COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE & SECURITY BLOG

A: If the smartphone is for business, and your own productivity can be improved with a quality device, it is more cost-effective to replace the premium unit every year, and then sell your old device. Think of it this way: If a premium phone costs $800, and a low-end phone costs even $0, you replace…

Years back, Business Week magazine published a study on what personal computer IT upgrade provides the biggest return on investment. Issues such as faster cpu, more RAM, larger storage (they didn't have "faster" storage back then as we do now with SSD and Flash drives), and monitor size were evaluated. The study prompted me to…

Every single day my staff and I battle criminals, enemy agents, malware, and wackadoodle ex’s from compromising your security and privacy. I think we do an excellent job of it. There is, however, a limit as to how much we can do. One of those limits just hit you and me, and in a way…

Practical Paranoia macOS 10.13 1-Day Workshop with Marc Mintz Secure your Mac OS 10.13 computer from malware, criminals, snoops, and the whackadoodle ex. Concerned about being hacked? Your identity stolen? Your precious data stolen or encrypted? You should be. Hacking is a billion-dollar enterprise and everyone is a potential target. At risk are your personal and business messages, emails, photos,…

What are you looking for your server to do? For just under $20 you can get Apples server app, which gives you DNS, DHCP, mail, print, ftp, vpn, file, netinstall, netboot, network user accounts, and more (not that you can run all services concurrently on a laptop - ram and cpu resources come into play.)…

First, I’m a bit pressed to see Apple’s Mail as a basic software solution. I believe it has hit the sweet spot of performance, features, and stability. Ignoring that, yes! Outlook, Thunderbird, and almost all (maybe all) mail clients allow for multiple accounts. Where you will see the one-account limit is with web-based email (hotmail,…

Myself. He has a long track record of being on target more often than not, understands when I need time off, fairly smart, more than his fair share of empathy and leadership skills, and lets me sleep with his wife.

If you were to gather a group of 100 IT consultants and pose this question to them, you would likely receive 100 different answers. Bottom line is that if the house is large (2000sq’ or larger), or has thick walls (such as adobe), metal mesh in the walls, or significant metal objects in many of…

I may well have missed the memo, but as a Certified Apple Consultant and Apple Developer, I’ve never heard that Apple had such a motto, and it is nowhere to be found in their mission statement (I may not have the current statement). When would you like Apple to move to the next generation technology?…

When I started in the IT field (31 years back), I created a computer animation company. One of the first to use Macintosh systems. My Macs cost around $8K-$10K (in 1987 dollars). This was a bargain in a few ways. First, the competing systems started at $50K. My systems were faster. These blazing (for their…

Should you reside in the US (and similar is true for many countries), doing this is a felony, and one that in the US may fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security.

Just do it! There isn’t a law (at least here in US) that mandates certification to be called a consultant. That said, talk with an attorney, as there may be a client expectation of expertise, education, or certification. If so, you need to know how to preemptively deal with this before a lawsuit hits you.…

The answer is in your question. If you permanently deleted a file, it’s deleted, and you cannot get it back. iCloud is not a “business-class”, redundant storage system. Apple doesn’t provide backups for you - that is left to you, the user. There are backup or cloud services that will allow you to recover "permanently…

According to Apple (and the substantial evidence we have at hand), throttling is done based on the performance of the battery. As the battery ages, it is less able to provide for peak current demands. This can result in the phone shutting down. To help prevent such events, iPhone 6, 6S, 6 SE, and 7…

Without getting esoteric options, we have: magnetic hard drives Least expensive Slower than RAID or ssd Faster than online Solid state drives Most expensive Fastest RAID (comprised of multiple magnetic hard drives or solid state drives) Faster than hard drives Can be faster than solid state if combining multiple SSD’s Less expensive than a single…

A: Your premise is in error. Independent testing has been performed that determined there isn’t any code within newer iOS systems that makes older units slower. However, as with almost every OS and app upgrade, there are significantly more features and functions (most under the hood), requiring more cpu cycles. This can have the effect of…

Q: AS A CTO WITH OVER 8 YEARS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE, IS IT A PROBLEM THAT A JUNIOR DEVELOPER CAN WRITE BETTER CODE THAN ME? A: As the President and CISO of my organization, both I and my company do well not because I can do my job duties better than my other staff, but…

Q: APPLE PAY DOES NOT YET SUPPORT MY CREDIT UNION, HOW CAN I LET APPLE KNOW? A: It isn’t that Apple Pay doesn’t support your credit union cards, it’s that your credit union has yet affiliated itself with Apple Pay. The credit union needs to do this, not Apple. Contact the leadership of your credit union…

Q: I WANT TO START A LIBRARY SO THAT ANY ONE CAN READ, BUT WHERE DO I FIND FREE BOOKS? A: If you are thinking digital books, the work has been started for you at Project Gutenberg. If you are thinking physical books (paperback and hardback), these can be acquired from bookstores (damaged copies, overstock), and book…

Q: HOW CAN YOU PLACE YOUR EXTENDER TO YOUR ROUTER IN THE MOST PERFECT SPOT TO GET THE BEST WIFI FROM FAR AWAY? A: The only proper way to use an extender is to connect it to the home base station via Ethernet. In this way you will realize full speed from the extender from up…

Q: HOW CAN I INSTALL ANDROID ON THE IPHONE X? A: In a world over-populated with terrible ideas, this ranks in the top 10%. The primary reasons for buying an iPhone include: Security Stability Continuous updates to the OS (for security and stability) Working in the Apple ecosystem And you want to toss all of this…

Q: HOW MANY SIMULTANEOUS USERS CAN A SINGLE ACCESS POINT SUPPORT? A: This varies by device model. Some low-end units can only support 10 concurrent connections. Mid-range consumer units around 50. Prosumer models such as the Asus RT-AC5300 can have a bit more than 200. Once you move up to professional model - such as…

Q: WHICH OS, UBUNTU OR WIN 10 WILL MAKE MY LAPTOP LAST LONGER? A: I hope you will forgive that I am side-stepping your question, as I think it is the wrongquestion. Computers are tools. The purpose of a tool is to extend or expand your reach, power, speed, capabilities, so that you can do things…

Q: WHAT ARE SOME TACTICS YOU HAVE USED TO TAME YOUR EMAIL INBOX IN ORDER TO NOT BE OVERWHELMED? A: The first step is to get a handle on where the overwhelm is coming from. Are you on a spam list? Did you subscribe to unnecessary newsletters? Are you simply wildly popular? Basically, where is…

Q: WILL MY MAC RUN FASTER ON AN EXTERNAL SSD DRIVE THAN ON THE LOCAL HD DRIVE? A: Performance is a matter of weakest link. The factors to consider are: Speed of the drive Speed of the bus connecting drive to machine Speed of computer cpu Amount of installed RAM versus amount of RAM desired…

Equifax Cybersecurity Breach Announced today via the Equifax Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information page https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, between May and July, 2017, criminals were able to access the Equifax database. The criminals harvested Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver's license numbers, credit card numbers impacting approximately 143,000,000 consumers (don't you just love being identified as…

SPEND AN EVENING WITH MARC L. MINTZ AT UNM CYBERSECURITY: DOES IT MATTER? UNM presents a special opportunity to learn how to make your business smarter and more secure. The intelligent use of technology can be a defining point between those who succeed in business, and those who fail. Think Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Steve…

PRACTICAL PARANOIA SECURITY ESSENTIALS WORKSHOPS AT UNM CONTINUING EDUCATION You don't need to be a Microsoft Engineer, Apple Genius, or Google Guru to know state-sponsored system penetration, ransomware, malware, hackers, pranksters, and even a whackadoodle ex or two are out there to get you. You includes your data, intellectual property, financial information, personal communications, web activity,…

PRACTICAL PARANOIA SECURITY ESSENTIALS WORKSHOPS AT UNM CONTINUING EDUCATION You don't need to be a Microsoft Engineer, Apple Genius, or Google Guru to know state-sponsored system penetration, ransomware, malware, hackers, pranksters, and even a whackadoodle ex or two are out there to get you. You includes your data, intellectual property, financial information, personal communications, web activity,…

Free Upgrade to Practical Paranoia macOS 10.13 Security Essentials In case you have been living in an ice cave the past few months, ransomware and hacker attacks are increasing faster than ever. A vulnerability on one computer can almost immediately lead to compromising all computers. Apple will be releasing its latest operating system–macOS 10.13, High…

Q: How do I trust a VPN service provider? It doesn't matter whether or not you trust them. Unless you do an onsite visit if their facilities, and are permitted full administrative access to their system, no way to have certainty. What matters is: Is the VPN provider located in a country that has no…

Q: Why does Apple charge more to repair an Apple Watch than what it is sold for? The cost of out of warranty repairs to Apple watches are posted at https://support.apple.com/watch/repair/service/pricing. Depending on model, out of warranty repair is as much as $100 less than replacement cost, up to 25% the cost of replacement. Original Post: https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Apple-charge-more-to-repair-an-Apple-Watch-than-what-it-is-sold-for/answer/Marc-Mintz-4?share=701ab32f&srid=hFp4n

Q: Could the FBI have requested a subpoena if Apple claimed a First Amendment right for not unlocking iPhones? Theoretical legal arguments are the domain of fools. Dozens of potential paths of argument. Zero potential to reach a conclusion. Apple has no need to risk a costly constitutional law battle. They had no back door.…

Q: What are the functions of a firewall? Every process on a computer that communicates with another computer (file sharing, printing, web server, etc.) communicates through a logical port. These ports are numbered 1–65,535. For example, when you open a browser page to Quora, your browser goes to the server named www within the Quora…

Q: How do you remove malware from a MacBook that locks you out? Much depends on what security precautions/protocols have been put in place on your Mac. If you have (another) administrator account, that user can log in, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, and reset your password. If you don’t FileVault2 active,…

Q: How are circuits damaged inside an iPhone? Circuits are damaged inside an iPhone the same way they are damaged in any other electronic device: Water. More technically, adequate moisture to short out any two or more adjoining traces while voltage is running through the unit. Heat. Overheating can literally melt some of the chips.…

Q: If brains can be connected to computers, then how would a brain be protected against malware and spyware? Our brains are already connected to other systems, and have been for a very long time. Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin pull in (or better, interpret) information constantly. This is used by advertisers to sway…

Q Is Windows Defender an Antivirus, or an Anti-Malware? A virus is a subset of malware. Malware is defined a hostile or intrusive software, and includes: Viruses, Trojan horses, Rootkits, Backdoors, Worms, perhaps more. The terms antivirus and anti-malware are often used interchangeably. If we are using the strict definition of the terms, antivirus is…

Gmail To Stop Scanning For Targeted Advertising Unless you have been holding out in an ice cave, you already know that I favor using Google for email. My reasons in favor include: Gmail for consumers is free G-Suite for Business is low-priced Huge storage allotment The best anti-malware scanning available Good anti-spam The best email…

Announcing Practical Paranoia Security Essentials Live Editions 1440, Johannes Gutenberg creates the first revolution in the written word by inventing the printing press. 2007, Amazon introduces the first e-book reader, Kindle, launching the second revolution in the written word. 2017, The Practical Paranoid LLC introduces Live editions for all current version of Practical Paranoia Security essentials, starting…

Free Desk Copy of Practical Paranoia Security Essentials Our staff has been chained to their grindstones over the past months tasked with updating our best-selling book series Practical Paranoia Security Essentials. The latest versions are now available in kindle, paperback, and live editions. If you are a high-school, college, university, or tech school computer science or STEM…

New Edition Just Released-Practical Paranoia iOS 10 Practical Paranoia iOS 10 is the best-selling, easiest, most comprehensive guide to securing your iPhone and iPad, data, intellectual property, communications, and personal identity. Period! Written for the non-technical user to secure their personal device, while covering everything that an IT professional needs to secure the enterprise mobile device. And…

New Edition Just Released-Practical Paranoia macOS 10.12 Practical Paranoia macOS 10.12 is the best-selling, easiest, most comprehensive guide to securing your Mac, data, intellectual property, communications, and personal identity. Period! Written for the non-technical macOS user to secure their personal computer, while covering everything that an IT professional needs to secure the enterprise computer. And while the Practical…

Q: How do I get Wi-Fi without knowing the password? A: You don’t. The design intent of having a password on Wi-Fi (a password is not required for Wi-Fi) is to prevent those without the password from accessing the Wi-Fi. Of what use is having a password protected and encrypted network if any fool can get…

Q: Is Windows Defender enough to keep my computer safe from viruses? I used to have Norton but my son says it is malware and all it does is use a big chunk of my cpu and slow my computer down. He claims to never have had a virus on his computer and that he…

Q: Can I have two anti-virus software apps in my computer? A: If you are using antivirus software that is operating in real-time scanning mode, then when you open a file, or download an email, the antivirus scans it then. If you have two such programs installed, it is possible they will each want to scan…

Q: How long would it take to crack an 8-15 character Wi-Fi password? A: If we take 15 characters as the longest the password could be, that gives a 62 character search depth (26 a-z+26 A-Z+10 0-9 possible characters). Doing the math on the permutations of all possible passwords up to 15 characters using any…

Q: Why can't we build public networks that don't require VPN to be safe? Is there any area of your life that is “safe” from the get go? Conversations you have in the privacy of your home can easily be overheard. Phone calls are recorded. Even trusted friends and family will occasionally rat you out from a…

Q: HOW CAN TWO DISTANT PARTIES CREATE AND SHARE A SECRET KEY FOR COMMUNICATION WITHOUT ACTUALLY SENDING THE KEY? If there is a single key to unlock a communication, that key must be known by the person doing the locking, and by the person doing the unlocking. At some point, both must know the key.…