Recovering from a Failed Update with a Nearby iPhone or iPad

We hope you never need a new recovery option that Apple has added to the iPhone 16 and current iPad mini (with an A17 Pro chip). If a device gets stuck during an iOS or iPadOS update, you may see an animation of devices being moved close together, indicating that it’s in recovery mode. Apple’s new solution to a failed update involves attaching the device in recovery mode to power and placing it next to another unlocked device that’s connected to Wi-Fi and running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18. The working device will display a Restore Nearby iPhone/iPad message. Once you tap Continue and wait for the devices to connect, you’ll be asked to enter a six-digit code from the recovery device on the other device to share its Wi-Fi connection. Tap OK when you see the “Restoring iPhone/iPad” message. It’s best to have both devices connected to power while this is happening. If this new way to recover from a failed update doesn’t work, or if a different iPhone or iPad model has had trouble during an update, you can use a computer to restore the device.

(Featured image by iStock.com/stockforliving)


Social Media: If your iPhone 16 or A17 Pro iPad mini gets stuck during an update, Apple’s new recovery feature lets you use a nearby iPhone or iPad to get back up and running.

Apple Introduces AppleCare One for Multi-Device Coverage

Apple has launched AppleCare One, a new device protection plan that consolidates coverage for multiple Apple devices into a single monthly subscription. For $19.99 per month, US customers can protect up to three devices, with any additional devices costing $5.99 each per month. The plan includes unlimited repairs of accidental damage, battery replacements when capacity drops below 80%, and up to three annual claims for theft or loss of an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. You can add most devices up to 4 years old to your plan, though older devices must be in good condition and may require a diagnostic check. The coverage automatically transfers when you trade in a covered device to Apple and purchase a new one. Keep in mind that AppleCare One is a per-user plan that doesn’t cover multiple users’ devices, and standard service fees and deductibles apply for repairs and replacements.

(Featured image by Apple)


Social Media: Apple’s new AppleCare One plan allows you to cover multiple devices under a single subscription and even add devices up to 4 years old. At $19.99 per month for three devices, it could save you money and simplify your AppleCare coverage.

Press Control-Return in Sequoia to Open Contextual Menus

Those who prefer keeping their hands on the keyboard may appreciate Apple’s addition of a new shortcut in macOS 15 Sequoia. Instead of Control-clicking to open a contextual menu with commands to apply to the current selection, you can press Control-Return. Since it’s so new, it doesn’t work in some older apps or those that sidestep standard Apple frameworks, but it’s worth adding to your keyboard repertoire.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Milatas)


Social Media: macOS 15 Sequoia has a new way you can keep your hands on the keyboard. Press Control-Return to open contextual menus—no mouse required. Try it out and speed up your workflow on your Mac.

Dropbox Passwords Ending: Switch to 1Password Now

If you use Dropbox Passwords, it’s time to switch to a new password manager. Dropbox has announced it will discontinue the service on October 28, 2025, with key features being disabled in phases starting August 28. After the final shutdown date, all stored passwords will be permanently deleted. Dropbox recommends users switch to 1Password and has made that super easy. Simply click the Dropbox Password extension in your browser and choose Migrate to 1Password. Create a new 1Password account or sign in to an existing one, and then follow the remaining instructions to import your passwords. If you want to use a different password manager, you can probably import a CSV file exported from Dropbox Passwords, possibly after some adjustments to the CSV file’s column headers and order to match your chosen password manager’s expected format. No matter which option you choose, don’t delay!

(Featured image based on an original by Dropbox)


Social Media: Dropbox Passwords will shut down on October 28, 2025. Switch to 1Password or another password manager now to avoid losing your stored credentials.

Advice for Good Office Ergonomics

Let’s look at how to keep your body comfortable and healthy when you interact physically with your Mac. In a word: ergonomics. You’ll find it easier to focus and be productive if nothing hurts. Plus, you want to avoid long-term problems like carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic neck strain.

While some workplace setups may be outside your control, there are usually ways to improve your ergonomics. Here’s what to check and adjust to make your workspace more comfortable and productive. We also recommend working through the Cornell Ergonomic Workstation Advisor, a 35-question worksheet.

Chair Setup

Your chair is the linchpin of an ergonomic office setup. Adjust the seat height so your feet rest flat on the floor and your knees are at roughly 90º–120º. Use a stable footrest if you can’t put your feet flat on the ground without compressing your thighs. Note that if you are smaller or larger than average, you may need a chair designed for your size.

You should be able to sit up straight comfortably, which may be aided by a lower back support. If your chair lacks one, consider adding a firm bolster or even a rolled towel for more support. Make sure armrests support your elbows without forcing you to raise your shoulders.

Once your chair is adjusted correctly, it’s time to consider the desk surface, which affects the placement of your display, keyboard, and mouse or trackpad.

Screen Position and Height

When it comes to your Mac’s display, there are two vital measurements to reduce neck and shoulder strain: the distance from your eyes and the height off the desk surface.

Roughly speaking, the display should be positioned at arm’s length, or 18–36 inches (45–91 cm) away. However, that depends on your vision—if the text isn’t clear at the recommended distance, you should either have your prescription checked or move the display until you can read it easily. If you find yourself bringing it too close, use the Larger Text options in System Settings > Displays to make the text readable at a reasonable distance.

For height, with modern large displays, aim to have your eye level about a quarter of the way down the display, so that three-quarters of the display is below your eye level. That generates a slight downward gaze to the center of the screen. If you wear bifocals, position the display a little lower to account for how you raise your head to look through the different viewing zones in your lenses.

Some displays have highly configurable stands, making it easy to adjust their height. For those that offer only tilt adjustments, you can raise the screen by placing a properly sized book or printer paper underneath it; just make sure it’s stable. If your desk doesn’t lend itself to the necessary positioning, a monitor arm could make it easier to adjust.

It’s important to minimize glare from lights above you or windows behind you. Tilting the top of the display slightly away from you can reduce glare and enhance comfort, but more significant adjustments may be necessary to avoid harsh natural light. If you need bright light for reading physical documents, opt for task lighting and keep the room lighting indirect. Regardless, you should always adjust the Mac’s brightness to match the room lighting; the Automatically Adjust Brightness switch in System Settings > Displays can help. If you use your Mac before bed, turning on Night Shift may improve sleep.

What about multiple displays? Depending on their size, you may inadvertently create a situation where the text is too far away to read comfortably, causing you to lean in. Nor do you want to be working with your head turned all the time.

If you have a primary display, position it in front of you and put the secondary display off to the side, angled in. If you have two identical displays, angle them in slightly to create a visual arc and sit so that you can work comfortably on the inner halves of each screen. Those connecting a laptop to two displays can keep it below them. However you arrange your displays, click Arrange in System Settings > Displays to rearrange the virtual screens so they match your physical layout.

Keyboard and Mouse/Trackpad Placement

For comfortable typing and mousing, your hands should be level and straight, with your elbows comfortably close to your body and your shoulders relaxed. To make that happen, the keyboard and pointing device should be at elbow height when you’re sitting and close enough that you don’t need to lean forward. The mouse or trackpad should be as close to the keyboard as possible so you don’t have to reach for it.

Getting the height of the keyboard and pointing device right—while also keeping the display at the right height—can be tricky because many desks aren’t very adjustable. If the desk is too high and can’t be lowered, consider an adjustable keyboard tray to reposition the keyboard and mouse/trackpad at the correct height.

It’s also important that you don’t compress your wrist by pressing down on the desk surface or even a soft wrist rest. To rest your hands when you’re not typing, use a cushioned palm rest in front of your keyboard.

Special Considerations for Laptops

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to maintain good ergonomics on a laptop because there’s no separation between the keyboard and the display. That’s fine for shorter work sessions and when you have no control over your environment, such as on an airplane or in a coffee shop. But if you work on a laptop all day long, choose one of two basic options to improve your ergonomics:

  • Continue to use the laptop’s keyboard and trackpad at a good typing height, but add an external display at the ergonomic viewing height. You can continue to use the laptop’s display for ambient apps—such as Messages, Calendar, and Music—that you glance at and use briefly.
  • Elevate the laptop so its display is at the correct viewing height, and add an external keyboard and mouse/trackpad at the correct typing height. A wide variety of laptop stands are available for this purpose.

The first approach may be more expensive, but it can increase productivity by allowing you to view more content on the screen at once.

Movement and Breaks

No matter how ergonomic your setup is, it’s terrible for the human body to remain in one position for extended periods. Research suggests that sitting for more than 8 hours daily, especially without physical activity, is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, depression, and even cognitive decline. Luckily, it’s easy to reduce these risks:

  • Change positions frequently; chairs that allow movement can help activate muscles and improve circulation.
  • Take regular breaks every 30–60 minutes. Standing or walking for 5 minutes is ideal, but even a minute or two helps. Even if you work at a standing desk, you must still move around.
  • Consider a sit-stand desk that allows you to switch between sitting and standing.
  • Look away from your screen at least every 20 minutes for 20 seconds, focusing on an object at least 20 feet away.
  • Exercise regularly to counterbalance being sedentary—experts recommend a weekly regimen of 150–300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75–150 minutes of vigorous exercise.

Remember: Small ergonomic adjustments can make a big difference in comfort. If you experience persistent discomfort in an office environment, consult with your supervisor or HR department about your ergonomic equipment options. Your organization may also provide access to an ergonomics expert who can come to your workspace and ensure that your chair and other workspace items are adjusted for optimal comfort.

(Featured image by iStock.com/dragana991)


Social Media: Don’t let poor ergonomics get in the way of getting your work done. Get expert advice on adjusting your chair, positioning your display, and arranging your desk to prevent discomfort and boost productivity at your Mac.

Never Paste Unknown Text into Terminal!

Here’s a new scam to watch for. A client reported running across a suspicious website masquerading as a human verification test. Instead of asking him to click pictures or solve a math equation, this one asked him to copy some text from the page and paste it into Terminal. The text was actually an encoded script that—if pasted into Terminal and executed—would have downloaded and installed malware designed to steal user data. Infected users could lose their login password, browser history and cookies, cryptocurrency wallet information, keychain data, Notes data, and a wide variety of personal files. The moral of the story: never paste unsolicited commands into Terminal. They may seem innocuous or even unintelligible, but they’re fully capable apps that can wreak havoc on your Mac.

(Featured image by iStock.com/stevanovicigor)


Social Media: A clever new scam masquerades as a CAPTCHA test, asking users to paste text into Terminal to prove they’re human. Instead, it installs malware designed to steal passwords, browser data, and other sensitive information.

Anker Recalls Millions of Power Banks: Check Yours Today

We recommend sticking with well-known brands when buying accessories, and a recent example illustrates why this is important. Anker, a highly regarded accessory manufacturer, has initiated voluntary recalls of power bank models sold from 2016 to the present due to the risk of overheating, melting, smoke, and fire. In mid-June, the company recalled 1.1 million PowerCore 10000 power banks; it has now issued another recall for more recent models of its Power Bank, MagGo Power Bank, and Zolo Power Bank. If you own one of these products—even if it’s working fine—go to Anker’s product recalls page for more information and a serial number checker. If your power bank is affected, stop using it immediately and contact your municipal household hazardous waste collection center for disposal guidance—neither the trash nor standard recycling boxes at retail stores are acceptable. Anker will give you a free replacement or a gift card for use on the Anker website.

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(Featured image by iStock.com/Pradit_Ph)


Social Media: Anker has issued major recalls for six power bank models due to fire risk. If you own an Anker power bank, check if yours is affected, even if it seems to be working fine. The company is offering free replacements or gift cards.

16 Billion Passwords Exposed in Recent Data Breach: Turn on 2FA!

Data breaches keep coming, and the latest one revealed by Cybernews involves 16 billion passwords. There’s no way to know for sure if your passwords are included, though it’s always worth checking Have I Been Pwned and paying attention to monitoring features in password managers. Some media reports claim that passwords from accounts at Apple, Facebook, and Google were leaked, but this is likely overblown. While some accounts at those companies were compromised by infostealers, there were no centralized breaches. Our advice remains the same: use a password manager to ensure that each of your accounts has a strong, unique password and turn on two-factor authentication whenever possible.

(Featured image by iStock.com/tsingha25)


Social Media: Another day, another breach—this time involving 16 billion passwords. Despite alarming headlines about Apple, Facebook, and Google accounts, there’s no need to panic. Our advice? Use unique passwords and enable 2FA.

Audit How You Appear in Google Search

Google has created a free service that lets you see what of your personal and professional information has been published on the Web. Once you provide your name, address, phone numbers, and email addresses to Google’s Results About You website, Google will inform you if that info appears in search results. (Don’t worry, you’re not telling Google anything it doesn’t already know.) It may take a few days or weeks for the initial results to come back, and Google will keep adding more results over time. You can review each page with your information and, if it’s data you would prefer to keep private and it meets Google’s policy requirements, request its removal from the search results. This only removes your data from Google’s search results; to remove it from the Web entirely, you’ll need to contact the website hosting the information.

(Featured image by Google)


Social Media: Curious about how your personal information shows up in Google searches? Google’s Results About You service helps you monitor and manage your digital footprint.

Combat Smart TV Privacy Abuses with an Apple TV

If you own a smart TV or are shopping for a new one, you should be aware of a troubling trend: modern TVs have evolved from simple screens into sophisticated surveillance devices. You can protect your privacy by using an Apple TV as your streaming device rather than relying on built-in smart TV features.

If you have an older non-smart TV that meets your needs, you’re in luck—an Apple TV provides streaming capabilities while avoiding the privacy concerns that plague modern TVs. For everyone else, here’s what you need to know about how TV manufacturers are monetizing your viewing habits and how an Apple TV protects you.

Data Mining: How TV Makers Profit from Your Viewing Habits

Arguably, the longevity of large-screen TVs has contributed to this trend. In the past, TV manufacturers focused on selling as many TVs as possible. Consumers see less need to upgrade when a modern 55-inch TV offers little beyond what a 15-year-old TV of the same size can provide. Sure, it might be a bit brighter, have better color accuracy, or provide higher refresh rates, but for most people watching streaming video in a dark room, such changes aren’t very noticeable.

In response, TV manufacturers have lowered prices to boost sales and turned to alternative revenue streams, including collecting and selling viewer data and displaying ads. Data can be sold to companies like Nielsen, a data and marketing measurement firm, and leveraged to provide advertisers with targeted audiences. Smart TV ad revenue is estimated to reach $46 billion worldwide this year, up 20% after another 20% increase in 2024. These ads appear on the smart TV’s home screen and in free, ad-supported streaming channels.

TV manufacturers track viewing habits using a technology called automatic content recognition (ACR). Software loaded on the smart TV captures frame-by-frame screenshots of content, creates a fingerprint for each frame, and then matches the fingerprint against an online database to determine what you’re watching. It works with all types of viewing, from standard TV to gaming. Since that data is tied to your specific household, companies can create audience segments and either use it for their own advertising or sell it to third parties. One analyst suggests you’re worth about $20 per year.

Wait, it gets worse! Many smart TVs feature microphones to enable voice commands, and some also include cameras to support video calling capabilities. Manufacturers can use captured audio and video to monitor viewer engagement—are you actually watching the show, or is it just playing in the background? That data also feeds into the profile that the TV manufacturers maintain about you.

If all this feels creepy to you, you’re not alone. Most annoyingly, apart from the opportunity to buy a cheap TV, there’s essentially no ongoing benefit to you in having your viewing habits packaged and resold. At most, you might get to ignore slightly more targeted ads.

Protect Your Viewing Privacy with an Apple TV

If you currently have a smart TV or are looking to replace an older TV, there’s an easy solution: use an Apple TV instead of the smart TV’s built-in apps or a similarly problematic media streaming box from the likes of Amazon, Google, and Roku. Although Apple isn’t perfect when it comes to privacy, the Apple TV provides a complete streaming solution that doesn’t share your viewing data with advertisers and data brokers. Here’s how:

  • No ACR tracking: Apple has confirmed that the Apple TV doesn’t use ACR at all.
  • No built-in advertising: Unlike Roku OS and Samsung’s webOS, the Apple TV doesn’t display ads on the home screen or in the screensaver.
  • Privacy-first setup process: During setup, you’re given the opportunity to disable Siri, location services, and analytics.
  • Limited data collection: Even when you do allow Apple to collect data, it’s done in ways that guarantee anonymity and used only in aggregate. No personal information is ever shared with Apple.
  • Strong third-party app tracking controls: tvOS apps must ask for permission to track you, just like iOS apps. You can (and should) always reject such requests or prevent them from asking at all by going to Settings > Privacy > Tracking > Allow Apps to Request to Track.

Even with an Apple TV, you’ll need to take a few additional steps to protect your privacy since smart TVs can still track content playing through HDMI connections:

  • Disable ACR tracking: Turn off ACR in your TV’s settings to prevent it from analyzing what you’re watching. This setting can be tricky to find since TV manufacturers deliberately make it difficult and use different names. Consumer Reports provides instructions for many TV models and streaming media devices.
  • Consider blocking Internet access: For maximum privacy, you can prevent your TV from connecting to your Wi-Fi network and accessing the Internet, though this comes with trade-offs. While it ensures that no data leaves your TV, you’ll miss out on bug fixes, security updates, and certain features like picture calibration. You may also encounter connection error messages, and some TVs require occasional Internet connectivity for validation purposes. You may have to connect periodically to keep it working.

By turning off ACR, disconnecting the smart TV from the Internet, and using an Apple TV instead of a smart TV’s built-in apps or other streaming devices, you can enjoy your favorite shows without feeling like you’re being watched.

(Featured image by Apple)


Social Media: While you’re watching TV, your smart TV is watching you. Find out how manufacturers track your viewing habits and learn simple steps to protect your privacy with an Apple TV.