consuming.

What I would do if I Were You

If something can wrong, it will! Hence an excellent idea is to Backup With Time Machine
Seriously!

CleanMyMac does almost everything, BUT it has a Demo limitation of 210MB of cleaning.

The Good news is that there is a Workaround, and no, it's not a Crack, Serial or a Keygen for CleanMyMac.

To avoid reaching the limit in the first try, I would first start with Monolingual and Onyx and once the bulk has been removed use CleanMyMac. Just use the Workaround explained here to reset the limit.
iFreeMem does not increase your total memory but solely swap some RAM. It create a temporary increase in the RAM available.

Before Clearing the Binaries: Be sure to update the "safe list" Some progs have a Checksum verification. To avoid pirated versions, if the checksum is not correct, they will stop working.
Hence - UPDATE THE SAFE LIST - (CleanMyMac >> Preferences )

Onyx Does much more than clearing cache. It Checks the SMART Status and is able also to tweak your preferences on a click. And that's 02% of what is can do.

iFreeMem available here

Xslimmer is here (Demo)

Download the Apps here

Once Installed,
Backup with Time Machine, then run Monolingual First, Then Onyx (Smart, Plist, Cache)
then finish with a polish with CleanMyMac
Check your "Open at Login" settings, reboot and you should be all set.

Update:

While your are at it , take a look at MacKeeper,
( http://mackeeper.zeobit.com/ )it also has an undelete function and also a Duplicate Finder. I am the type to backup the backup, but I must admit that it takes some space.

WARNING! You will be tempted to download a crack, or a keygen. That would be illegal, and the best way to end up with a Rootkit or a Keylogger.
The creator(s) of MacKeeper have a Trial Version with no limitation and they provide FREE real licenses. Just be creative
http://mackeeper.zeobit.com/media_room/newsletters/2010-07-30

25 Free Apps you can't live without

2010-03-18T20:34:00.023-04:00

Updated:
25 36 Free Apps you can't live without

System App

Prey

Recover What Is Rightfully Yours.

UPDATE !!! April '10 Geo-Localization Enabled ;-)
Distant Lock (can be used as Parental Control)

Prey is a MUST! So, drop everything you are doing right now and install it. And it's Free!
Prey is a Private Investigator, A certified Spy, a life insurance & your best friend. Prey can help you recover a stolen or lost computer. I know... Now It's not the most important thing in your mind; But If your laptop is stolen or lost, then it will rapidly become your best friend. Furthermore, Prey is becoming better by the hour: Keylogger in Dev, iPhone App, Multiplatform, MultiDevices. (Now available for Android Phone)
Prey is a MUST. So, drop everything you are doing right now and install it. (Did I mention that Prey is Free?)
Prey is "Install & forget", 1 minute to save your life. -And all your documents, pictures, memories, emails ..... Install it NOW! Tutorial here

Quicksilver

Act without doing. Do it Fast! Quicksilver is a "Unified, extensible interface for working with applications, contacts, music, and other data".
Quicksilver takes a little period of adaptation, but after that you'll be able to do your daily tasks few parsec faster

Onyx

Configure your Mac the way you want. In few clicks, Onyx Allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of itsSystem files, run tasks of system maintenance, configure hidden parameters for: Finder, Dock, Dashboard, Exposé, Safari,Login window and some of Apple's own applications, it deletes caches,removes cache files and folders that may becomecumbersome. It also include possibilities such as changing the default setting of screenshots from .png to .jpg in one click. Onyx exists for Snow Leopard , Leopard , Tiger & Panther.

MacSplit

Ever needed to split a large file? (Deconcatenate) and to join it again? (Concatenate). There, here you are: MacSplit.
Why? , because most of the email provider will limit the size of an attachment to 20MB. BTW, Read the post about Gspace: You've just received 7385 MB of free storage / sharing for reading this post ;-)

iStat Pro

What's going on? All your Mac at a glance, a complete system monitoring:
Activity Processes, Network, HDDs SMART status
Bandwidth, Bluetooth
Battery health, Charge
Temperature of your CPU's, GPU, Base, and also Fans speed. Very useful.

AppCleaner

AppCleaneris a small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstallunwanted apps. No more Plist left behind. AppCleaner finds all thesesmall files and safely deletes them.
App Cleaner can also protectyour preferred App from deletion, keep a log and has a smart deletefeature. Clean removals are very important

SaveCircle & ForEverSave Lite

Twoapp that save your docs or files at regular intervals. It helps you toNOT commit suicide when you realize that you have lost 3 hours of workbecause CMD+S is a too complex shortcut.
Pick the one you like: Save Circle has a detachable timer.
TheForeverSave Full version is $15 but has a lot of features, such as aTime Backup, etc, but it's $15. [ Time Machine is Free ] ;-)

Monolingual

Unlessyou wish to learn Klingon, Breton, Swahili, Kalaallisut and the famousKinyarwanda, you may wish to remove unused languages on your Mac. Ihave nothing against Kalaallisut, but if i can free up to 7GBby doing so, I will. Monolingual gives you back some real estate onyour Hard Drive.

CleanMyMAC

CleanMyMac is not free, but they have a demo version. Limited to 500 MB.
Limited that is, IF you don't know the workaround.
As soon as you know the workaround, you can clean with almost no limitation.
Huh? The workaround ? No, it's not a crack but it's explained here

iWeb App

iWeb SEO Tool

Making the publishing of your Google Analytics Code a breeze
Quickly and easily optimize your iWeb based website for search engines then publish directly to your iDisk or FTP server without ever leaving the application.
Now iWeb users can enjoy the same search engine benefits enjoyed by all other websites optimized specifically for all major search engines. iWeb SEO Tool can also easily add Google Analytics or any other analytics code to your iWeb site.

iTweak

iTweak is the ultimate companion for iWeb which allows you to add nearly all the missing things. To make this short and effective, here is a list of the main features:
iTweak can back up both iWeb 06 and iWeb 08 sites in a snap
It can add a Favicon via a simple drag and drop method
You can integrate a Google Search bar into and for your site
You can add Google Analytics, Statcounter and any other hitcounter in the world
Easily embed the Haloscan Commenting system

FileZilla

An excellent FTP client
Once you have tweaked your iWeb Website, you'll need FileZilla
Works on Windows too

WebCrusher

Ok , this one is NOT FREE , but if you have the use of it ....

It Squeeze your website out of the unnecessary fat code and over big images
it makes your pages load up to 50% faster. iWeb is also graphic intensive and some may say -slow-, that will speed it up...
That could be the difference between a sale or a client gone ...
One-click website optimization, reducing the time it takes for your website to load in your customer’s web browser. Create your web site any way you like then run it through WebCrusher and publish it to your web server. In less than 5 minutes you will have a faster loading web site with absolutely no additional work on your part.

Text Wranglers & Manipulators

TextWrangler

TextWrangler is the powerful general purpose text editor. From the basic text edit to sorting, finding , grep , editing , Text Manipulations, FPT , and Unix and server administrator’s tool too
It does things that you have not dreamt of yet! Sorting, killing duplicate's, etc
Get it , you'll use it

Mass Replace It

You know how to Find and Replace, but when it comes to do it in 500 files , that can be tedious.
MassReplaceIt makes it a dream, Select the folder , and chop chop , it's done ...
Want to change the extension of hundreds of files at once? Or have you ever needed to change an email address on 50 different pages of a website? Then MassReplaceIt is the tool for you.
MassReplaceIt can change a line of code in an entire website in a breeze. It may help you more than you can imagine

Video App

Handbrake

Easily Rip your DVD's & Convert videos for all your Apple gear and beyond: iPhone, iPod, Mac. Even Windows and Linux. Multitrack, you can burn the subtitles as well as multiples languages in one file. Presets makes it a breeze to find the right settings for your device.
Handbrake is a must! Tutorial is here

VLC

The cross-platform open-source multimedia framework, player and server
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols. See the full features list.  It can also be used as a media converter or a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on networks.
Anyway... You want Handbrake?? You'll need VLC. That simple.

Perian

The Swiss Army Knife for Quicktime. Not an app "per say" but it allows Quicktime to play many different formats.

Graphic Editors

Gimp

If you have Gimp, you won't probably need Photoshop.
Besides the fact that it works under almost anything, Gimp has also a large (and Free) Plugin Library. You'll also save $200.

Seashore

If you are between Paint and Photoshop Master Jedi Level, (Noob and UberGeek) Seashore is for you. You can still do a lot, but it's not a complex as Gimp or Photoshop. Here again, download and save $100. Yup!, That's 3 Snow Leopard or a 5 licenses pack for iWork. Or almost 7 "Most Expensive Starbucks" [Inflation corrected] [Can you tell it's raining today?]

Icons Editor

Img2Icns & Telling Folders

Iam a "visual memory" guy, Img2Icns & Telling Folder allow me tocreate Icons the way I want to, and differentiate my folders the way Iwant to. I also find the regular Apple icons not so appealing when youend up with 20 identical folders. Those 2 Apps are very easy to use andyou'll create your Icons in a snap, direct from pictures (Img2Icns) orflatten image within an existing "Apple" regular folder. (TellingFolder)

Examples, left to right:
Icon and Folder created with Img2Icns
Folder "Pages" created with Telling Folders

Music / iTunes

Artwork Gofer

Are you missing CD Covers on iTtunes? The "Get Artworks" option on iTunes has some flaws: Use Artwork Gofer and you should be OK.
This easy to use application allows to find missing artwork for youriTunes albums and add it to the albums tracks. You can get artwork forselected tracks, or you can simply find all the missing artwork foryour iTunes music.
To search artwork for selected tracks, select any number of tracks in iTunes, then select the Search Artwork menu command in the iTunes Scripts menu.
If you want the Lyrics too, look for "Get Lyrical".
For the Artwork, you can also try "Tidysongs" the free trial offers 100 fixes, after it's $30. If you are looking for a TidySongs crack, read the Antivirus & RootKit post 10 times. Then Repeat. Posted!!!

Desktop

Camouflage

Camouflage will hide your Desktop Icons in a click
It makes your Mac look all clean and neat.
For a messy guy like me, it's a blessing.

Browsers

Firefox , Opera , Chrome (?)

On a Mac, you have Safari by default: Don't get me wrong Safari is an excellent browser, but Firefox is Excellent too. Each of them have functionality that the other does not have. Some Firefox Add-on are really good (All in One Gesture, TinEye, Gspace, No Script etc) so why don't you enjoy the best of each? BTW, if you have IE, now is the time to move on. IE is often ranked last in quality, speed and safety. Chrome for Mac is in Development and should be soon available. Opera is also very good, and due to his small market share, Opera is the less likely to be targeted for exploits. Noted??

Security

iAntivirus Avast!

- Hey! you don't mention ClamXav?
Nope!..I know ....
-Why?
Because I tested 7 Antivirus, and as per my tests, ClamXav ended up Rock Bottom. So, I understand the concept of Free Software, but ClamXav was so bad that they should pay you to install it. Hence under my right of free speech, I do NOT advise ClamXav under any circumstances, as of Nov '10.

- Ok.... What should I use?
The (new) tests are here, along with results & recommendations.

Talking about "exploits" You do have an Antivirus on hand?Correct?
Why? because Mac DO get Viruses, Rootkit, Trojan and Worms.

If you are sure you'll never get one because you "do not download stuff", then read this little story: "Best Buy Digital Photo Frames Shipped With Virus" . Ditto, USB key were sold at "clearance prices" or intentionally left in Internet Cafes for people to find them: The USB keys were "preloaded" with some nasty crapware; You can guess what happened.
About those 2 Antivirus, I have tested both and I prefer iAntivirus over Avast! (Ease of use) Nevertheless, I keep both on hand (yes, they're free) Just don't run them together.
ALWAYS DOWNLOAD FROM TRUSTED SOURCES
READ the note at the end about AV

RootKit Hunter

"RKHunter is scanning tool that checks for signs of various pieces ofnasty software on your system like rootkits, backdoors and localexploits. It runs many tests, including MD5 hash comparisons, defaultfilenames used by rootkits, wrong file permissions for binaries, andsuspicious strings in LKM and KLD modules"
Source: Insecure.org

Chat

Skype / iChat / Adium

I feel strange just to mention those ones. Do I really need to mention them? iChat has a Desktop Sharing and a distant control which can be very very handy if you need help, also up to 3 simultaneous Video Chat. Skype has a screen sharing and allows you to make unlimited phone calls in the US (Land and Cell) for $30 a year*. Video Chat (2 Max) and conference calls (up to 24 participants) (You'll need a serious bandwidth if you are planning a conference call @ 24)
Adium is a free instant messaging application for Mac OS X that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, Google Talk, ICQ, Facebook Chat, and much more. All in one

WIFI & Networks

KisMAC

KisMACis a really powerful WIFI sniffer and WIFI stumbler. WEP and WPAauditing / cracking, Injection, Dehauth and Flood attack and GPScapable. KisMac is not for the absolute beginner, but once mastered it's a fantastic tool: I was able to crack my own WEP network key in less than 3 seconds and it was not a "123456" Password
Last thing: Read the legal disclaimer.

Wireshark

Network Protocol Analyzer, really powerful and not for the absolute beguinner.
You need some knowledge about networks and WIFI. Wireshark can open PCAP dump files from Kismac and read packets sent over airwaves.
Video Tutorial Introduction To Wireshark
Video Tutorial Custom Wireshark Shortcuts

Others

SeisMac

SeisMac allows you to check if your co-workers have gain a lot of weight over the Week-End, Show to your Dad that the Mustang can really pull 1.5G in acceleration and scientifically prove to your girlfriend that your flatulences are not making the bed "shake" as she pretends.
It also allows you, on the side, to conduct scientific tests of no real importance: it's a seismograph. It uses the Motion Sensors and works on Axes X, Y, Z ; If you already have Seismac installed, you have a grade of 70 on the Geek scale of 100. If you wish to reach 90, look out for "Liquid Mac".

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If you want to splurge a little .... Small fee App

Duplicate Annihilator

For $7.95, it's worth it. (Trial Version removes up to 20 duplicates)

"Duplicate Annihilator takes on the time consuming task comparing theimages in your iPhoto library using effective algorithms to make surethat no duplicates escapes. When found the duplicate will either bemarked with a description of your choice to make it searchable orsimply moved to iPhotos trashcan."
Be aware that the demo on the website is done with a small library. If you have a large iPhoto library, you may want to make some coffee.

RAR Machine

$8 (Trial version works 10 times for free)
RAR Machine can de-concatenate (split) large file while compressing and reassemble them later. Very useful to send large files via email (split 100MB into 20MB segments), or if you are using GSpace, to send a movie to a friend. (Not a DVD ripped with Handbrake, that would be illegal. Don't do it!)
Other nice features, check the Website
"RarMachine is a powerful RAR archive manager, surely the simplest and most integrated for Mac OS X. You can use it to compress and extract all Rar files downloaded fromthe internet or compressed on a PC with the power advantage of your MacSystem." (I suspect RAR Machine to be a GUI based on the RARlab CLI )

Antivirus Notes

Mac do get malware, much much less than Win, I must admit, but they do. (as of Nov 2009, 113 Threats for Mac, Over 1 million as of 2008 for Windows. Source BBC , and according to AVC 1.6 million "Crapware" as of August 09. (Source AVC)
- So, PLEASE, just incase, install an Antivirus: They're free. Did I mention free??
If you don'thave one on hand, you are a sitting duck! and if you wait long enough, you can be sure to be shot.
If you are like me, you'll have 2 Ready. Why? Because the way they work is never 100% guaranteed:
An AV is composed of 2 main parts: Detection and Removal. Each of of them important.
A Comprehensive testing made by in August revealed that NOT a single Antivirus performed "Very Good" with some of them "forgetting" about 10% of the threats. So, the idea is to have more than one on hand, each of them doing a good job in one category, but none of them performed very well in all categories. You can read the complete results at : http://www.av-comparatives.org/

If I suspect some strange activity, I'll test the folder(s) with a double scan. Two opinions is better than one. I also test every single downloads. (Old Windows habits)
Am I freaking out? Well, In My Humble Opinion, Backdoors and Keyloggers are the most serious threat, and I would not besurprised to see an increase in Mac Malware in the near future, it's Niche Market but very lucrative. You can either sit and wait, or take precautionary measures.
You can test your protection and your Antivirus with the EICAR test file. (EICAR is NOT a Virus or Threat, it is a TEST file(s): EICAR.org
I have tested mine with more serious threats, (Trojans and Al.) Avast! and iAntivirus both responded well at download and at scan. Seems to me that Avast! is slightly slower on scan.
An other option is to use Web Of Trust, when you visit websites, it may warn you of possible threats (Phishing, Scamming, Exploits) http://www.mywot.com/

With an EICAR test, You should see something like:

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Cleaning Gmail in Seconds

2009-12-08T10:52:00.002-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Cleaning Gmail in Seconds

If you are like me, your Gmail Account is a mess. Tons of emails that needs a tidy up, unfortunately gmail has no real sorting and cleaning features. That’s for a good reason: The More mail you keep, the more data mining Gmail and google can do.
The issue being that after a while, my Gmail account looks like a dump. Saying that it’s a mess is an understatement.
So, to help you, here is how to:
Sort Gmail by Size, time, sender, etc and clean Gmail in seconds & easily remove old and unneeded emails. No script needed, no add-on programs.

Open Mail (Mac Mail that is)

- On the Main Window, bottom left,
- Click on the gear

- Using the drop menu, go to “Get Account Info”
- You can now see a summary of your mailbox, including your Gmail Quota

- Select a Folder and then click on “Show Messages”
- You can now sort by size, time, attachments, sender, etc ... and delete, copy, save or move whatever you want, i.e. the big files that you sent 2 years ago...

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Mac Tips: The Pro Series

2009-11-09T09:32:00.050-05:00

It's about time to unleash the real power of OS X

Cleaning Gmail in Seconds

Dock or No Dock?

Finding the Size of Multiple Documents

$⁋€Ↄ1⋎∟ ⒸÅ℟Å℃ ₮ ∑ ₨, √er¥ ƒast!

Finding the Best Wi-Fi Connection in One click

Switch Between Applications

Icons: Change 'em, Switch' em, Create 'em

Screen shots & Screen copy Virtuoso

Da Vinci's TrackPad

Fast Quit

Master the Volume

Put Your Mac in Sleep Mode Like a Jedi

Zip Files in One Click

Giving Your Dock a Dirty Mind

(Need something? leave a comment ;-)

To come:
Set priority Search in spotlight

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Zip Files in One Click

2009-11-09T03:42:00.005-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Zip Files in One Click

You can Zip files (compress) in one click
Just select the files or folders you want to compress and either use the Control+Click or the Right Click on you mouse and select "Compress x Items" on the Drop Menu
The Shortcut to select multiple files is Command + click.
That was easy!

Also, I suppose you've noted the "Burn" in one click to ;-)

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Master the Volume

2009-11-08T15:59:00.001-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Master the Volume

Don't like the beep beep sound when changing the volume?

Holding Shift will make it silent [ ⇧ + F11 or F12 ]

Want to fine tune the Volume? Option + Shift + F11 or F12 [ ⌥ +⇧ + F11 or F12 ] Will allow you to go by increment of 1/4 of the regular increase/decrease

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Track Pad: Wow! You Can Do That?

2009-11-08T14:55:00.091-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Multitouch Track Pad

Play your TrackPad like a Beethoven

The Track Pad on a MacBook is a little wonder of ingenuity. Knowing how to use it and what you can do with it will make your life much easier.
Before going too far, a little intro: Watch the video and relax
The original video is available here

That's neat! No?
Now we can start playing a little
Forbetter understanding the arrows will represent your fingers, 2 arrows =2 fingers, 3 arrows = 3 fingers. You got the picture, huh?
This MBP is an early 2009, the before last model
the new ones have no click bar, as shown in the video. That does not change much as for your fingers movement. Let's play ..

Quicktime & DVD Player

Fast Forward
From Speed 1.1 to Speed 32
When released, speed returns to "Play"

Rewind
From Speed -1.1 to Speed -32
When released, speed returns to "Play"

UP
Frame by Frame Forward

Down
Frame by Frame Rewind

Diagonal Out
Zoom in or Full Screen

Diagonal In
Zoom Out or Small Screen

Down (4 Fingers)
Activate Spaces

Up (4 Fingers)
Activate Desktop

Right (2 Fingers)
Seek or FF

Left (2 Fingers)
Seek or RW

Preview & iPhoto

Diagonal Out
Zoom in

Rotate (2 Fingers)
Rotate Pictures (90,180,270)
Works also with one finger still and one turning

Almost All Apple Apps have commands that you can execute with the Track Pad,
Try it with Finder, Dock, etc. You'll find plenty of shortcut yourself.

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Dock or No Dock?

2009-11-08T14:23:00.012-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Dock Peekaboo!

There is a very simple shortcut to hide & un-hide the dock

[ ⌥ + ⌘ + D ] Option + Command + D (D as Dock, easy to remember, huh?)
To bring the Dock back temporarely, just point your mouse cursor where the dock was.
To bring it back permanently, just re-do a Option + Command + D

What's the point?
1) You can show off to your friends
2) Make your Mac look neat during a presentation
3) View a movie in Full - Full Screen
4) Or, if like me, being annoyed when you grab an app on the dock instead of the bottom right corner of a window

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Finding the Size of Multiple Documents

2009-11-08T12:57:00.001-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Finding the Size of Multiple Documents

Let's say that you want to copy a bunch 'o files to a USB drive, You start the copy and a minute later: Disk Full!

How about knowing the size before you copy? punching the numbers one by one? nope!
Just open Finder, Select what you want, and just use Command + Option + i [ ⌘ + ⌥ + i ]
And Voila! 7.53GB

If you want to open the "Get Info" all at once, just drop the option: Command + i [ ⌘+ i ]

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Screen Copy Virtuoso

2009-11-08T11:07:00.058-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Screenshot Virtuoso

How to make a Screen Copy / ScreenShot / Print Screen / Video Capture / on a Mac

Did you know that you have multiple ways of doing it? Each one has a little specific "plus"
Depending on the shortcut used, you can capture the entire screen, just an app, or only a specific portion using the cross-hair cursor.
On the Top of that, you can save directly as a picture on the Desktop, or copy into the Clipboard for use in Graphic Editors, Emails & Documents
Let's Start ...

Shift + Command + 3 [⇧⌘ 3 ]

Take a Picture of the Entire Screen and Save on Desktop (Saved as Screenshot date+time .png)

Shift + Command + 4 [⇧⌘ 4 ]

Take a Picture with Cross-hair Cursor (Selected Area) and Save on Desktop (Saved as Screenshot date+time .png)

Shift + Command + 4 + SpaceBar [⇧⌘ 4 Space]

Take a Picture of the Entire Active App Window with Camera Cursor and Save on Desktop (Saved as Screenshot date+time .png)
The Window Selected will turn blue-ish. No need to select the foremost App, just a portion is enough

Shift + Control + Command + 4 [⇧⌃ ⌘ 4 ]

Take a Picture with Cross-hair Cursor (Selected Area) and Save on Clipboard
You can use the Control + V to paste in a Document or Emai

Shift + Control + Command + 4 + SpaceBar [⇧⌃ ⌘ 4 Space]

Take a Screenshot of the Entire Active App Window with Camera Cursor and Save on Clipboard
You can use the Control + V to paste in a Document or Email

Escape [esc] Will cancel the Action

Video Screen Capture

Just Use Quicktime: File >> New Screen Recording
Quicktime Video Recording is fairly simple but free. If you wish to have more advanced features, you can use ScreenFlow (Fee) or Camtasia (Fee)

Changing The Output Format and Shadow

By default, the parameters are output as .PNG and Shadow "On"
If you wish to change the output as Jpg or PDF, remove the shadow etc, just follow the lead...
In order to better understand the differences, here are two examples: one with the shadow, one without. The Shadow Color has been exaggerated for the example.

The simplest way to change those parameters is to use the -excellent- Onyx.
By now, if you have listened, you should have Onyx installed.

If not, I would like to remind you of the famous "Bunch O' Free Goodies" Article.
Okey, Onyx Installed?
Just Lauch, Go to "Parameters" and Check/Un-Check the Shadow Option.
As for the output Format, Ditto. You have the choice between Jpeg, PDF, Tiff, BMP, etc etc

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Put Your Mac in Sleep Mode Like a Jedi

2009-11-08T10:09:00.009-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Sleep Mode in 2 Seconds

Want to put your Mac in sleep mode in 2 Seconds, Like a Jedi?
Use the Shortcut Command + Option and hold Eject for 2 seconds. [ ⌘+ ⌥ + ⏏ 2 sec ]

There: The Snow Kitty is now in Grizzly Type Hibernation

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Master the Volume

2009-11-08T09:14:00.010-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Master the Volume

Don't like the beep beep sound when changing the volume?

Holding Shift will make it silent [ ⇧ + F11 or F12 ]

Want to fine tune the Volume? Option + Shift + F11 or F12 [ ⌥ +⇧ + F11 or F12 ] Will allow you to go by increment of 1/4 of the regular increase/decrease

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Switch Application and Fast Quit

2009-11-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Switch Application + Fast Quit

[ ⌘ + Tab ] Switch Application, Cycle Forward

[ Shift + ⌘ + Tab ] Switch Application, Cycle Backwards

[ ⌘ + Q ] Quit Application (use with Command Tab, it's easier )
Voila!

If you still have doubts, a little video may help you see the advantages ...

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Icons: Change 'em, Switch' em, Create 'em

2009-11-08T06:52:00.008-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Icons: Change, Switch & Create

How to change Icons on a Mac

-Personally-, Me, Myself and I, find, that after a while, Mac OS X icons need a little spice.
I don't mean going nuts, but just make them more representative and appealing.
After all, Icons are Visual Tools.

Change Icons

Go to Finder and Select a folder (Source) with the correct icon , and either: Right Click OR CTRL Click OR Command + I [ ⌘ + I ]
Select GET INFO
Repeat the operation with the second folder (Target)

Click on the source folder small icon (Top Left)
A blue shadow will appear around the icon
Control + C (copy)
Click on the Target folder small icon (Top Left)
Control + V (paste)
The icon is now changed
Close both Get Info windows. Done!

Create Icons from a Picture

You can create your icons set, or use pre-existing ones

To create from a picture, you'll just need to use a free App called Img2icns, Just select a picture and it will convert it in to an Icon.

Take a look at the Article "25 free Apps.." for the download link

You can also do it directly with Preview: Open a picture with preview and copy the picture, Open the Folder with Get Info, Select the Icon Folder, and paste.

The best results are with not-too-complex pictures. A large picture will be reduced an size and will loose some of the details. In Short: Keep it simple!

Create Icons From a Folder

If you wish to keep the Mac OS Icon Style, but want to add some fizz to it, Just use a free App called "Telling Folder"

Select a folder or create a new one, select a picture OR an existing Icon and just drag into the App

Create Dock Icons

This one is a little bit more tricky: The goal is to create Right Side Dock Icons, just as the example shown below with the Applications Folder

First, select a Picture or Icon that you like,
With Photoshop, Gimp or any graphic editor, remove the background
With Img2Icns, create an Icon and name this Icon with a 0 (zero) as first character i.e 0App.icns
Move the icon into the Application Folder and use the following options for the Dock Folder

Sort by: Name

Display As: Folder

View Content as: Automatic

The Trick here, is to have a picture with no background.

Using those parameters, OS X will superpose the Icon over the folder(s)

If you change the sorting, i.e by date, you'll loose the trick. - unless you change the date on the icon.

Long story short, whatever you do, just keep the Icon wanted on first position in the Folder

Icons Sets

If you wish, you can scroll the web in search of free icon sets for Mac.

You'll find everything and anything, Even a Vuitton Icon set (?)
I don't have -yet- the need to coordinate My Mac with a (un-probable) set of Vuitton lugagge, but just in case Ms. Paris Hilton is reading this blog...

A good place to look for Mac Icons is Deviant Art
Over 8000 Icons for Mac, You'll find about everything..

Still looks better than your average icon, no?

Enjoy...

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$⁋€Ↄ1⋎∟ ⒸÅ℟Å℃₮∑₨, √er¥ ƒast!

2009-11-08T06:18:00.013-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: $⁋€ç❙∀∟ ⊂Å℟/\℃✝∑₨, FAST!

[ ⌥ + ⌘ + T ] ☜ that's how we do it: Option + Command + T Voila!
Use the search, Fav, Glyph, Radica, Code Tables, Drag, Drop ... and go nuts
How? Details here

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Finding the Best Wifi in One Click

2009-11-07T16:19:00.002-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Finding The Best WiFi in One Click

On the Menu Bar (Top Left)
Find the Airport Icon

Hold Option + Click on the Icon will reveal the connection status
Example:

PHY: Physical Layer Device (802.11 a,b,c etc.. )
BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier. A unique address that identifies the access point/router that creates the wireless network. Keep that one private. You can be Located or Spoofed with this number.
Security: None - WEP - WPA (Shall you have the first two, you could be in trouble)
RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indication (Signal Strength) The closer to zero the better.
Transmit Rate: Theoretical Max transmit rate (here tested at 8700KB/S)(that's high...)
MCS Index: Too long to explain, Geeks Only

So, in short Look at the RSSI and the Transmit Rate and it will give you a clear idea of your Connection Quality.

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Giving Your Dock a Dirty Mind

2009-11-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Mac 201 Pro Series: Giving Your Dock a Dirty Mind
Not Dirty? ok, play Dock Scrabble

Bored at work? Want to send a subliminal message to your co-workers? Your boss maybe? Or tell your friends something, or simply play Dock Scrabble?

For that, you'll need few applications, some of them free, that you'll find in the now famous "Bunch O' Free Goodies"

I'll give you a little help first, but after that, it's up to you to be creative...
Use with caution...don't get fired ;-)

I know that you are already looking for other letters, So if you wish to create your own Icons... Follow me ...

Enjoy! You are now officially an Apple Geek ;-)

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Special Characters and Symbols on a Mac

2009-11-03T10:20:00.017-05:00

Special Characters & Symbols on a Mac (OS X)

Itweet, and every single day I see someone asking how to make a hashsign (#) or an Apple sign (), even the very secret clover (CMD) sign ⌘ Then, it's the GRΣΣK Characters or the Accented Latin ones ( The é of Café)
Even for the general public, looking for a ±, ‰ or ≠ can be nerve wrecking, and make you spend a ∞of time looking for it, and I am not ☞ at anyone here. Not even ☞ my ♡♡♡ wife. Ok, Enough for the demo.
Here is how you can access all of them without going on a overload of shortcuts and keeping your sanity. (If you are a Keyb Shct freak: ⌥ ⌘ T )

You either have, or not, on the top left of your screen something called the "Character Viewer"

For the ones without it:

Go to System Preferences (In Applications Folder)

Select "Language and Text"

Select "Input Source"
Check boxes:
✔ Show Input menu in Menu Bar
✔ Keyboard and Character Viewer

Close Dialogue Box, and you are done!

Now everybody should have access to the Character Viewer

Just Click on It and you'll have access to all the ☀ ☠ ☢ ☤ Ω ☏ ✈☝, as well as ≤ ≥ = ≠ ≡ ≅ ≈ .... you get the picture ...

Related Characters, Manage Symbols and Add to Favorites
Click "Character Info" to find related characters. i.e ♳ is related to ♴ and ♻ ♲ ♼ ♽
Click on the left box to insert the character
Use the option box to add to favorites

Tip:
You can use the find box: i.e if you type "mus" it will list all special characters in relation of "mus..

Tip #2 Drag and drop the character into a document, it will automatically adjust to the correct Font and Size

Leopard User:
You'll find this Special Character editor under Pages >> Edit >> Special Character

Symbols Available (example of. )
Currency Symbols           $ ¢ ₥ ₠ € ₣ ₤ £ ₧ ₱ ¥ ₨
Phonetic Symbols            a ɑ ɐ ɒ æ b ʙ ɓ β ð ƈ œ ɨ ɣɠ
Miscellaneous Symbols ☏ ♳ ♻ ☕ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♌ ♋ ♍ ☤
Geometrical                     ◐ ◑ ◒ ◓ ▤ ▥ ▦ ▧ ┿ ╂ ╬ ╦ ╔ ╠ ╚ ╩ ╣
Arrows                             ↩ ↪ ↫ ↬ ↻ ⥁ ⇇ ⇈ ⇉ ⇊ ☜ ☝ ☞☟
Mathematical Symbols ⨗ ⨘ ⨧ ⨦ ⨑ ⨊
Braille                              ⠪ ⠲ ⠳ ⠴ ⠬ ⠭ ⠽ ⠿
Enclosed letters            ㈖㈗㈘㈙ Ⓐ Ⓑ Ⓒ ⒠ ⒡ ⒢ ⒣
LetterLike Symbols           ℻ ℡ ℅ ℆ ℉ ℞
Technical Symbols           ⌭ ⌬ ⌛ ⍒ ⍋   ⍉ ⌁
Musical Symbols    ♭ ♮ ♬♫ ♪ ♩ ♯

And while you're at it, check the Symbol and Text Substitution.
Youcan add and create your own, for example "cdeg" will automaticallybeing replaced by the Celsius Degree Symbol ℃. You can create your ownshorthands.
Just select Text, and the +. Then ....go nuts ...

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Using Gmail as Mass Online Storage / Sharing

2009-10-31T22:12:00.003-04:00

7385 MB of Free Storage, and counting....

Did You know that you could use a Gmail (Google Mail) account as an online mass storage?
No, I don't mean sending yourself 6000 emails in a row...
You can use it almost like an FTP , it's much easier than your 6000 emails! here is how to:

First of all, you'll need a free Gmail account. Don't have one? follow me ...
Second, even if you have, just create another one: easier, faster, bigger and safer ...
Done?
Ok, all you need now is a Firefox extension called Gspace, available here: www.getgspace.com
The next time you'll open Firefox, go to "Tools" and click on the Gspace Tab
Follow the very simple instructions, and you'll be up and running in less than 1 minute.
Now you can use an extra 7400 MB of Storage ;-) per account ;-))
You can share the account with a friend and upload / download large amount of data.
Plus, you'll read the FAQ and discover that you can create folders, view your pictures directly, create multiple accounts, upload, download, sideload and so on.

Little side tips

- Do NOT upload sensitive files, unless you are the king of cryptography. It's safe but not under any warranty. Uploading your financial statement is NOT a good idea. (You are on your own. Clear?)
- Do NOT transfer more than 1000MB per day or Google will freeze your account for 24 hrs (BTW, it's 1 GB of data and It is a lot)
- Max size per file is 19MB, (Google rules again). As you are smart you'll go around by Googling word such as "de-concatenation" or "deconcatenate"or the more colloquial "file splitter".
Can't find it? Try RAR Machine
If You are a Windows user, I would then (highly) recommend the very good WinRar from RarLab.
Last but not least: Don't forget that it is (Still) a mailbox. So If you set up Mail, Entourage, or Outlook to go fetch your mail on this account, it will. Not only you'll upload the file, but as "mail", you'll download them to. Hence my advice to create a separate mailbox.

Little side notes

As Gmail is a free service, they have set limits on the volume, here are the "rules", straight from the source:
:It's likely that a normal Gmail users didn't notice that Gmail has a lot of limitations for sending messages. Here are some of them:
- 500 messages per day (i.e., you can hit 'Send' a maximum of 500 times)
- 500 unique recipients per message
- 2000 total emails per day (for example, you could send one message to a group of 500 people four times)
In addition to these limitations, "Google will temporarily disable your account if you send a message to more than 500 recipients or if you send a large number of undeliverable messages". According to the help center, you can only send a message to up to 100 people at a time if you use POP or IMAP.
Google explains that these restrictions were created to fight against spam and to prevent abuse:
If you want to hear it yourself : googlesystem.blogspot.com
I know, bummer! But you can still create as many account as you want ....

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Office for mac has determined that your product key is not valid

2009-10-29T07:28:00.004-04:00

When launching Excel, Entourage, PowerPoint, Word, you have a message :
"Office for mac has determined that your product key is not valid"

Let me guess....this was probably right after you added the latest update ...
Microsoft Added this feature without informing anyone. You may have a valid School or University Licence, Still, MS would like you to buy it again ....

I knew that Office for Mac was a ClusterF*ck*, specially Excel but I am sometimes nostalgic too...I keep on looking at it..
So, here is how to fix your issue:

1) Time Machine*

Go back before the update, restore, et voila ! :-)
(I did a full restore of the /application/Office for Mac)
Save the latest v. of your .doc, .xls, .xlsx , etc files
Tip courtesy of Fran. Thank you Fran ;-)

2 ) Manual
Removing Office 2008 License Files:
Ifyour copy of Office 2008 was installed with an invalid product key, orif you mistakenly used the same product key to install Office 2008 onmore than one computer, you must remove the invalid product key andenter a valid product key to use Office 2008.
1. In the Finder,select /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/OfficePID.plist, andthen on the File menu, click Move to Trash.
2. Select/Users/username/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/MicrosoftOffice 2008 settings.plist, and then on the File menu, click Move toTrash.

-YOU WILL BE PROMPTED to RE-Enter your license, as used before the Update
A Valid license key for Office 2008 looks like:

Please be aware that those two keys are given as "example" and you must NOT use them.
As they are valid, it would be illegal for you to use them, so, just don't use them.

W339P-JRCPB-XX8XD-YK49M-7DYCW
OR
FWCQQ-3XX2G-3CD89-4VRJK-CR4YD

3) Time Machine Again (simple)
This is an untested Solution
Restore files:
/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/OfficePID.plist
/Users/username/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist

Leave a comment if you have other solutions
Thanks
*Excel 2008 is extremely slow. Microsoft has received numerous complains about "stupid slow performances"
*Time Machine
If Time Machine is not set up on your Mac, this is a reminder: Time Machine WILL save your life.
TimeCapsule: Apple just upgraded Time Capsule: for $299 , you have a 1TeraByte backup disk AND an Airport Extreme base Station<<< good deal

How To Recover a Stolen or Lost Laptop / Desktop

2009-10-27T10:54:00.021-04:00

Hire a Spy!

Works for: Mac / Windows / Linux / Ubuntu

It’s not funny to have your computer stolen, it even sucks BIG time.
Not only “they” take your belongings, but also they often go away with your memories and personal information.
A home insurance will only refund you cents on the dollar: Once the package was open, your precious laptop took a bad hit on the blue book; probably 30% the first day. A month after, your superb machine is obsolete and the value went down like a beer in the throat of a thirsty Irishman..
As for the rest …your precious pictures, emails, documents… bye-bye ..But most important, the thief may have access to bank accounts, Social Security Number, Credit Card information, and you know it’s were it is going to hurt really bad: Changing and securing all this information: Call the bank, Call the CC company, etc etc. In short: Good luck!

So, what can you do beside adding locks, alarms systems and hiring a bodyguard?

You could hire a spy!

For less than you will ever believe, you could hire a spy.
For how much? Well, between $49 and Free
Free is a very good price …So, read carefully, very carefully…
Multiple solutions exist: LoJack for computers ($$$) Mobile Me (via Back to my Mac), Undercover ($$) & Prey Project (Free)
In this post I will only look at Undercover & Prey, LoJack being a little expensive and Mobile Me having a serious stealth issue in my opinion. (a "Smile you're being filmed" would have been more discreet)

First, how is it working?

As soon as your laptop or desktop is missing (stolen or lost), go to the website of the respective company and declare your computer missing, lost or stolen.
This action will activate a software (it must be installed PRIOR to the activation) and this software will log the IP address used, take pictures, screenshots and sometime Keylogging and send all of that to either: an email address or create a report on a website
You’ll end up (with some chance) with at least, few pictures of the thief, screenshots and his IP address.
I have previously mentioned in this blog what was IP tracing and Keylogging, as well as webcam & microphone remote control.
The IP Address being a very easy way locate someone, even for noobs like the rest of us. For Law Enforcement Agency it's a joke: they'll get everything and even more.

Fee or Free?

Undercover being a (one time) fee service ($49), it has some features that Prey does not have, yet: Keylogging and a nifty simulation of hardware failure, furthermore, Undercover will contact the authorities for you and provides them with all the necessary information.
Prey is Free, but you are on your own and it does not have Keylogging capabilities, or Hardware failure simulation.

Both system have limitations, and there is no absolute guarantee that you will recover the stolen goods, but you have a much greater chance with them than without.
The Undercover Website explains all steps very well, and as I know you: let's move on to the free one: Prey

Be very careful, Prey is not easy to remove under Mac OS (and it should not be!)

Step by Step How to:
Go to the Preyproject website: http://preyproject.com/

Top left, select your language

Sign Up and Create an Account (email, pswd, etc)

Wait for the verification email, and activate your account

Create a Profile, up to 3 Devices. i.e 2 laptops, 1 desktop
Note carefully the API & Device number

Download Prey

Double click to Install

Select the Install option: Control Panel or Standalone

I would strongly suggest you

to use the Control Panel Option

Enter the general settings value, Timing and Language
Enter the API key and the Device Key (paste and copy from the website)
Important: Keep that for yourself!

Now that Prey is installed, go back to the website, log in and go to "My Devices"

Select a Device

Set up your Preferences:
Missing On/Off (by default is should be Off)
-But you are going to test it! Aren't you?
Auto update, Delay between executions, reports, etc
If your computer is not equipped with a built in webcam, the Webcam option is pretty much useless.

Action Module:
I would suggest to de-activate (Off) this option. A noisy pop-up appears and, in my humble opinion it has the only purpose of alerting the thief that something is happening.
I better have the chance to take few pictures of his face than letting him know that I am monitoring his activities.

Don't forget to UPDATE!

Don't forget to UPDATE!

WARNING:

It may take up to 15 minutes the first time you activate Prey to receive a Report. Don't panic, be a little patient.

Depending on your screen size, the Screenshot can be large, hence it may take Prey some time to transmit the Screenshot and the picture. (which is smart: using all your bandwidth at once could alert the thief that something is fishy...)

I would also suggest to restart your computer after installing. It seems to me that it works better...
Pop Up Alert example:
The best way to signal the thief that he is being watched.
Please, de-activate this option. Stealth is King!

Prey in Surveillance Mode

What if:

-You go on vacation for few days and come back to find your home burglarized?
The Thief may have visited you few hours ago, or few days ago..
If the villains just did it, it's Ok. Activate Prey and wait ....
But if they did it a week ago, your laptop may have changed hands few times and was probably re-formatted.
A solution is to leave Prey on "Surveillance mode" : just de-activate the webcam & screenshot option, leave the Network logging & use the max interval for timing.
Prey will log every hour, but will not take pictures or screenshot.
If a thief pays you a visit, you'll have the 10 last IP.
When you realize the theft, then you can activate Prey on "Attack Mode": Pictures, Screenshot every 2 minutes ...
Here are the setting for a "Surveillance Mode"

WARNING II

Prey will not prevent the thief to access your data and files. if you have stored sensitive documents and files in your computer you should read the post about encrypting your sensitive data. Seriously.

WARNING III

Prey will not work if the thief:

- Does not use the internet OR if he is not in range of a wifi spot (also includes laptop OFF & al)
- Format the Hard Drive, or re-install OS (Prevent that with a Firmware Lock)
- Blind the webcam (no picture)
- Uninstall the program (Unix command by hand, no App is visible under Mac OS)

In any case, you should test Prey and ensure that you have correctly installed it.

Limitations:
No Keylogging: Too bad, with a Keylogger and some luck, a simple search on social networks and you'll have all the info you want.

IP Address:
Will only give you the location of the connecting server. If the thief connects from a relayed IP, you'll end up with the location of the main server. (try tracing the IP of an Apple store, you'll end up with AT&T in Kansas..)
You can trace back the IP using an IP Trace Route such as explained in this post . Nevertheless, even without the perfect location, you'll have enough information to contact a law enforcement agency. (Law enforcement in the US need a subpoena to request data from an Internet Provider.)
Bugs
Unfortunately, the green led of the webcam will go on when it takes a picture; It is the only visible sign that Prey is on. (other than digging deep into your Mac)

IP Tracing Example (from a Spammer using a corporate bot. yup! Mac and Cheese manufacturing companies are spamming you with enlargement pills)

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KisMAC Full Tutorial WEP & WPA Key

2009-10-26T10:08:00.005-04:00

KisMAC Full Video Tutorial WEP & WPA Key
Airport, Re-Injection & Bruteforce Attack

How to crack a WEP & WPA Key

The "new and improved" KisMAC tutorial, in HD con la musica
This is, of course, for educational / auditing purpose only.
Read the Legal disclaimer before you use KisMAC.

How to crack WEP. How to crack WPA. How to Hack WEP. How to Hack WPA kismac snow leopard

RecoverWEP key. Recover WPA key. Crack WEP Password. Crack WPA passwordHow ToCrack A WiFi Network’s WEP Password Cracking WEP and WPA WirelessNetworks Cracking WEP with Kismac

How to secure your data with an Encrypted Disk Image

2009-10-26T09:13:00.004-04:00

How to secure your data, Rock Solid.

- Youprobably have a folder or a file somewhere containing sensitive data:passwords and login, few documents or scans of things that you want tokeep private.

Keeping them accessible to all is not asafe solution, if your computer is gone AWOL, the “new” owner may haveaccess to sensitive data.
If your Mac is protected by a Loginpassword, please remember that it can be easily bypassed (Passwordreset via Unix command or by inserting the OS X CD )
Keepingyour sensitive documents encrypted may prevent Id theft and protectsyou against unwanted access to files and folders on your Mac.

A solution to encrypt data in a very secure way is to create an Encrypted Disk Image
Encrypting just a file or a folder is not as safe as encrypting the whole image.
The “thief” will need to mount the entire disk to have access to it.
Here is How To, Step by Step

Go to "Applications" >>> "Utilities"

Select Disk Utility

- Select “New Image”
- Select your options
- Volume Name i.e MrWhite
- Select the size, i.e 100 Mb for documents should be plenty enough. Use more if you have pictures, scans or Videos.
- Select the encryption.
I would suggest the 256-bit or 512-bit, the 128-bit is weaker
- Click Create

Enter a password, or better, a Passphrase*.

UNCHECK “Remember password in my Keychain” otherwise, if the keychain is cracked you’ll be “SOL”
Please Note: If you forget this password you will not be able to retrieve it. If you have a tendency to forget them, use Keychain...
- Click "OK"

The Encrypted Disk image is now created. To access it, double click the Icon on your Desktop and enter your Passphrase.
The Disk will mount and you'll be able to use it as any disk or storage. Drag & drop your document, folders in it.

To close the Disk Image:
Either Log off
Right Click on the icon and choose "Eject"
or go to Finder, click on ⏏ and "Eject" disk

Passphrase
Togenerate a good Passphrase, use letters upper and lower case, addnumbers and for the sake of yourself, use signs too. As a tip, you canhold the Shift key while typing a number. (1=! 2=@, etc )
If you have any doubts whatsoever why you need a strong and uncommon password, take a minute or two and read the very end of this post.
For the"Geek" of it, a password of 20 ch length, using upper & lowercase, numbers and shift signs has 74 possibilities per character or20^74 pos.
20 Ch length = 24,245,681,433,252,000 billions of billions possibilities. Enough to keep a someone busy for a very long time.

The Yahoo! / Msn / Google Password Heist.
About 10 to 30,000 passwords, including email, where put online, as a sample, probably for someone to sell a much larger list. This list was "the proof" that they were valid.
it's estimated that the full list was well over 300,000 emails & passwords.
This heist was not made by "cracking the passwords, but simply by asking people. A Web page was promising that they could tell you who "blocked you" on MSN, you simply had to enter your email and... password. Yes.. curiosity killed the cat! just like the famous "I love you" virus
The very interesting part, was in my eyes, the analysis of the passwords.
Often, people will use one for everything, including bank, credit cards, etc ...
The second interesting thing is, Passwords list exist , most used etc ...

I could not access the list on time, but the excellent Reusable Security Blog did
Here is his (Matt Weir) analysis about what you use

Total Passwords: 9,845 - This number excludes all the e-mail addresses that had blank passwords Average Password Length: 8.7 characters long
Percentage that contained an UPPERCASE letter: 7.2%
Percentage that contained a special, (aka !@#$), character: 5.2%
Percentage that contained a digit: 51.7%
Percentage that only contained lowercase letters: 43.3%
Percentage that only contained digits: 17.6%
Percentage the started with a digit, (aka '1password'): 25.0%
Percentage that ended with a digit, (aka 'password1'): 44.1%
Percentage that started with a special character: 0.5%   << Big hint here
Percentage that ended with a special character: 2.2%    << Here too ...
Percentage that started with an uppercase letter: 6.1%

Overall letter frequency analysis:
aeoi1r0ln2st9mc83765u4dbpghyvfkjAzEIOxRLwSNq.MTC_DB-UP*G@H/ZYF+VJK,\amp;amp;X!Q=W?'#")(%^][}< {`>
First character, letter frequency analysis:
a1mbc2sp0lterdjfgn3hi6k759vo48yAwMzBSCuqPLExJRTFDGNV*HOZYKI\W@/-+(.$U&?Q^[,#
Last character, letter frequency analysis:
aos01326e57849nrilydzmtuAhbO.gck*SxpfE@+LvjNRw_-I?/$q!ZX)YKH"UPMDCB#GF'&%}T,]\VJ(

As a repeat, the previous is from Matt Weir, from Reusable Security
So, it tells me that there are still a large number of people using password vulnerable to wordlist attacks. Furthermore:
40% of users are using the same password for everything.
92.7% did not use an UPPERCASE
94.8% did not use a special character

And the best: Only contained digits: 17.6%
Average length 8.7 >> rounded to 9 Characters

For the 18% (of dummies) that only use digit:
Digit only = 10 possibility per Character
9Ch long = 10^9 = 1,000,000,000 possible combination
Realistic number of test before cracking: 50% (10^4.5)   Time to crack : 0,015 hour = Joke

For those 18%, Read this carefully:
"Neil O'Neil, a digital forensics investigator at secure payments firm The Logic Group, found that "123456" cropped up on the list 64 times. There were 18 uses of the second most popular password, "123456789",
Big surprise!!! Just like the ones mentioned in the 500 most used password.
the 500 most used passwords list is 4 or 5 yrs old, but it seems like it was brand new.

2005 list                     2009 list

password          123456 
12345678          123456789
1234              alejandra
pussy             111111

12345             alejandro

dragon            tequiero

qwerty            12345678

696969            1234567

mustang           alberto

The snipet was probably listing a sampling from Spanish speaking account, but I'll really curious to see the full list

So, if I had to create a password list, guess what ..
First on the list would be 8 or 9 Ch long, all digit, then all lowercase,then adding a digit or 2 first, then adding a digit or 2 at last.
That list should cover about 80% of all passwords
That would be a big list of 7,518,774,324,736 possibilities, but it would cover 80% of the general public. Not bad.
So, GET A REAL PASSWORD!

Update Nov 26, 2009
I just received an email from a (well educated) friend of mine.
The email had many known contacts in the "To" field, and was looking genuine. The body was "Is it you in this picture? You look like a goof! Are you out of your mind?" and had link to a website.
Knowing the guy, it really looked like something he would send.

Just one thing ticked me: No signature. My friend normally use a signature with his name and contact.
Out of curiosity, I just did a quick Reverse IP Tracking, Result: Philadelphia.
Huh? the guy is in Boston. Quick Google search and bam! This was an Attack site: 5 Browser exploits, Worms and keylogger
Grab the phone, and called him:
- Did you send me an email about me looking like a goof?
- Nope!
- Dude, I have bad news...
I explained to him the situation, and he told me that he had not been able to access his email all day long...
After 15 min explaining to him that his account had been hacked, he slipped out his password for me to try.
Guess what? This well educated man was using a password ranked #10 in the most used password list.
The result was that it only took them few seconds to crack his account and that "they" accessed all previous emails, including the ones that you receive when you subscribe to a service, including bank, mortgage, etc.
Not only they were trying to scam his contact list too, but they had the time to dig deeper....
His bank called the next day: Are you trying to wire money to Ukraine?
What raised a red flag at the bank was that his password was changed on the bank website, and the money transfer was asked at 2:30 AM US time
He spent a good portion of his day calling bank, mortgage company, and subscribing to a credit monitoring company.
He scanned his computer many times, but as of today, he does not sleep very tight at night and call his CC company once a day.
So, as a warning, for the third time:
Don't use a weak password, especially one listed as "most used"
Encrypt your sensitive data
If your Email system (Gmail, Yahoo, etc) is Webmail based, Delete & Erase sensitive Emails. Move them into the encrypted folder you have created.
Don't be a potential victim, do it now.

Because it's raining and I am bored:
Why use a -serious- password

Let 's assume a cluster of 10,000 Macbook Pro, dual core etc, working all together for you (distributed work ):
A Mac Book Pro, on intensive use needs 263 Watt of power and generates 894 BTU/h output of heat
Cracking possibilities : up to 10,000,000 pswd /second/computer
Ifyou do the math, you'll realize that cracking by brute force a 20characters Full ASCII password will cost you up to 40 million dollarsworth of electricity, create enough BTU to generate a heat wave thesize of Texas and take you hundred of thousands of years.
Youcould hit the jackpot and find the pswd within minutes, but generally,it will take 50% of the maximum time possible to break a password.
Thisis the reason why Keyloggers, Phishing and Clickjacking were invented.That's were, in my opinion, where the real danger is ...

Leopard Password Reset OS X 10.5

This is not a Password Crack, it's a Login Password Reset. Leopard Only, Not Snow Leopard.

Login Password Reset: - If you do not know what you are doing, don't do it ! -

At Boot, press and hold ⌘ + S (Command + S)
Wait few seconds, a command line will appear
Then type verbatim:
fsck -fy
(wait, it will take few seconds)
mount -uw /
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist
dscl . -passwd /Users/UserName newpassword

(The password is now reset, you can login)

How to make a Cloud of labels / Insert blogumulus blogmulus in your blog

2009-10-25T15:17:00.003-04:00

Blogumulus / Blogmulus

Update:
Due to technical issues, Blogmulus was DOA for few months. It is now fixed :- )

Blogmulus Not Working: Just apply the following corrections:
In the HTML code of the template, just replace the lines

http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-cumulus-example/tagcloud.swf

by the line
http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf

and the line
http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-cumulus-example/swfobject.js
by the line
http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/swfobject.js

Don't forget to check the box "Expand Widget Templates" and also, as always, save your template before any modification.

An Other REALLY cool thing for Blogger is here ... it's Cu3er

Q from Justin:
Hi, Can you please tell me how you do the Cloud tags on the right?, it’s really cool and I love it!
Thanks! Justin

Here it is:
As you can see in the sidebar, it’s a navigation menu through the articles tag.
It makes them look like in a rotating cloud, and I find it very cool.

It needs sometimes a little “refresh” but other than that, it works very well under blogger and WP.
Blogmulus / Blogumus AKA label cloud or Tag cloud is the work of Amanda Fazini & Roy Tank, all credits belongs to them. You’ll find links at the end of this post.
I wish I was that good, but I am not…

How to create a tag cloud for your blog:

SAVE your actual template. If you encounter any issue, you’ll have a backup.
Login into the Blogger dashboard,
Go to “Layout”
Select “Edit HTML”
Select “Before editing….. save a copy of it. Download Full Template”
And SAVE!!!
Once Saved, Re-Save again. –just in case…

Check the Box “Expand Widget Templates”

Using the CTRL-F of your browser, locate the following code: <b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar' preferred='yes'>

If you can not find the exact code, look for: <b:section class='sidebar'

After this line paste the following code:

<b:widget id='Label99' locked='false' title='Labels' type='Label'>
<b:includable id='main'>
<b:if cond='data:title'>
<h2><data:title/></h2>
</b:if>
<div class='widget-content'>
<script src='http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/swfobject.js'
type='text/javascript'/>
<div id='flashcontent'>Blogumulus by <a href='http://www.roytanck.com/'>Roy Tanck</a> and <a
href='http://www.bloggerbuster.com'>Amanda Fazani</a></div>
<script type='text/javascript'>
var so = new SWFObject(http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf", "tagcloud", "240", "300", "7",
"#ffffff");
// uncomment next line to enable transparency
//so.addParam("wmode", "transparent");
so.addVariable("tcolor", "0×333333");
so.addVariable("mode", "tags");
so.addVariable("distr", "true");
so.addVariable("tspeed", "100");
so.addVariable("tagcloud", "<tags><b:loop values='data:labels' var='label'><a
expr:href='data:label.url' style='12'><data:label.name/></a></b:loop></tags>");
so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always");
so.write("flashcontent");
</script>
<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</div>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>

Click the preview button and check your blog. If you have an error, double check that you have all the lines correctly pasted.
If you see a widget but the cloud is “empty”, check if you have labels on your post.

Editing size, color & font:

Default values are:
*Width is set to 240px
* Height is set to 300px
* Background color is white 
* Text color is grey
* Font size is 12
If you like it better wider, shorter, or want to change the color scheme, etc, you will need to do edit various parts of the code. Don’t worry, it’s easy!
Just remember to check the box “expand widgets” or the code may not appear.
Also, if you are using Blogspot editor, you may notice a small change in the code if you save your template. Don’t panic, it’s minimal: You’ll notice some added “&quot” compared to the original.

Original:
var so = new SWFObject(”http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf”, “tagcloud”, “240", “300", “7", “#ffffff”);
Blogspot editor:
var so = new SWFObject(http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf", "tagcloud", "255", "290",

Editing width and height:

Width and height are in this line:
var so = new SWFObject(”http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf”, “tagcloud”, “240", “300", “7", “#ffffff”);

The value for width is 240 (in Red)
The value for height is 300 (in Blue)

Change the value to the desired size, don’t go too far as you blog settings may not accept a ten fold increase…

Change the values, but keep the quotes.
Example:
var so = new SWFObject(http://sites.google.com/site/bloggerustemplatus/code/tagcloud.swf", "tagcloud", "255", "290",

Editing background & font color:

You can change the background color to any other color by altering the hexadecimal value in the same line: var so = ne….………..“tagcloud”, “240", “300", “7", “#ffffff”);

#fffffff is the color white.
If you do not know what color to use, you can check hexadecimal colors in BlogSpot under “Font and Colors” and play around. Don’t forget to “Clear Edit” or you’ll change the color of you entire blog.

Editing Font size and Font Color

Font Color

Find the line: so.addVariable("tcolor", "0×333333");
And change the value 0×333333
This time, do not add the hash tag # but keep the 0x
Example: You want Vermilion Red , the hex color is #cc0000
Just copy the cc0000 and add 0x before 0xcc0000 will make your text Red.

Font size:

Locate the line: var='label'><a expr:href='data:label.url' style='12'><data:label.name/></a></b:loop></tags>");
The value ‘12’ is your font size.

As you will, with time, add more labels, keep it not too big. A size 18 or 24 will cram everything.
Last but not least, you may have to hit the refresh button if nothing appears at the first view.
As a repeat, Blogmulus / Blogumus AKA label cloud or Tag cloud is the work of Amanda Fazini & Roy Tank. Hail to them: Amanda Fazini: www.bloggerbuster.com Roy Tank: www.roytanck.com

KisMAC Video Tutorial Step by Step

2009-10-24T00:06:00.009-04:00

How to crack a WEP Key

This is, of course, for educational / auditing purpose only.
Read the Legal disclaimer before you use KisMAC. Especially if you are in Germany ;-)

How to crack WEP. How to crack WPA. How to Hack WEP. How to Hack WPA kismac snow leopard

Recover WEP key. Recover WPA key. Crack WEP Password. Crack WPA passwordHow To Crack A WiFi Network’s WEP Password Cracking WEP and WPA Wireless Networks Cracking WEP with Kismac

KisMAC Ressources

2009-10-23T20:54:00.012-04:00

Resources, Wordlist, Dictionary files

What injection device should I use?
-The list of “approved” hardware is here: http://trac.kismac-ng.org/wiki/HardwareList
I have tried the Edimax EW-7318 USg, Hawking HWUG1 & HWUG1A (about $40)
The KisMAC Team highly recommends the Alfa AWUS036H (about $50)
Iam not really impressed by the sensitivity of the Hawking “as is”, youmay want to consider a high gain antenna, or the Alfa Alfa AWUS036H forbetter results.
I’ll try the Hawking with a directional antenna and post results, if any.

Nota Bene:
KisMACwill try every word (from the list provided) to attempt to crack thekey, hence it may take a lot of time....if you have a slow machine, be really patient.
Ihave a not so bad machine, and I run about 170 words per second. Youcan leave a comment with your config and speed for me to compare.
Mine: MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo + 4GB DDR2 SDRAM : about 170 Word/sec

Can you find listing or maps of available networks?
-Yes you can, check the Wigle Webpage http://wigle.net

How to uninstall Drivers ?
Your best shot at uninstalling drivers is to use the free App called "App Cleaner"

How to select a single channel?
Take a look at "Step B", the picture shows "all channel selected"
you just have to click on "none" and the check the single channel wanted
you can also use directly the tab "Channel"

I am a Super Geek, is there something more powerful than KisMAC?
Aircrack-ng (Reserved for Advanced User)
Wireshark is also a powerful one. You can use Wireshark to read PCAP Dump Files.
PCAP Dump files are useful for "counter attack" i.e. When someone is trying to penetrate your own network. (KisMAC will notify the console log)

Passwords List
Worst password list: Please, don't use them .....;-) they are often the first checked ....
http://aloah.free.fr/mactips/Wordlists.html
http://trac.kismac-ng.org/wiki/wordlists

List of Dictionary files or Wordlist / Wordlists

Sometimes called wordkey or word key (as per the results of your queries via Google Analytics
for WPA attack:
http://aloah.free.fr/mactips/Wordlists.html
http://trac.kismac-ng.org/wiki/wordlists
or you can compile your own.
Imay suggest you to skip passwords of 1,2,3 & 4 characters, veryfew people use 3 ch passwords... A bruteforce attack will not take along time on 3 ch....
WPA:
Minimum 8ch, so you can skip all pswd of less than 8 characters.

Note on dictionary files:
the words are tested "as is" and not in combination.
Example: the password is "I love Kismac"
Ifyour dictionary contains the words "I" + "love" + "Kismac" it will NOTwork, your dictionary must contain the exact "I love Kismac" as a wordto successfully attempt to crack.

This is the only way to end with a successful attack is to use a dictionary containing the (exact) word(s).
PureBrute Force attacks do NOT work with KisMAC (trying every singlecombination starting at "a" then "aa", "aaa", etc) You need to provideKisMAC with a dictionary file, format TXT, with an empty line at theend.

Passwords hints
ADictionary attack uses a list of existing words. Often those lists areall lowercase or mixed, in English, and use "common" words
themore complex is your password, the greater is the chance that it willtake a mind-boggling and un-human length of CPU time to try all thepossible combination. (million of years)
If you use Kismac on aWPA attack, the only way to end with a successful attack is to use adictionary containing the (exact) word.
Brute Force attacks do NOT work with KisMAC
As a possible target of WPA attack, "I", use stupid-strength passwords on full ASCII.
I do not use English words, or any common language, and I use lots of $igns and numbers.
So, how patient is the attacker?

Memotechnic tips
Insteadof your "123456" dummy password you can use an HARD TO GUESS word andadd numbers to it PLUS a second set of numbers while holding the"Shift" key
Example: the maiden name of your mom is Kismac, her Bday is 07 12 1962
you got a "07121962Kismac)&_!@_!(^@"
You just have a 20 Ch length password that you can easily retain.
AsKisMac does not use pure Bruteforce to crack WPA, you are pretty safewith a password like this. finding such a word a in dictionary wouldbe...surprising.
Be aware that you can find list of names, towns, zipcodes, etc . So, using "Smith" or "Boston" is not really foolproof

Evenin the improbable case of a very, very tenacious "auditor", a 20character full ASCII password (255 characters possibility) is up to20^255 possibilities.
How big is 20^255?
well, that's: 1,351,461,283,755,590,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 possibilities
it's already stupid strong. Unless you are the NSA, it's probably out of your reach:

Update on Oct 6 2009.
You may have heard of the Yahoo! password heist.
10,000 passwords and emails listed on the web, plus another 30,000 accounts of Gmail and Comcast compromised.
According to serious sources, the list was a possible snippet of 250,000 email and password for resale.
Email?not a big deal, huh? who cares? they just need to go to your onlinebanking, and reset the password. They will get the message. You won't....
I could not access the list on time, but the excellent Reusable Security Blog did
Here is his (Matt Weir) analysis about what you use

So on to the analysis:
Total Passwords: 9,845 - This number excludes all the e-mail addresses that had blank passwords

Average Password Length: 8.7 characters long

Percentage that contained an UPPERCASE letter: 7.2%

Percentage that contained a special, (aka !@#$), character: 5.2%

Percentage that contained a digit: 51.7%

Percentage that only contained lowercase letters: 43.3%

Percentage that only contained digits: 17.6%

Percentage the started with a digit, (aka '1password'): 25.0%

Percentage that ended with a digit, (aka 'password1'): 44.1%

Percentage that started with a special character: 0.5% << Big hint here
Percentage that ended with a special character: 2.2% << here too ...

Percentage that started with an uppercase letter: 6.1%

Overall letter frequency analysis:

aeoi1r0ln2st9mc83765u4dbpghyvfkjAzEIOxRLwSNq.MTC_DB-UP*G@H/ZYF+VJK,\amp;amp;X!Q=W?'#")(%^][}< {`>

First character, letter frequency analysis:

a1mbc2sp0lterdjfgn3hi6k759vo48yAwMzBSCuqPLExJRTFDGNV*HOZYKI\W@/-+(.$U&?Q^[,#

Last character, letter frequency analysis:

aos01326e57849nrilydzmtuAhbO.gck*SxpfE@+LvjNRw_-I?/$q!ZX)YKH"UPMDCB#GF'&%}T,]\VJ(
As a repeat, the previous is from Matt Weir, from Reusable Security

So, it tells me that there are still a large number of people using password vulnerable to dictionary attacks.
Furthermore:
40% of users are using the same password for everything.
92.7% did not use an UPPERCASE
94.8% did not use a special character
and the best: Only contained digits: 17.6%
Average length 8.7 >> rounded to 9 Characters
For the 18% (of dummies) that only use digit:
Digit only = 10 possibility per Ch. 9Ch long = 10^9 = 1,000,000,000 possible combination
Realistic number of test before cracking: 50% (10^4.5)
Time to crack : 0,015 hour = Joke
For those 18%, Read this carefully:
"Neil O'Neil, a digital forensics investigator at secure payments firm The Logic Group, found that "123456" cropped up on the list 64 times. There were 18 uses of the second most popular password, "123456789",
Big surprise!!! Just like the ones mentioned in the 500 most used password. Can you guess what was the #3 and 4#? probably 1234567 and 12345678.
the 500 most used passwords list is 4 or 5 yrs old, but it seems like it was brand new.
#1 to #10: 123456,password, 12345678,1234, pussy , 12345, dragon , qwerty , 696969, mustang

So, if I had to create a password list, guess what ..
Firston the list would be 8 or 9 Ch long, all digit, then all lowercase,then adding a digit or 2 first, then adding a digit or 2 at last.
That list It should cover about 80% of all password.
That would be a big list of 7,518,774,324,736 possibilities, but it would cover 80% of the general public. Not bad.
So, GET A REAL PASSWORD!

Because it's raining and I am bored:
Why use a -serious- password

Let 's assume a cluster of 10,000 Macbook Pro, dual core etc, working all together for you (distributed):
A Mac Book Pro, on intensive uses 263 Watt and generates 894 BTU/h output of heat
Cracking possibilities : up to 10,000,000 pswd /second/computer
Ifyou do the math, you'll realize that cracking by brute force a 20characters Full ASCII password will cost you up to 40 million dollarsworth of electricity, create enough BTU to generate a heat wave thesize of Texas and take you hundred of thousands of years.
Youcould hit the jackpot and find the pswd within minutes, but generally,it will take 50% of the maximum time possible to break a password
Thisis the reason why Keyloggers, Phishing and Clickjacking were invented.That's were, in my opinion, where the real danger is ...

Kismac for Windows
I am not aware of a Windows version of KisMAC (KisDOWS???) , nevertheless, you can Google NetStumbler, Aircrack, Airsnort, etc..
Tothe best of my knowledge, NetStumbler does not have crackingcapabilities, nor the capabilities to uncloak hidden or deauthenticatenetworks.
If you want serious power, you'll need to forget about Windows (breaking news, huh?) and move on to Linux with Aircrack-ng
If you download a (working) version of KisMAC for Windows, please let me know.
If you download one, especialy from a torrent, I am suggesting you to be VERY careful and scan the file left, right up and down for viruses or malware. ( hint )

Google tips and tricks

2009-10-23T09:29:00.016-04:00

The Find Engine

You know how to use Google, huh? You type something and it searches for you? Correct?
So you must be familiar with this one:

-inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:"index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size +(wma|mp3)"endless summer"

It's a query, just like when you type something in the search bar, this one is just (a little bit) more..complete.
Let's start with the beginning:
If you are looking for music to download (legally, of course) you may type the title of the song, i.e. Endless Summer.
The result is 12.600.000 answers .... a bit too much for my taste.
The solution is to use qualifiers and terms to refine your search up to the point that you'll find what YOU want in few seconds.
The goal is to ask a question in such a way that you'll transform Google from Search Engine to a Find Engine.
Believe me on that one: You do not want to Search, You want to FIND !
Let's start... 12.600.000 answers. The brackets [ ] are used for clarity, don't use them in a query

Minus Sign -
The minus sign remove word(s) from a search
[ Endless Summer -film ] will remove all search with the word "film" 12.100.000 answers, 500,000 removed ;-)

Plus Sign +
In that case, you'll add a parameter.
[ Endless Summer +mp3 -film ] will look for "mp3" and remove "film" 526.000 answers, 12.080.000 removed :-))

You can add as many +&- as you want: +mp3 +free -film -wma etc etc

Quote signs " "
Quote signs will allow to search exactly what is entered in the quotes, and in the order written.
[ "Endless summer" +mp3 -film ] will not return anything else than -verbatim- "Endless summer". No Donna Summer, or summer endless, etc..
This is very useful to research a definite sentence, or a person.

Tilde sign ~
Placed before a word, the tilde sign will allow search for synonyms i.e. [ ~food ] will search for food but also for related words: restaurant, cooking, etc .. this is an EXPANDER (more results)

Getting serious: Qualifiers

inurl: Use this qualifier to restrict the search to pages or documents containing the search word specified in the page's url:
intitle: Use this search qualifier to specify that the search take place in only those words that came from a web page's title field.
cache: This qualifier returns the most recent copy of the page that Google has stored and used for its indexing.
site: Use this qualifier to restrict the results to a given site. For example site: [ www.apple.com "Quicktime" +download ] will take you straight to the right one. no fuss
File Format:
By defaut, Google searches for your specification coming from any number of different file formats, including, of course, html. However, here are other file formats that you can choose, specifically, to have Google search for: Adobe PDF (pdt), Adobe Postscript (ps), Microsoft Word (doc), Microsoft Excel (xls), Microsoft Powerpoint (ppt), Rich Text Format (rtf)
If you are looking for a paper, site: + file format: + quotes allows you to find a school paper in seconds.

So, let's go back to our search, this time with the translation in plain English

-inurl:(htm|html|php) is not a webpage in HTML, HTM or PHP
intitle: has in the title (not the URL, the TITLE!) the following: "index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size
+(wma|mp3) and has the format wma and/or mp3
"endless summer" and contains the exact words "Endless Summer"
You can go further and request a full title "endless summer.mp3" [ -inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:"index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size +(wma|mp3)"endless summer.mp3" ]

So, enter the query and you'll find exactly this Google page and this exact song
and much more. :-)
Not 12.600.000 answers to scroll, just 5. By Googling to the max, you have refined your search by a factor of 2.520.000 Stop searching, start finding! Get the right one in 2 sec.

If you are looking for pictures, replace wma|mp3 by (jpg|png|tiff) , mov, mpg, flv, etc for video.
It works also very well with the qualifier "cache" to find things that were deleted..;-)
Now you can probably divide by a 1000 the number of results and refine your query to the max.
Google can also give you straight answers:
if you are looking for conversion, i.e. how many Milliliters in a ounce or do some math, you can ask.
Try the following in the search bar or click the link:
[ Define: CPU ]
[ 1 gallon in centiliter ]
[ 100 USD in EUR ]

Now that you start grasping the possibilities, how about controlling a remote webcam with Google?
Try that [ inurl:"/view/index.shtml" ] and you'll also get the IP to localize the webcam.

Warning Note:
When using the -inurl, you'll probably may stumble upon websites dedicated to some type of not-so-legal activities. Be very aware that some of them are honey traps and have the sole goal to scam you. This is especially true when you search for "hot" subject such as new movies, softwares, etc.
I would highly suggest you to use the maximum caution, as well as the use of (free) services such as Web of Trust. Also, set your browser on "alert" mode (see Firefox >>preferences>>security)

Side Notes:
Punctuation is ignored by Google, as well as case
Google Stop Words
The following words are ignored (too common)
a, at, in, that, when, about, be, is, the, where, an, by, it, this, which, and, for, of, to, who, are, from, on, was, will, as, I, or, what, with,
To Force a Stop Word, include it within quotes. i.e [ "Who is about to be" ] only contains Stop Words but the quotes forces Google to research the exact sentence in the exact order.

About (me)

2009-10-22T16:28:00.022-04:00

I am borderline geek, but not enough to be a nerd.
Just like you, one day, I had to start and learn.

So, jump in. Bring your Mac along, we are going to play a little and have some fun. There is no need to worry, I won't send a report card.
After all, the only risk for you is to learn a little something, those little tricks that will make your life easier or make you better are what you do. Jump in!
Mac OS X is a fantastic OS and a lot of features are really cool or helpful and will make your life a breeze ...
I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

A bit of history:

I started playing with computers a long time ago. For you kiddos, my first computer had less memory & colors than a $2 Walmart watch of today. It was a Thompson MO5. No CD (not invented yet), No USB (ditto), No 3 1/2 floppy, 5 1/4 Floppy were top notch and expensive material; Prog were saved on a tape. Yup!, the same type that you'll find in an antic store or in your grandpa 1981 Oldsmobile: Compact Cassette.
Colors? Ohhh Yes, 16 colors and an amazing definition of 320x200 pixels. Each pixel was so big that you could land an helicopter on it.
32 KO memory (Thirty-Two Kilo Octet) powered by an amazing Motorola CPU at one Mhz (that's 3000 times slower than the last iMac). With the Cassette Tape, it was between 15 to 20 minutes to find and load a prog (in Basic, please)
I used to type those prog by hand. To send one to a friend was very simple: As modems where almost science fiction, and the word "internet" was unknown, we had to find a system to send "huge" amount of data: Trip to the post office and send few tapes. A week later, you were up and running ....

If sold today, its price would be about $1,000 (Inflation corrected)

My first "pro" one was a HP Vectra, 80386 at 12Gh and 20 Meg hard drive, MS-DOS 3 and a 13" screen the size of a Thanksgiving rated oven.

So, now that you have smiled , or barfed, quit whining and enjoy your little Dual or Quad core monster... Let's make him sweat a little ....

For the Geek of it: Internet

The Last U2 Concert (at the Rose Bowl) on Youtube was a live Worldwide Live Streaming Event and about 10 Million people watched live:
Streaming, Regular Quality is about 135 KB/S, HD is 340 KB/S
Concert Time: 2:21:22
Bandwidth needed live: 1,350,000,000 KB/S or 1,350,000 MB per sec.
That's more internet per second then the entire internet in 1980,1981 & 1982 combined
If you watched it in HD, that's 340 KB/S: Bump up the Bandwidth to 3,4 Million MB/S or in layman's terms: Your 500 GB Hard Drive every 0.00014 sec.

Let's meet again in 10 years when the average home connection should be at few GigaBytes per sec.

Warning! Your PC is at risk of virus and malware attack

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

Warning! Your PC is at risk of virus and malware attack
Your System requires immediate check!
System Security will perform a quick and free scan of your PC for viruses and malicious programs

Do Not click on "OK"

You are probably looking for the answer of the following questions:

"Is It a Real Antivirus?"   << NO!    Trojan FakeSmoke

"How do I stop this warning from popping up at every start of Firefox"

1) Force Quit Firefox:  >> Force Quit >> Firefox   or shortcut Command+Option+Escape
2) Don't restart Firefox or it will pop up again
3) You need to trash the file(s) session.js and session.bak in the FireFox Profile folder.
As you Force Quit'd FireFox, those file will remember your last session and return to that page.

The files are situated EITHER in :

Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/<profile folder>
   OR
Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/<profile

"username" being the name given to the account   i.e "JimSmith"
The files should be named "session.js" and "session.bak"
Trash the files, but DO NOT empty the Trash until you have verified that you have deleted the right ones.

Restart FireFox and verify that the Pop Up does not appear anymore.
Fixed? Ok....

- Yes, it's a malware or a scam. It will try to make you pay for a fake Antivirus, and probably Hack something on your computer. (beside Hacking your credit card)
- Does it affect your Mac if you clicked Ok? I don't know...I did not tried. Seems to be PC.
- In order to avoid a repeat: You can Ban the website [nwwage.com] using an Add-On Called BlockSite.
The Website, IP 213.155.22.194 is Hosted in Odessa, Ukraine. The Owner as per the Whois, Is Registered in Florida. Whois    http://www.ip-adress.com/whois/213.155.22.194
Using multiple alias for the Website ,
2009-10-31|malwareurl_Directs to Trojan FakeSmoke| 213.155.22.193|

As a reminder:
Always have on hand more than one Browser: This attack blocked your ability to search for help. (Opera is the less likely to be targeted)
Also, Avast For Mac exist. And it's free. -Just in case .....

Little legal disclaimer

2009-08-23T12:32:00.033-04:00

This blog was made with 5% or less of recycled electrons and magnetic particles.

If you have trouble reading you may watch the Video at the end.

Wearing of a garment does not enable you to fly. If you cannot read these instructions, please notify us in writing.If rash, irritation, redness, or swelling develops, discontinue reading after the end. For comfortable and safe use, please read the Safety & Comfort Guide First. If any defects are discovered, do not attempt to repair them yourself, but contact an authorized service center. An account with an Internet service provider is generally required to access this site Caution: May cause drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, or blurred vision. Do NOT use for personal hygiene. Demonstration by professional drivers on a closed course - please do not attempt. May not be suitable for all. May contain material some readers may find objectionable; parental guidance is advised. Do not mix with alcohol. May settle during shipping. Do not use bleach. Not suitable for personal hygiene. In case of doubt, ask a doctor, health-care provider, or a lawyer. May contains traces of, but not limited to: cheese, nuts, fish, shellfish, fruits, coffee, food, or diverse chemical element found in the periodic table. Possible non-determined side effects. May cause any of the aforementioned effects and/or death. May cause dizziness. May cause drowsiness. May cause excitability. May contain nuts. May contain peanuts. May contain small parts. May irritate eyes. May irritate. I take no responsibility whatsoever, implied or not, on anything. Tutorials are provided “as is”. You are solely responsible for any and all actions, derived or not, that you may take or not. Those statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Not indented to diagnose, heal or cure any diseases or condition, real, imaginary or not. Do not operate machinery. Use protective gear at all time. Consult a professional if an erection last for more than 3 hours. 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Cracking ANY encryption or testing without such permission is highly illegal internationally, and will neither be condoned nor supported! “ Source: Kismac-ng website - - It is illegal to download, possess, and/or use KisMAC in Germany (StGB § 202c)* - It is illegal, in most countries, including the USA, to crack or attempt to crack, penetrate, listen to, intercept, or “Inject” any WI-FI network others than yours, or Network(s) where the unequivocal permission was not given to you by the rightful owner. - KisMAC is a tool that should be used on the sole purpose to check and/or verify, audit your own network. I take no responsibility whatsoever, implied or not, on anything. Tutorials are provided “as is”. You are solely responsible for any and all actions, derived or not, that you may take or not. Always replace sleeve before discarding any computer disk. Always wear your seatbelt. NOT safe for use around pets. Any other application constitutes fraud. 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If you have read everything, I may suggest you to get a pet or something that will break the boredom of your life. Charities are looking for volunteers.

And for those who can't read, there is a video.

Francais, Español, Português, Italiano, Deutsch, Pусский, 在中国

2008-10-30T16:00:00.009-04:00

Francais Pas de panique! Traduction automatique de Google! Español No se preocupe, la traducción automática de Google!Português Não entre em pânico, Tradução automática do Google!Italiano Niente panico, di traduzione automatica da parte di Google!Deutsch Keine Panik, Automatische Übersetzung von Google!В русский Не паникуйте, Автоматический перевод с Google!在中国 不要惊慌，从谷歌自动翻译! 日本語に 慌てない、慌てい。！ Googleの自動翻訳!

Google Translate

Contact?

2001-10-26T08:57:00.008-04:00

Contact:

If -After- reading all you could, the post is still not clear to you, feel free to ask a question via email or post a comment. Not Knowing is "normal", nobody's born with knowledge.
Just one thing:
I am doing this pro bono, hence: As long as I do not mind helping, I am not your mummy and can't help really help if you if you do not provide me with -details-.

As I don't have ESP yet, don't forget to add -all- info in regards to your machine, config and app included.

Good Example:

"Ican't figure out how to install plugins for iMovie. I followed theinstructions, they are in the right place \library\iMovie\plugins, butit does not seems to work"

Macbook Pro, Model 4.1, 2.5 Ghz, 4GB RAM
OS X 10.6.1
and the version of the soft used. i.e iMovie '09 V8.0.5

Bad Example:

"KisMec iz nt wrking!!!????"

I just can't answer the latter and I probably won't spend too much time trying to read your mind.

Everything is clear? Okey , for email questions follow that (Re-Captcha protected) link below (Absolutely No attachments or links in the emails.)

TheMacSc..Click Here..@Think.com