Stolen Device Protection

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First introduced in iOS 17.3, the Stolen Device Protection security feature is designed to prevent unauthorized access to your data and accounts if your iPhone is lost or stolen.

How Stolen Device Protection Works

When enabled, Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID or Touch ID authentication for specific actions on your iPhone when it is away from familiar locations like your home or work. This includes accessing passwords and credit cards stored in Keychain, using saved payment methods in Safari, and making changes to Find My and Apple ID settings.

In addition, a security delay of one hour is triggered before you can make critical changes like turning off Find My, erasing the device, or removing Stolen Device Protection. This delay is meant to prevent thieves from being able to perform these actions quickly.

What's New in iOS 17.4

The iOS 17.4 update builds upon the initial version of Stolen Device Protection in a couple of crucial ways:

  1. You can always keep Stolen Device Protection on, regardless of location. Previously, it only activated when away from familiar places.

  2. Attempting to turn off Stolen Device Protection when not at a known location will start the security delay before you can disable it, providing an additional safeguard.

Importance of Find My and Activation Lock

Stolen Device Protection works with the Find My app and Activation Lock to secure your iPhone. Find My allows you to locate and mark a missing device as lost, lock it, or erase it remotely.

Activation Lock prevents anyone else from using your iPhone if it is lost or stolen. When Find My is enabled, your Apple ID is securely stored on Apple's activation servers and linked to your device. This means your Apple ID password or device passcode is required before Find My can be turned off, the device erased, or reactivated.

Enabling Stolen Device Protection

To turn on this feature, your iPhone must be running iOS 17.3 or later and have the following enabled:

  • Two-factor authentication for your Apple ID
  • A device passcode
  • Face ID or Touch ID
  • Find My
  • Significant Locations (in Location Services settings)

Then navigate to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, and toggle on Stolen Device Protection.

Remote Erase as a Last Resort

If you can't recover a lost or stolen iPhone, erasing it remotely using Find My should be a last resort. A remote wipe deletes all data on the device, but the custom message you set when marking it as lost will still display.

Remember that the device needs to be powered on and have a network connection to receive the remote erase command. Regularly backing up your iPhone is crucial in case you ever need to restore your data to a new device.

In conjunction with Find My and Activation Lock, Stolen Device Protection provides multiple layers of defense to help keep your data safe, even if your iPhone ends up in the wrong hands.

About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212510

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Working Out With Apple Vision Pro

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Getting Fit with Apple Vision Pro!

The upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset promises to take fitness to the next level with immersive augmented and virtual reality experiences. Although Apple didn't showcase any fitness features during the initial Vision Pro reveal, reports indicate the company has significant plans.

According to The Information, Apple is developing a yoga app that uses the Vision Pro's cameras to track your breathing by observing your chest movements. Additionally, Apple has reportedly explored partnerships with brands like Nike to create custom workouts for the headset.

While details are still scarce, the potential for VR/AR fitness apps on the Vision Pro is enormous. Imagine battling ninjas in a video game while kicking and punching in real life or traversing an Icelandic mountain range on the Peloton bike. The Vision Pro's immersive visuals, spatial audio, and motion tracking could engage workouts.

Additionally, the Vision Pro's “EyeSight” feature allows transparent views of your surroundings when someone approaches you. This means you can stay aware of others in the room during your sweat sessions. Safety first!

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How to Use Apple Vision Pro With Reading Glasses or Prescription Glasses

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The new Apple Vision Pro headset is an exciting technology that blends digital content into your physical surroundings. But what if you already wear reading glasses or have a vision prescription? Here's an overview of the Vision Pro user experience for those who need vision correction.

When setting up your Vision Pro, you have two options if you typically use reading glasses or have a prescription.

The first option is to order custom prescription inserts called ZEISS Optical Inserts. These magnetically attach to the inside of the Vision Pro headset and allow you to see clearly without wearing separate glasses. They come in two versions – prescription lenses for those with a vision prescription or simple “readers” for those who need magnification for reading or computer work.

You'll need to provide Apple with a valid and comprehensive prescription from your eye doctor to get the inserts. The prescription must include sphere, cylinder, axis, add, pupillary distance, and other standard measurements. Prescriptions are available for both single-vision and progressive lenses.

If you need vision correction, the second option is to use the Vision Pro's accessibility features instead of relying on your eyes. You can navigate using head movements, hand gestures, or an external Bluetooth switch. This allows you to operate the headset without visually focusing on elements in your field of view.

Either way, Apple has put effort into making Vision Pro accessible for those with common vision needs. The setup process guides you through determining if you need prescription inserts or can use accessibility features instead. The headset is designed to be compatible with many types of vision prescriptions.

Using Apple Vision Pro with vision prescriptions and vision conditions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213965

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BBEdit 15 Brings Exciting New Features for Text Editing

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BBEdit 15 was just released by Bare Bones Software, bringing some excellent new capabilities to this popular text and code editor for Mac. As an enthusiastic Apple product user, I'm excited to highlight some key additions in this latest update.

ChatGPT Integration

One of the most significant new features is accessing ChatGPT directly within BBEdit worksheets. This allows you to converse with the AI assistant to help with writing, coding, research, and more – no need to switch between applications. BBEdit maintains the chat history so you can refer back to previous conversations later. This is an innovative way to leverage AI technology alongside a traditional text editor.

New Minimap View

BBEdit 15 introduces a Minimap palette that gives you a high-level visual overview of longer documents, allowing you to easily spot the overall structure and quickly navigate to different sections. For those working with large text files or codebases, this should help increase efficiency.

Expandable Cheat Sheets

Cheat sheets in BBEdit have been expanded, so you can now create your reusable references for frequently used markup, code snippets, and more. You can continue adding to them over time, acting as an always-accessible notebook tailored to your needs.

This latest upgrade boasts over 180 improvements.

https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/bbedit15.html

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Blip – the Fastest Way to Send Files

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Blip is a free file transfer app that lets you quickly and easily send large files from your Mac or iPhone. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. Speed

Blip uses a direct transfer method rather than uploading to the cloud first. This makes it significantly faster than traditional services like Dropbox or Google Drive. Files transfer at speeds up to 1 Gbps.

2. Reliability

Blip auto-resumes interrupted transfers and works across devices, regardless of location. So you can reliably send files between your iPhone and Mac, even over long distances.

3. No Size Limits

Send files of any size with Blip — no arbitrary limits. Transfer massive 100GB video projects without issue.

4. Privacy

Your files are encrypted in transit and never stored on Blip's servers. You send directly to chosen recipients rather than sharing insecure links.

5. Easy to Use

The setup takes seconds. The clean interface makes sending files intuitive. It's perfect for both techies and non-techies alike.

FAQ

How is Blip different to AirDrop or Nearby Share?

Apple’s “AirDrop” and Google’s “Nearby Share” can be really handy. However they have some important limitations: they aren’t compatible with each other, and require devices to be physically nearby. They are also unreliable when transferring very large files, and will often lose your progress.

Blip doesn’t need devices to be nearby, so it’s much more reliable. Blip works wherever your internet connected devices are in the world, and works regardless of what kind of device you own. You can transfer from Android to Mac, Windows to iPhone, and much more.

Can Blip send Final Cut Pro projects?

Yes! Unlike many other services, Blip can send Final Cut Pro .fcpbundle files without needing to zip them first.

.fcpbundle files are technically folders, and Blip fully preserves folder structures and any links within.

And of course, Blip works regardless of the tool you use, be it Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, or something else entirely.

https://blip.net

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How to Use Kagi.com as a Default Search Engine in Safari Without a Kagi Safari Extension?

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Safari does not support setting up a custom search engine like Kagi.com as the default search engine without using a Safari extension. The browser only allows you to choose from its integrated search engines: Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia.

However, there is a workaround to use a custom search engine for specific searches. Safari has a “Quick Website Search” feature that allows you to search within specific websites directly from the Smart Search Field. Here's how you can use it:

  1. Open Safari and go to the website you want to use as a custom search engine.
  2. Use the search function on the website at least once. Safari will automatically recognize the search engine of the website.
  3. Go to Safari > Settings > Search and ensure that “Enable Quick Website Search” is checked.
  4. Under “Manage Websites”, you should see the website you used for the search listed.
  5. Now, when you want to search using this website, type the name of the website followed by your search query in the Smart Search Field. For example, if you want to search “macOS tips” on Kagi.com, you would type “kagi macOS tips” in the Smart Search Field. Safari will then show an option to “Search Kagi.com for ‘macOS tips'”. Select this option to get search results directly from Kagi.com.

Remember, this method does not change your default search engine. It only allows you to use a custom search engine for specific searches. Your default search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia) will still be used for general searches from the Smart Search Field.

With PopClip

PopClip is a macOS utility tool that pops up with a menu of actions when you select text on your screen.

(1) Kagi search extension for PopClip: Search Kagi from anywhere using PopClip.

(2) Or, you can change PopClip's default search and change the Alternate default URL:

https://kagi.com/search?q=***

Press alt + shift to use an alternative URL with PopClip search.

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