A new attempt to steal data from Mac users is a bot called DevilRobber. The original version ran embedded in versions of Graphic Converter, but this one only pretends to be PixelMator, and contains none of the legitimate PixelMator code.

This new variant tries to steal and generate Bitcoins as the original did, but it also tries to steal passwords from 1Password (my favorite password utility) and grab system log files and Terminal command history files.

MacFixit has a more complete post here. Please protect yourself by only downloading software from legitimate sources… this and the previous version of DevilRobber are distributed as pirated software. If you download software from reputable sites, such as Download.com or MacUpdate.com, or from the Mac App store, you won’t run the risk of being infected with this trojan.

If you’re concerned about malware on the Mac, I use and recommend Intego Virusbarrier and Little Snitch to protect yourself.

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Hard drives are made to last as long as the warranty these days… like most everything else. If your drive has a three year warranty, the likelihood of it working the full 3 years is very near 100%. That percentage will fall at an unknown rate after the warranty period ends. Your drive may last 5 years, or more, or it may die shortly after the three years are up. The longer it goes, the greater chance of failure.

So, along with death and taxes, you can add hard drive failure to the only things you can depend on happening. All drives fail. The trick is to replace them before they fail, AND to have a good backup so if you miss the trick, you can restore your data to a new drive.

One of the best articles on the subject I’ve yet found is a new post on Barkings – The Small Dog Apple Blog. If you want to know a bit more about your drive, how and why it works, and how and why it can fail, this is where to go.

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Apple is now selling a thumb drive installer on the Apple online store (and perhaps in brick/mortar stores as well) for $69.00.

The absence of a Lion install DVD has caused a bit of uproar (Lion, roar… never mind) with users who are concerned that if they need to reinstall their system, there’s no easy way to do it, and no way at all without a fast Internet connection.

Several sites published articles on how to create a DVD or flash drive installer, but this is the first official Apple release of a physical tool for the purpose.

If you want to roll your own, these articles may be useful:

How to create an OS X Lion Install Disc

How to make a bootable Lion install disc or drive

How to burn a Lion boot disc

Build your own Lion install USB thumb drive for cheap

I’ve created my own thumb drive installer, and it works.

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Apple released the first update to Mac OS X 10.7 yesterday, patching some bugs. Along with the update the following instructions and information were published:

Updating your system
You should back up your system before installation; you can use Time Machine.
Do not interrupt the installation process once you have started to update your system. You may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications installed, or if you’ve modified the operating system through other means.
Choose Software Update from the Apple menu to check for the latest Apple software via the Internet, including this update. [...]

The OS X Lion v10.7.1 Update is recommended for all users running OS X Lion and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability and compatibility of your Mac, including fixes that:

• Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari.
• Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out.
• Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections.
• Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion.
• Resolve an issue in which an admin user account could be missing after upgrading to OS X Lion.

Also released were an update to Lion Server and a special update for MacBook Air and the 2011 Mac Mini padding patches for the following issues:

• Resolve an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
• Resolve an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
• Resolve an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media

A Lion Server update was released along with a Mini 2011 Server update.

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Thanks to Small Dog Electronics for publishing a list of very useful keyboard shortcuts. I’m publishing them as well, but if you want to see the Small Dog blog post, look here.

• Create a new folder: Command-Shift-N
• Open a new Finder window: Command-N
• Switch Application: Command-Tab
• Find: Command-F
• Select All: Command-A
• Copy: Command-C
• Cut: Command-X
• Paste: Command-V
• Duplicate: Command-D
• Undo: Command-Z
• Save: Command-S
• Save As: Shift-Command-S
• Print: Command-P
• Close window: Command-W
• Close all windows: Option-Command-W
• Show or Hide Dock: Option-Command-D
• Hide Applications: Command-H
• Empty Trash (without warning): Shift-Command-Delete-Option
• Empty Trash (with warning): Shift-Command-Delete
• Move an item to the Trash: Command-Delete
• Force Quit: Option-Command-Escape
• Eject Disk: Command-E
• Sleep: Option-Command-Eject
• Quit all programs and restart: Control-Command-Eject
• Take a picture of a selection: Command-Shift-4 (*essential shortcut—it’s far and away my favorite)
• Copy an item being dragged: Option-drag
• Move an item to new location without copying: Command-Drag
• Select multiple files that aren’t next to each other: Command-click
• Select multiple files in a row: Shift-click

These work for Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. Lion-specific shortcuts will come soon.

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Apple patched a security vulnerability last week with the iOS 4.3.5 release. Certificate validation vulnerabilities were the issue, while 4.3.4 patched PDF vulnerabilities.

4.3.5 applies to the iPad and iPad2, iPod Touch (generation 3 and 4) and the iPhone 3GS and 4 (GSM). The Verizon iPHone4 will upgrade to iOS 4.2.10.

I highly recommend all security updates, and these can be done by connecting your device to your computer and opening iTunes. Check for updates and follow the prompts.

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Prevent fried MacBooks, and expensive repairs

I’ve had a couple of clients fry their MacBooks/Macbook Pros by having them wake from sleep in their laptop bag. This was expensive, and preventable, but only if the user is aware of the issue.

I’ve carried my laptops in sleep mode around the world since I bought a PowerBook 140 back in 1991. Never had a problem, as long as the lid stayed closed.

It turns out that these clients had bluetooth mice and/or keyboards in the bag with them, turned on. Pressure on the mouse or keyboard can cause a Mac laptop to wake from sleep… if the Bluetooth preferences are set for it.

It’s convenient to be able to wake your MacBook on your desktop with an external keyboard or mouse, but a great idea to turn the preference off when traveling.

Open System Preferences (Apple Menu -> System Preferences) and click on the Bluetooth pane, in the Internet and wireless section.

Then click on the Advanced button in the Bluetooth Preferences, and uncheck the “Allow Bluetooth Devices to wake this computer” checkbox.

If the lid of your MacBook/Pro is shut, the computer is asleep, and can’t be woken by bluetooth or other activity, you can be confident that you won’t fry your expensive tool… or toy, depending.

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Macworld.com’s John C. Welch wrote today about what Lion’s new features bring to businesses.

The article, Mac IT Guy: What Lion means for businesses, is certainly an opinion, but I agree with John’s points.

AirDrop, to move files between Macs on a network, will be big for me, even with only a couple of Macs involved. I regularly download articles, applications, PDFs etc to my desktop that I need transferred to my laptop, so they’ll be there if I need ‘em on-site. I’ve been using Synchronize! Pro, but AirDrop will add a lot of functionality to my workflow. In a larger business it can be huge!

Auto Save and FileVault2 will both serve me well. The ability to have versions of documents, and to have saves done as I work are helpful, and the ability to encrypt my whole hard drive on the laptop is huge for me. No more worries about losing confidential data!

There’s more… read the article. It’s not my purpose to recreate it here, just to let you know it’s available.

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Roaringapps.com has a compatibility table of applications that work, have some problems, don’t work at all or haven’t yet been tested with Mac OS X 10.7.

Check through this list, if you’re thinking of upgrading to Lion as soon as it comes out. Make sure that you don’t have essential applications that won’t run, because it will be enough of a pain to downgrade back to Snow Leopard to make it worth avoiding.

The list will continue to be updated as more testing is done, and as applications are updated to work with 10.7.

Just as an example, BusyCal in it’s latest version will not work with Lion. Since I use BusyCal, I’ll be watching this closely. The new iCal may be improved enough that I won’t need BusyCal any more, otherwise I’ll be hoping that a favorite app is updated soon.

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Technolog has a story from June 9 about email purporting to be from UPS regarding an upcoming delivery, which contains a hidden attached file that can infect computers (PCs, ad far as I know) with malware that could put up a fake anti-virus warning. The idea is to get the user to spend $50 or $100 or whatever to get their computer secure.

It’s a scam. Firstly, if you’re a Mac user, it’s not likely that you’re going to get notifications about malware other than from the Mac OS X 10.6.7 (or later) operating system, or from anti-malware software apps you purchase and install.

UPS says that fraud and misrepresentation of it’s services are a “continuing global issue”. They post fraud protection and virus warnings on their site.

UPS provides an address to forward suspicious email to: fraud@ups.com

Among the ways to tell if a UPS email is fraudulent, the company says:

• Design flaws: Distorted or irregularly sized logos
• Poor grammar: Grammatical errors and excessive use of exclamation points
• Misspellings: Not only incorrectly spelled words, but links to websites that may be modifications or variations of the legitimate www.ups.com website address such as www.unitedparcelservices.com
• Sense of urgency: Alarming messaging requesting immediate action
• Unexpected requests: A request attempting to obtain money, financial information or pesonal information in exchange for the delivery of a package
• Communication gaps: An e-mail that does not provide an alternative method for communicating the requested information (telephone, mail or physical locations).

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