Past Meetings

April 20, 2009 - Hammondsport Mac Users Group

TOPIC: PRIVACY

ATTENDING:Tom B, Bob S, Bill N and Bob M.

Bill shared some info and short demo of a small, hand-held wifi detector called Canary Wireless. He was able to find many wireless networks traveling to the meeting through the streets of Hammondsport. Some networks lacked password protection. Bill also gave some highlights of the RFD TV Network (Rural Free Delivery) which he found very fascinating.

Bob S. shared an article from the NY Times reporting on the latest status of Time-Warner's attempts to raise internet prices for heavy users.

Tom shared some hints about how to safeguard your privacy using your Mac. Some good on-line articles are:
10 Simple Steps to Securing Your Mac (MacFixit)
18 Ways to Safeguard Your Data and Privacy (MacWorld)
5 Ways to Safeguard Your Mac (AppleMatters)
7 Tips For Data Privacy 2009 (TUAW)

When using Safari, several options in its Preferences help maintain privacy:
Privacy Browsing option (history & caches emptied when quitting Safari)
Cookies - set to higher blocking level; or delete one or all existing cookies (Safari>Prefs>Security>Cookies)
Clear History - deletes list of URLs visited (Safari Menu>History>Clear History)
Empty Cache - deletes all images (JPG, GIF, PNG) from websites visited

http vs. https - Padlock Icon - click the lock to see more info about a secure site before purchasing an item on-line

Firewall --- turn it ON
--- Tiger 10.4.11 (SystemPrefs>Sharing>Firewall>start)
--- Leopard 10.5.6 (SystemPrefs>Security>Firewall)

Other Discoveries

eBooks - inexpensive and downloadable PDF versions
Take Control of Your WiFi Security by Glenn Fleishman & Adam Engel

WiFi News - keep up to date on the latest wireless trends nationwide

My First Mac - helpful and informative website for any Mac user

Software

ClamXav - handy free anti-virus application for OSX - be sure to add the plugin too for right-click contextual menu

*Late breaking news 4/20/09 - first Trojan botnet on Mac reported at MacFixit. Read a somewhat reassuring response by Rich Mogull at TidBits or listen to a radio interview at MacVoices discussing this botnet.

Hardware

Logitech LX5 - USB Wireless Optical Mouse - left/right click, scroll 4-way - $15 (no tax/no shipping) - search eBay for item - brand new - works great w/ iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, etc.

2GB Kingston Data Traveler 100 - $7 Amazon - cheap USB Flash Drive

Hygiene

K9 Screen Cleaner for Back of Display - scientists have discovered bacteria thrive in the small space behind computer display screens. Impossible to clean before this remedy.

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