InfoManager for Monday, May 13, 2013

by Lynn Wegley, InfoManager, with coeditor Fred Showker

What’s Here:
01 Today marks our 2,947th post
02 Internet Sales Tax Bill… what’s up with that???
03 New App Helps Parents Prepare Kids for Airplane Travel
04 For Our Children’s Safety
05 Quicky Jr 3 WiFi Adapter
06 Five Cool Siri Tricks
07 Five Tips on iTunes
08 Five Automator workflows
09 Templates for MS Excel
10 Apple Security Software Firm Releases Update to Popular PrivacyScan
11 PhoneSheriff Monitoring and Filtering Now Available for iPad Tablets
12 Wipe All Traces of Deleted Data with iShredder 2 Standard for iOS
13 Prepaid debit cards – a weak link to security
14 China Military: largest intrusion offender in the world
15 Quotes: Honor

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01 Today marks our 2,947th post

Happy Mother’s Day… those of you who are Moms, and get this on Sunday… today, we’ve gathered some of the most recent or most popular security items for Mac users… enjoy.

We really would like some input from others. It sometimes feels like we’re publishing this every Monday morning but nobody is out there.
🙁

http://www.ugnn.com/

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02 Internet Sales Tax Bill… what’s up with that???

The Marketplace Fairness Act bill was voted on in the Senate on May 6, 2013. By a vote of 69-27, the Senate passed a bill on Monday that would require online retailers to collect and distribute sales taxes according to the tax laws of the fifty states.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/internet_tax/

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03 New App Helps Parents Prepare Kids for Airplane Travel

SocialBug Labs, creator of the ‘Smart Fish’ brand of educational apps, announced today the release of its new app, ‘Smart Fish: Frequent Flyer’, which familiarizes kids with the process of taking a flight. In this educational app, kids go through steps such as packing a suitcase, going through security, boarding a plane and claiming luggage to visit world-famous destinations like Paris, Kyoto, New York, and many others.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/frequent_flyer/

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04 For Our Children’s Safety

Every good parent has asked the question, “Where is my child and is s/he safe?” CHILDTRAC has introduced a GPS Tracking System that gives parents the peace of mind by keeping them in touch with their loved ones. A FREE iPhone app for the parent and an affordable communication and GPS tracking device for the child is all that is needed to feel the Freedom, Security and Certainty that comes with knowing where your loved one is located and that s/he is safe.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/childtrack/

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05 Quicky Jr 3 WiFi Adapter

QuickerTek has announced the release of the Quicky Junior 3 USB wireless network adaptor, the third generation in Quicky Junior line. While it’s good to stay current, it’s also good to improve on current designs. The Quicky Junior 3 is improved in both the physical and electronic arenas. Built with a shorter, more compact design and expanding to the ‘a’ spectrum of the 802.11 band, it allows older computer users to use newer access points.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/quicky-jr-3-wifi-adapter/

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06 Five Cool Siri Tricks

We’ve all seen many uses for Siri, but here are Five from EverythingiCafe.com that should include some you haven’t seen.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/5-cool-siri-tricks/

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07 Five Tips on iTunes

Cult of Mac has written this article about iTunes. I recently did a presentation on iTunes 11 to the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society. Unfortunately this article was not available at that time.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/5-tips-on-itunes/

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08 Five Automator workflows

Macworld had published this article showing 5 Automator (AppleScript) workflows that many of us can use. I personally would be surprised if 10% of Mac users even know that automation is possible on the Mac natively. This is a good way to get started. And perhaps could make a good MUG meeting topic.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/5-automator-workflows/

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09 Templates for MS Excel

Theme Inn, a graphic design company specializing in creating themes, templates, and illustrations for Mac OS X, has expanded its assortment of Microsoft Office templates with an update of Templates for MS Excel 1.2. The updated pack contains 85 high-quality templates for business, educational, and personal use.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/templates-for-ms-excel/

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10 Apple Security Software Firm Releases Update to Popular PrivacyScan

PrivacyScan is a specialized app to seek and destroy privacy threats for the Mac, now available in the Mac App Store. PrivacyScan is a utility designed for people who value privacy and want to keep their online and offline experiences to themselves.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/securemac/

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11 PhoneSheriff Monitoring and Filtering Now Available for iPad Tablets

Retina-X Studios, creator of mobile monitoring products, announces the release of PhoneSheriff for tablets. The monitoring program can now be used with iPad tablets to monitor and restrict activities. The monitoring software allows registered users to gain access to a wide range of activities conducted on the tablet, as well as to receive alerts, and engage in other controls.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/phonesheriff/

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12 Wipe All Traces of Deleted Data with iShredder 2 Standard for iOS

ProtectStar today is pleased to announce ProtectStar iShredder 2 Standard Edition 2.0.7 for iOS, an update to its best-selling utility designed to permanently wipe all traces of files that the user has deleted or put in the trash. Because deleted files remain intact on the iDevice until written over by new files, it is relatively simple to completely recover sensitive, personal data, photos, and videos. The app irretrievably erases files using 11 different user-selectable algorithms, which have been certified by military/intelligence security experts.

http://www.ugnn.com/2013/05/ishredder/

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13 Prepaid debit cards – a weak link to security

A brazen gang of cyber criminals, who stole $45 million from bank ATMs in 27 countries, exposes an Achilles heel in the global financial industry: prepaid debit cards. Cyber security experts and industry analysts say the burgeoning use of prepaid debit cards for everything from gift certificates to disaster relief handouts is making it easier for hackers to withdraw large amounts of money before detection.

http://bit.ly/1626Z0X

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14 China Military: largest intrusion offender in the world

Every year, the Pentagon releases a report on the Chinese military. Usually routine, this year’s drew unusual attention. The 2013 report, released last week, made a bold and somewhat blunt declaration that China was responsible for attempting to hack secure systems worldwide. The report said: “In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the US government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military.” That’s not a total surprise; but if the Pentagon feels that it has enough evidence to make an explicit connection with the Chinese state, then it is likely that China’s hacking programme has become even more expansive than previously thought. This follows a report by the computer security firm Mandiant naming Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army as responsible for 140 cyber-intrusions and thefts since 2006 – the largest such offender in the world.

http://bit.ly/19dVoYI

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15 Quotes: Honor

No person was ever honored for what he received.
Honor has been the reward for what he gave.
–Calvin Coolidge

Teachers who educate children deserve more honor than parents
who merely gave them birth;
for bare life is furnished by the one,
the other ensures a good life.
–Aristotle

It is better to deserve honors and not have them
than to have them and not deserve them.
–Mark Twain

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…and have a great week!

Remember, I invite all user groups to use this column in full or in pieces in your newsletter. Or add a link to their Web sites.

Pau

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** THE INFO MANAGER
A weekly column from the mice of Lynn Wegley and Fred Showker.

Lynn is a UGN veteran (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He’s been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long-time user group member, he’s been a volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and beyond.

Currently working primarily the with the Cowtown MUG of Ft. Worth but also works with the Apple Corp of Dallas and is a lifetime member of TUMS, the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society.

Fred has been active in UGs since 1986, first the AOL UG Forum, then the User Group Network. He spoke at the original AppleWorld in 1987, and served as Apple User Group Advisory Board Member for three years. He founded the User Group Academy and the Appleseeds Foundation.

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© 2013, All Rights Reserved. Affiliate User Groups are granted permission to reprint the InfoManager column or excerpts thereof so long as proper credit is given, and a clearly-stated Web link to: http://www.UGNN.com/.

Thanks for reading! We’ll leave the modem on for ya!

About SGVAUG BlogMaster

San Gabriel Valley Apple Users Group
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