Here is a Solution for Mac’s Built-in VNC Server being View-only from a VNC Viewer Apps & opening to the Lock Screen

I enabled screen sharing and a VNC Password on my Mac. I thought I could use Apps like RealVNC, Teleport, Mocha Vnc or Remote Ripple to connect.

However each time I removed in I was greeted with a lock screen and no mouse control. The session was view-only. Each time I typed I heard the error tone in the Background.

I got the un-typeable lock screen  and password box even was I was in active session. And with it being View-only there was no way to type in my Password.

I figured out the issue. The solution to getting a View Only lock screen when using a VNC Viewer to connect to Mac OSX Built-in VPN is to:

1. Go to Screen Sharing –> Computer settings and un-check the two boxes. THe first says Anyone may request permission to control this screen. The second says VNC viewers may control this screen with a password. Both of these must be unchecked. (the opposite of what you would expect.)
2. For security in the lower section set it to allow access for only the users you select.

In summary this must be a bug, because enabling the VNC Viewer setting is supposed to allow you to use VNC to connect to your MAc. In reality disabling these settings actually allows you to connect.

Thanks to CullenJ and BrandenRaider int his thread https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/342161/macos-mojave-remote-access-login-screen-stuck-on-in…

Click the Computer Settings button and Disable these:

After disabling these boxes in Computer Settings, set your permissions for the VNC user based on a Mac User Account:

This should enable what is known as Apple Screen Sharing which makes the user enter both a username and password.

Advertisement

iCloud Mail & Windows 10 Mail App creates Duplicate Sent and Deleted Folders

Here was my problem:

It is very easy to setup Windows 10 Mail to work with iCloud.com email. It uses an iMap connection to MobileMe.

However it seems like Windows 10 Mail is somehow triggering iCloud to make duplicate Sent and Deleted Folders. I think this happens because Mail cannot access the correctly name folder when it needs it. Has anyone observed a similar behavior? I have also seen this behavior in emClient program for Windows.

Here was my Solution:

Windows 10 Mail predetermines which folders it thinks should be used as Sent and Trash and you can’t change that determination.

iCloud can use any iMap folder as its Sent and Trash. You can make a brand new Folder and Name it whatever you want and assign it as Trash and Sent. There is no real statically assigned Sent and trash Folder.

The Problem is Windows 10 Mail does not allow you to assign iMap Folders. It picks what it thinks is best.

So here is how you resolve it. What we need to do is make all our Apple Devices use the folder Windows 10 Mail Prefers.

• Figure out which folders Windows 10 Mail thinks is your Sent and Trash. They may be named Sent Items and Deleted Items. Send and delete a few test emails until you have a good feel for which folder it is.
• Go too icloud.com and assign these folders as Sent and Trash in Preferences.
• Go to Mac Mail and assign these folders as Sent and Trash.
• On your iphone Make sure these folders are being used as well by going to iCloud Settings and scrolling the end of the list to Mail and then to Advanced Settings.

Mail App on Mac

iCloud.com

iPhone Mail App

Migrating & Copying Mail & Mailboxes between Accounts in Mac Mail

I just had some thought about best practices for moving messages between accounts using the Mac Mail App.

The Reason to Move Mail

One reason is that might want to migrate messages from an Office365 or Gmail to an iCloud Account. Outlook on Windows allows you to Import and Export PST Files at will which makes mailbox migration a cinch. However on Windows importing a PST file with a  large numbers of emails can cause iCloud to throttle or ban you especially if you have a large PST. But since we are using a Mac and iCloud lets see if we can get this done without Windows.

Things to Keep in Mind

Mac Mail is slow and queues up move jobs in the background. You can see these jobs once they are in progress by going to Mail -> Window Activity and checking win the lower right hand corner. Also the Mac Mail App is file based so the emails are stored in files in ~/Users/Library/Mail/V6.

Some Methods to Try

• Shrink the mailbox you are copying from first. Use an App like clean.email or Mailstrom to shrink your mailbox to manageable size so your are not copying Multiple Gigabytes of emails.
• If you are using Office365 or Exchange, configure Mail to use IMAP for retrieving emails instead. You will need to set ups the account as “Other and enter your IMAP credentials.
• Have Patience. Wait for Mail to Queue up the Job and perform it. You may also be waiting on the iMap Server.
• Create local “On My Mac” Mailbox as a holding area for the emails you are moving to the new account. The “On My Mac” folder is like a staging area.That way only 1 imap Server is in play at a time. Move your emails from the original account to the On My Mac folder. Once that copy completes move the emails to the new account.
• I find that dragging and dropping from Mailbox to the other works best
• Only drag and drop several hundred emails at one time not thousands.
• Closing Mac Mail Aborts the process and allows you start over. Closing can be helpful if the moving process gets stuck.
• If the drag and drop does not work the first time try it again.
• Also try splitting your mail up into sub-folders since a folder you made might accept a copy sooner than a system folder like Inbox or Sent.
• Also try Exporting the Mail as an MBOX file and reopening it and mounting it the Mail Folder tree. From there you can copy out the emails.
• Try AirMail and use Mailbox rules to move the messages.

I hope this helps and that the next version of Mail has better migration tools in place.

 

Is there such a thing as an “ACTIVE” Mini-Displayport to DisplayPort Cable?

I was glad to get a solution on another forum for Startech Technical support in regards to Mini-Display port to Display Port being “ACTIVE” or Passive:
“No, DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort use the same signals so there is no need for these cables to be active unless they are very long. Typically, cables of this type don’t need to be active unless they are over 30ft. Sam, StarTech.com Support”
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XVYZ82?ref_=pe_623860_70668520_dpLink

So the answer is that Mini-Display Port and Display port are the same technology and Therefore a MiniDisplay Port to Display Port cable does NOT need to be “ACTIVE” unless they are greater than 30 feet long.

Issues with the Apple Mac Ecosystem

After using a Mac for a couple years, I just wanted to list some things I feel Apple needs to focus on. Apple Hardware quality remains outstanding and reliable and I love it. Where Apple is struggling is in MacOS and in Cloud offerings. Also some of these issues have lingering Radars that are not getting worked on.

• Make iWork a true Business Solution. Do any businesses actually use Pages and Numbers in iCloud? This feature falls far behind other similar offerings like Google Docs or Office365.
• Fix Parental Controls in El Capitan and newer. Parental Controls have not worked properly for several years.
• The Mac Mail App needs stability improvements, especially when copy and moving mail between mailboxes.
• Make iCloud Drive a true DropBox like solution. Currently a lot of File Sharing, Video Streaming features do not exist in iCloud Drive. Also the iCloud site sometimes has uptime problems.
• The 1.4 ghz and 2.6ghz 5200rpm HD models of Mac minis are under-powered. They are not up to the demands of Modern Computing.
• iCloud Sync for Windows does not work consistently. Windows users would really appreciate if iCloud Drive for windows would allow the temp directory to be moved and include a bandwidth throttle.

 

Making Bang Olufsen audio Sound Good in Chrome on Spectre x360 15t

I was trying to stream in Chrome from some online streaming websites.

The audio sounded really bad, sort of shrill and tinny so i wanted to share two things I learned.

I then learned there are multiple speakers in the Laptop and they support the 5.1 Multi Channel Surround”.

1.  If you are streaming Audio in your browser like Chrome, you are not getting the New “Multi Channel Surround” experience. This is because Chrome defaults to just “Stereo” not “Multi Channel Surround”. If you folow the instructions in this article https://www.chromestory.com/2016/06/chrome-windows-surround-sound/ you can set chrome to start in Multi Channel Surround mode. What you need to do is basically launch Chrome with this text behind the target in the Shortcut ” –disable-audio-output-resampler.
2. Reinstalling the Realtek Drive, thought perfunctory, and then setting the BO app to something like “Movie” seemed to help as well. Do NOT enable Windows  Sonic Spatial Sound when using the Laptop speakers. You can turn it on when using other speakers.

So the moral of the story is if you listen to music in a browser you need to enable the Mutli Channel Sound in the browser. (There is also probsably like this feature built into your music player app).

 

An Alternative to Dyn internet Guide or OpenDNS

If you are looking for DNS based content filtering and threat protection check out https://dnsfilter.com/. It is a very simple to configure on your router/WiFi Network or Server and has many categories to select to allow or block, detailed reporting and a customizable block page with bypass feature.

This is a nice replacement for Dyn Internet Guide which is being phased out by Oracle and Open DNS which was acquired by Cisco.

Is the Apple Pencil a Mouse Replacement for Remotely Accessing Windows from the iPad Pro? Where’s the Right Click?

Update as January 14, 2016: While the iPad Pro did really well for me as a Tablet, the lack of Right Click Mouse key made it extremely difficult to use as a Laptop replacement, so I am back with a Mac Book Pro  and a hotspot. So much for being an iSheep.

Ok, so the Apple iPad Pro is said to be a possible Laptop replacement, which begs the following question.

1. If it is a Laptop replacement, where then is the mouse? Is that the Apple Pencil?
2. How does it work with Remote Access Apps and Remote Desktop Apps.

I will start by saying that if you want to try to use an Apple Pencil to remote into a Windows Machine you will need two Apps to accomplish this.

Jump Desktop on iTunes

Parallels Access

There are lots of free options like Chrome Remote Desktop or Teamviewer, but these do not support the Apple Pencil Right Click Functionality.

The catch with Jump Desktop and Parallels access is that the Right Click Function requires a long press of the Apple Pencil. However, i was able to get used to the Apple Pencil and long press Right Click after a few days.

So all in all the iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil is still a Tablet, but it is a really amazing tablet with the Pencil and Smart Keyboard attached. Add to that the convenience of cellular data and it’s ease of portability it is a nice setup. Just keep your MacBook Pro around for the Heavy Lifting.

Review of Norton Family & Norton Security 2016

Norton Security 2016 on Amazon.com

With the demise or change of focus of the leading Family Internet Content Filters like Bsecure & Safe Eyes & Most recently Microsoft Family Safety’s new policies, it is nice to still be able to purchase a package that includes both Content Filtering, Virus Protection and Firewall.

I am very impressed with Norton Premier Online Family Safety. This package offers support for up to 10 devices.

And it works on Mac Android and iPhone too…but in a more limited way, which is OK because I use iPhone’s built in security. But you can at least monitor text messages, App Usage and Social Media via weekly reports emailed to you. 10 Devices are covered as well.

Update 08/03/2016:
After having tried Bitdefender with Parental Advisor and feeling like it lacked polish, I came back to this product again. I am happy that they have updated the Norton Family Safety Website. It is very modern looking and with lots of options to monitor your children’s browsing. I really think this may be the best Cloud Based Parental Control Software with the exception perhaps of Covenant Eyes.
Also you know Symantec will be on top of any threats coming your way as they always seem o do well in the A/V tests.
Plus the price is extremely reasonable for 10 devices. Still no Mac Content filtering, however.

Photos2Folders -Great Photo Organizing Software for getting your Photos in a File System

With all the pictures we take these days, it can take a long time to get them organized. We have tools like Picassa and Windows Live photo Gallery that can organize by location or even facial recognition. But it is still difficult to get these photos into a reasonable Photo File Folder Structure. That’s where Photos2 Folders comes in. It lets you put your photos in folders based on Date Time or Event. This is much better than some solutions where photos are displayed in bulk.

http://www.photos2folders.com/

From their Website:

Photo Organizing Software

Many applications are available to tag, sort, rename, and categorize your photos, but all of them tend to make it difficult to use your photos in other applications. Photos2Folders is a utility designed to keep it simple by organizing your photos in a set of folders you can easily access, allowing you to quickly find the photo you are looking for in ANY application. The second problem that Photos2Folders aims to solve is the duplicate photo issue. Most of us have 10 folders which contain a pile of pictures and some of those folders might contain duplicates of the same pictures… but we’re not really sure which ones are which. Photos2Folders identifies the duplicates and helps you ensure you don’t end up with 10 copies of the same picture in your organized photos.

Try it out. I think it will help you organize your pictures.

One word of warning..you may not want to organize by day because you will then have folders for each day of the month 1-31….a lot of folders 🙂 I prefer Month and Year.  I do not use the Event feature, but it could be handy.