Posted by Matt Shultz on Macintouch

Working with a Genius at the Apple Store, we came up with a solid work-around for an issue (that I hope will become a recognized bug) in Address Book 6.1 under Lion 10.7.3.

Deleting members of a group does not effectively remove those members from receiving email. Apparently, AB 6.1 caches these names pretty firmly. As I initially was, this Store Genius was also surprised that a deletion in a previously created group was not honored. This is easily repeatable.

However, simply changing the name of the group after deleting the recipients desired, quitting AB 6.1 & then re-launching, will produce the desired results.

Here’s hoping this tip prevents disaster somewhere

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One question I’ve heard a lot recently is “how can I securely send or share files, so only the person intended can read them?”

One solution is Dropkey, currently available on the Mac App Store for $19.99.

Check here to see the web site and download a trial, and let me know how you like it.

One thing I’m not yet sure of but have inquired about is if I send files to Windows users, will this work? Also, if Mac users don’t use Address Book, but Outlook or another app for contacts, will it work?

I’ll post the answers to these questions when I receive them.

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MacFixIt’s Topher Kessler has a great post addressing this. I highly suggest you read it carefully.

In part:

if you are browsing the Web and see a notice pop up about the need to update Reader, there are several things you can do.

1. Do not trust it
Immediately be skeptical of any automatic software update, especially those for Flash or Reader. Instead of accepting it and downloading the update, check the interface for any apparent typos or grammar errors, and if found, then close it down. Additionally, check online by simply doing a Google search (or more accurately visiting Adobe’s support site) to see if any updates have been recently issued.

Right-click the Flash installer package in the Dock, and reveal it in the Finder to see if it is in your user account or in a location that would first require authentication before the program could be placed there.

2. Standalone application
Adobe’s updates are automatically distributed via utilities such as Update Adobe Flash Player, which are run from the Adobe Flash Player Install Manager program that is installed when you install Flash or Reader. To see if this program is what is running, right-click the installer icon in the Dock and select the option to show it in the Finder.

If the program is in your downloads folder, or somewhere in your user account, then do not trust it and throw it out. However, if it is in the /Applications or /Applications/Utilities/ folder, then it suggests the program is legitimate, since installing to these locations would first require a username and password (as is needed when installing Flash for the first time).

3. Quit your browser
Often malware will be presented as a download from within a specially crafted browser window that displays a Web page which is intended to look like a program running on your system. If you see a notice to install Flash, and then quit your Web browser and the notice goes away, then this is a good indication that it is not legitimate and is likely an attempt to lure you into downloading malicious software.

If you observe these three steps when dealing with an automatic update window that suddenly appears, you should be able to better avoid malware attempts on your system.

As a final note, the easiest method by far for avoiding malware attempts when updating your programs (any software, and not just Adobe’s) is to avoid the automatic update solutions altogether. Instead, enable them to notify you when an update is available, and then only download the update directly from the developer. By doing this you will be sure the software you download is legitimate and up-to-date. In the case of Adobe’s products, you can easily get them from the following Web pages:

• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Reader

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Have you downloaded the newest version of iTunes, and set up iTunes Match yet? I did the other day, with trepedation and caution, but it worked out pretty well. I have about 20,000 tracks in my iTunes library, so I haven’t set up my iPhone or iPad to use Match yet, but that’s the next step.

My real interest was to upgrade the quality of CDs I ripped years ago at a lower-than-256 kps bitrate. I had a collection of over 400 CDs that I ripped over the course of a year shortly after iTunes made it possible, back when. Some are as low as 128kps, so the upgrade in quality is pretty major.

I was really concerned about deleting music that had been Matched, but it turned out to work perfectly when I followed the directions posted by Matt Elliott on MacFixit yesterday. How to use iTunes Match to upgrade audio quality spells out the easiest way to determine which tracks are available and in need of upgrading, and how to actually do it.

I started with one track I didn’t really care about and deleted it from my iTunes library (but didn’t trash the file). Immediately it was back with an icon in the “iCloud” column showing a cloud with downward pointing arrow. I highlighted the track and pressed Command – I to see the bitrate and other info, and sure enough, instead of the 160 kbs it was, now it showed 256.

Then I option-clicked on the track to downolad the track, which it did nicely, and I checked the folder in my iTunes library where it was stored, and sure enough, both versions of the track were there. I deleted the old one, and began to feel comfortable.

Then I set up the Smart Playlists as suggested in Matt’s post, followed his instructions, and it worked perfectly!

Oh, and artwork and ratings stayed intact, too!

Addendum: Here’s another page full of good info on iTunes Match from ars technica.

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I love Evernote, and use it a lot, on my Macs and on my iPad. It allows me to move data between my devices easily, and to keep track of different kinds of information easily.

This morning I saw a post on MacAppStorm called 9 Unique and Useful Ways to Use Evernote by Jorge Rodriguez that does a great job of describing how useful Evernote can be.

I was going to post something about Evernote one of these days, but this article covers the territory, and better than I could. If you have any use for a “notebook” app, Evernote deserves a look. It’s far and away superior in my opinion.

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Apple released iPhoto 9.0.1 update to address the problems a few users have experienced updating their iPhoto libraries after purchasing iLife ’11.

Use Software Update or go to Apple’s download page to get the update. If you purchase iLife ’11, download the update and install it immediately after installing the ’11 suite, before you open iPhoto. This should prevent the problems that have been reported by early adopters.

Apple’s knowledge base article with information about the update and the problems it addresses. I recommend reading it, so you’ll know what the move to iPhoto ’11 will involve.

Expect upgrading a large iPhoto library to take quite a while… could be over an hour.

Upgrading after a force-quitting a previous attempt could result in data loss.

If you did force-quite an upgrade attempt be sure to install iPHoto 9.0.1 before trying again.

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Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac will detect and block malware on Macintosh computers, and is free. It is a non-commercial version of Sophos Anti-Virus 7.2 for Mac, targeted for home users.

This software is easier to install and use, according to Sophos, and while malware is not the huge threat it is for Windows users, there are indications that the Mac platform may be targeted in the future. The Boonana Trojan that surfaced last week (see my previous blog post) certainly could be a problem for unwary social networkers, clicking on a seemingly innocent link.

The free software comes with no online or phone tech support, but Sophos has launched a Mac support forum to provide answers to questions.

The new release joins ClamXav, Avasi and PCTools’ IAntiVirus as free solutions for Mac users.

Sophos has a blog post describing malware threats on the Mac platform. Use your own judgment regarding your particular need for antivirus software… but know that when it is running you may experience a performance hit. Somewhat slower performance is not unusual when antivirus apps are running.

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Pirated software is surely a big issue to developers, but activation can be a real pain to users. Microsoft opts on the side of pain, unfortunately, with Office 2011

When purchased, it comes with a 25-character activation key that MUST be entered within 15 days of running any of the Office apps for the first time. If entered within that period, the whole suite will work correctly.

If the user goes past the grace period, Office 2011 won’t launch. It is completely unusable.

This is actually worse than the grace period and unfortunate ramifications faced by Windows Office 2011 users.

They get 30 days to activate the suite, and can reset the grace period countdown up to 5 times, with a total of 180 days before their out of time.

If the Windows version goes past the grace period, it goes into a “reduced functionality mode” that allows opening the apps and viewing documents already created, but no editing or printing.

In addition, Microsoft reduced the number of Macs we can install Office on legally and uses activation to make sure we don’t break the end-user licensing agreement, also called EULA.

The Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student EULA allows 3 licenses, each with a separate serial number, and each license allowed installation on a desktop and a laptop, totaling 6 installations.

Office for Mac 2011 now uses a single activation code, halving the number of installations allowed. The $150 Home and Student 2011 Family Pack allows installation on 3 devices. Period.

Here’s some more ammo for Apple and the iWork suite. I own Office 2008 for Mac, but made iWork 09 my choice for word processing, spreadsheet usage and, along with the online-only Prezi (prezi.com), Keynote for presentation. Office 2008 was too clunky and slow. The 2011 version may be faster and better, but I’d use the Home and Office version, which would cost $280 for my two installs.

You do the math… if you need to have formatting stay constant with versions of documents going back and forth in a group, for example, it may require Office 2011, as iWork apps may change the formatting to greater or lesser degree. If minor changes won’t matter, saving nearly $200 (for two installations) may appeal. Just my opinion…

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If you’re a Safari 5 user, you may or may not know that there are heaps of extensions, more every day, to extend, change, add usability or otherwise modify Safari. Some are very useful, some have a narrow market. Most are free, and all can be disabled or uninstalled easily.

Apple’s Extension Gallery is a great place to look for extensions, but like the App Store, there’s a lot to look through, and perhaps test out, to find the few gems you really need.

Computerworld has an article by Ryan Fass and Logan Kugler, called Thirty great Safari Extensions — so far. The article has instructions for installation and shows the Preferences pane where you can disable or uninstall extensions easily, and lists 30 very useful Safari extensions. I don’t use them all, nor will you, but I was delighted with the selection… and downloaded about 8 to play with. Typically I’ll keep 2 or 3, but with this lot, maybe more.

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A great review by Robert Mohns, a freelance reviewer, is posted on the Macintouch site providing a comprehensive look at the changes in the new Office suite.

Rather than attempt to digest the review for you, I’m recommending that anyone interested go to Macintouch and read the full review. It covers all the changes, the pros and cons, and some alternatives to Office for Mac.

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