SFCT.NET - Technology Help and Questions Answered

Email Security Use a reliable email service. *If you are on @comcast.net setup a secondary email address. And you can forward emails from @comcast.net to your new email while you slowly transition over to a more secure email provider. Getting too much Spam (Junk Mail) Unsubscribing doesn't usually work Use the SPAM/Junk filters Create your filters/rules ~If the above options don't help, setup a secondary email address and share the new address with friends and family while leaving the junk behind in the old email. How to create a new email address? Go to gmail.com (Google), outlook.com (Microsoft) Choose Create Account, follow the prompts How do you access your emails? Webmail = gmail.com, outlook.com (this is recommended by the email provider because they have control over what you see, including the ads) Mail Client App = Macintosh Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird,  2 Layer SPAM filter 1st filter = Mail Providers Spam/Junk filters from your provider. Best Spam/Junk filters gmail.co...

My emails have been hacked! What do I do? Notify all your contacts, friends and family to ignore the recent email and NOT send you money or respond to the email. This includes someone to send the message on your behalf.  Or create/use a secondary email to send a notification email to your friends/family group or distribution list NOT to send you money or respond to the email. (Be sure to put all the contacts in the BCC and send to groups of no mare than 50 contacts at a time) 1. Contact a Computer Tech to help cleanup and verify your email settings are properly configured, change your password and setup 2 factor authentication 2. Determine the extent of the Hack and if your original email can be secured you can continue to use it OR you might need to create a new email address What's a podcast? On-Demand Streaming Radio Shows Apple has a podcast app on their Computers and iOS devices ~Open the app to search for a show by name or host. ~Choose follow to add the show and newly added ...

Recording Voice Memo 1. Search for the Voice Memo app on your iPhone. The app comes standard with iOS. 2. Tap the Red Dot to start recording 3. Tap the Red Square to stop recording 4. The most recent recording will appear on the top of the saved recordings Tap the title to change it Scan a Document Start by placing the Document you want to scan flat or standing with a contrasting background 1. Search for the Notes App 2. Tap the Piece of Paper with a Pencil to create a new Note 3. Tap the Paperclip 4. Tap Scan Documents 5. The camera will turn on 6. Hover your device over the document you want to scan and automatically your phone will can the document 7. Scan additional pages to create a multi-page pdf document 8. Click Save to finish the scanning Send a Scanned Document saved in Notes 1. Open the note with the scan 2. Tap the title of the scan 3. A menu appears 4. Tap Share 5. Choose how you want to share the scanned document View Past Notifications Pull down from the top right of the...

  Get Rid of Predictive Typing in Emails (only accessed on webmail, i.e. gmail.com, hotmail.com, ...) Go to settings Choose Mail Outlook/Hotmail go to "Smart Suggestions" turn off the settings Gmail go to General then, "Smart Compose" turn it off Keep the Predictive Typing that appear by pressing TAB Avoid the AI on your emails by using Macintosh Mail to access your emails (get to Macintosh Mail in the Applications Folder) My Safari doesn't work with my Bank or other websites. It tells me it's not compatible or out of date. Safari stops updating itself when your operating system is out of date. So Safari won't have the newest and necessary security credentials and settings. Work Around is to use an alternate browser like Firefox (Mozilla), Chrome (Google), Brave, Edge (Microsoft) How do I learn to use...? Ask copilot.microsoft.com ( Co-Pilot), Google.com (Gemini) Try to use all the products connected to the provider of your email. Gmail = Google Products...

Syncing multiple devices Unifying essential services Checking/Canceling subscriptions Syncing Devices (Tablet, Smartphone, Computer) Apple Devices (and Windows computers) - Sync using iCloud     Use your Apple ID & Password     Go to Settings to view iCloud and the settings for each of the Apple Apps like Contacts, Photos, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, Books, Podcasts, etc.     Compare your devices to one another to be sure the same apps are On (syncing) or Off (not syncing) Check your iCloud Storage     **Beware of emails or text messages that say to upgrade your iCloud Storage. Many of them are scams! ****Check your current iCloud Storage yourself! Go to Settings, click your name, click iCloud and on the top a bar graph will appear showing you how much storage you have allocated and how much of the storage you used. If you need to add more storage click "Manage Storage" choose the next storage size or downgrade if you're no...

 Internet Connection Issues? Use your phone as a Temporary fix via the Hotspot option (in your phone's settings) Look at the WiFi Name your phone's hotspot (and password if needed) will use and connect your computer to that WiFi name When getting a new Tablet or Smart Watch consider getting the cellular connection so you have the freedom of being connected to the Internet all the time and everywhere. Ask you Cellular provider for any promotions and the monthly cost associated with the feature. Split Screen on a Mac 1. Open the two windows you want to see side by side 2. Click and hold on the Green Dot 3. Choose where to put the first screen 4. The other side will show you all the open screens so you can choose which screen to fill the other side with To resize split screen place your mouse arrow on the light grey handle in the middle of the split bar and drag To close or ext split screen click the green dot or red dot to close the window you are done with Exit out of iPad split...

 Default Apps on Mac Computers Chess, Maps, Books, Podcasts, Safari, Notes, Calendar, Garage Band These applications reside on your computer. Or use these services online Chess.com, Maps.Google.Com, Kindle Use Tabs in a Browser To View Multiple Windows Click the + to open new tabs Click the x to close the tabs you don't need - Tile windows side by side to get two windows on one screen Open both windows you want to see at the same time Click and hold on the green dot - choose where to place the window (right or left) The opposite side will display all the open windows Click the window you want to fill the other side Dictation - Click the Edit menu and choose Dictation Live Closed Captioning - Go to Settings, Accessibility, Hearing, Turn on Live Closed Captioning Look for Volume Controls on the top Right of your Keyboard Look for Screen Brightness controls on the top Left of your keyboard Turn on the Stage Screenshots Command + Shift press 3 for entire screen Command + Shift press 4 ...

I never receive your emails! What to do. Check for return or error emails "Mail Daemon" Tell them to check their SPAM/JUNK folder     If it's there...they need to Mark It NOT Junk     AND add the sender's email to your Address Book Ask them to send you an email so you can reply to their email. Ask them to use another email Use another option for communication, phone call, text, What's App, Facebook, etc. Other communication apps, Discord & Telegram My gmails are going to Important how do I stop that? Go to Settings (the gear on the far right) Choose "See All Settings" Turn off " Smart features and personalization:" Schedule Send or Send Later Helpful to send reminders Access emails on your computer Use Safari, Edge, Chrome or your web browser Access email on your phone Use the Mail app or download the app from your email provider Visit Apple.com to compare Apple devices

 First! Know which OS (Operating System you are using) 1. Go to the Apple Menu 2. Go to About this Mac 3. Look for your OS 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia (newest) Look at the list of all the Macintosh OS systems in order -  https://setapp.com/how-to/full-list-of-all-macos-versions  (click your version and look at the features your system has that you might want to explore) Dive into your OS and learn more about what you can do. Choose the User Guide for you OS 15 Sequoia -  https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/welcome/mac 14 Sonoma -  https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/welcome/14.0/mac/14.0 13 Ventura -  https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/welcome/13.0/mac/13.0 12 Monterey -  https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/welcome/12.0/mac/12.0 Exploring some of the features and functions of Sonoma OS 14 More choices for changing the Login Screen, Screensaver and background picture. 1. Click the Apple Menu 2. Choose System Prefe...

 What do you use to access the Internet, WWW? Internet is your CONNECTION to other services from different companies. How you get to a www, website. WWW - related to company websites Computers are used most to access the www, websites via a Browser. (iOS, mobile devices should be using Apps) Browser, software, used to access the www.     Safari (default on Mac),  Edge (default on Windows), Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Brave, Opera Using the Browser effectively Use tabs to multitask - looking at different websites within the same session, keep open websites easily accessible     Create a new tab by clicking the + on the top bar Search Engine - Help you find what you're looking for on the Internet, Direction to find the best www, website. Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, Yahoo, Aol, Baidu (China) Used to answer a question Find more information and details about something Find an item Use it like the Yellow Pages, finding businesses Be careful using it ...

Different Types of Keyboards Low Vision Keyboards  - Large Print Keys, Black on Yellow Keys,  Illuminated (backlight) Keys Search for Ergonomic Keyboards if you prefer a different arm/hand position Membrane (standard, less than $50) vs Mechanical ($75+) Laser Keyboard - Displays a keyboard on any flat surface Clean your keyboard -  OXO Sweep & Swipe Laptop Cleaner Computer Mouse Ball vs Laser vs. Optical Mouse Trackball Mouse Trackpad Mouse Roller Ball Mouse Roller Ball Mouse Other Ergonomic Mice Get a bigger screen Larger screens are very inexpensive so don't strain, replace your screen or setup a dual screen environment. Expect to pay at least $150. Examples of Computer Monitors Improving Sound Bluetooth speakers Soundbars Wireless speakers via Sonos or BlueSound Prefer privacy? get headphones or earbuds * the newest Apple airpods have a hearing assist function Understanding Connections and the Different USB, Charger Connectors Not sure what you need? Get ...

 Visit the Amazon AI Popup in San Francisco https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/robots-on-market-street-lure-visitors-to-amazon-ai-pop-up-space/ar-AA1p96y0?ocid=BingNewsSerp#image=3 https://aws.amazon.com/startups/lp/aws-gen-ai-loft-san-francisco Watch Drone Light Shows with over 1500 drones on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNcMDoBmhGA When searching be cautious and check the http... website address and look at the article to be sure it's what you want. When going to a website, use the address bar on the top of the window, type in the name with .com, and save the website to your bookmarks for a reference to the trusted site in the future by clicking the star. On Macintosh Photos how can I find duplicates? Open the multicolored flower Click the categories on the left and find Duplicate Click Duplicate to reveal the duplicate photos How can I test my foreign language skills. Use the dictation on Google Translate https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=zh-CN&op=tr...

 Understand & Manage Your Operating System [iOS] 7.18.24 Turn off your phone without using the buttons. 1. go to settings 2. choose General 3. at the bottom of the list is "Shut Down" Take a screenshot without pushing any buttons. - Use Siri 1. Say "Hey Siri..take a screenshot" Customizing the Control Panel 1. go to settings 2. choose Control Panel Tap the green plus to add an option to your Control Panel or the red minus to remove an option Do Not Disturb Pull down the Control Panel Tap the moon to turn off/on do not disturb -More settings for Do Not Disturb can be accessed from Settings Medical ID/Information 1. Open the Health App 2. Tap the circle on the top right 3. Choose Medical ID 4. Fill in any essential information so in case of an emergency anyone can see the information on your iPhone. Check Battery Health 1. Go to Settings 2. Choose Battery 3. Tap Battery Health (above 80% is decent) Battery Settings 1. Go to Settings 2. Choose Battery 3. Turn on/of...

Understand & Manage Your Operating System [Mac] 7.11.24 List of Macintosh Operating Systems and the years they were released. https://setapp.com/how-to/full-list-of-all-macos-versions Look up your computer's specifications which includes the highest OS you can upgrade your computer to, if you can add/upgrade the memory, etc. https://everymac.com/ Where to find your computer's OS version, the model and manufacture year, serial number and more. Click the Apple Menu Choose About This Mac If you have an Macintosh built before 2021 and have a 12 character serial number you can lookup your computer's specifications https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/ Get ready for OS 15 which will have AI integrated into it's system. Check using the links above to see if your computer can handle the upcoming new OS. Is your desktop full of icons? Organize them into Stacks Click the Finder (face on the dock) Click View Choose Use Stacks Your icons will be organized by their type. Cli...