On losing a personal hero
It’s difficult to describe the rainbow of emotion that comes up at a time like this.
The news talking heads, the preponderance of Apple centric sites, the Internet in general is awash in send ups to Steve Jobs, who left this life yesterday. Many are poignant, touching, thoughtful. The aggregate information rush is — and will be for some time — overwhelming.
For me, Steve’s story — and the story of Steve’s Apple — are close to home. I never met the man personally, but his legendary vision, and the way he passionately believed in the work that he was doing, in what Apple was doing, that is to say, a belief that one could do amazing positive things that change the world — and be successful doing it — have been a model of how to approach work.
It was a couple of years after Steve came back to Apple, that I took the measured but daring step of quitting my full-time support job to go out on my own as a freelance Apple consultant — to embrace as my primary professional pursuit the notion of helping individuals and small businesses use this amazing technology. I was in my home office when I digested the news about the original iMac introduction, the original iPod introduction, and other cornerstone Steve Jobs moments. Creative Goose evolved not so much on the coat tails of Jobs, but as a water carrier on the ground for Steve’s visions of how technology can be harnessed.
I will, along with much of the tech world, miss Steve Jobs. His legacy of a thriving Apple Inc., his example on how to lead, his validation of “the crazy ones,” his embodiment of the “think different” principle, will live on. Through the Creative Goose consultancy, and through my own life choices in matters of work and technology, I will continue to carry Jobs’ water, his message, his vision, as best I can.
Mac Malware Threat: May 18 update
Some of you will have been aware that there is a significant Mac “Malware” — that is to say, Malicious Software — on the loose. It has been most widely distributed by Google Images searches, which may have simmered down by now as I believe Google has taken appropriate steps, but it can attack from just about any web site that has been hacked to host the infection, and reports of infections are still widespread.
This article quotes an Apple support employee who offers some very significant insights. That being said, in my opinion the reporting here is horribly flawed: the author made no attempt to cross-reference the information obtained, did no research beyond a single-source interview, and on top of that the interview is anonymized (to protect the Apple employee). Together, these factors would have yielded a failing grade for the article in my junior college journalism class of yesteryear; the craft of journalism has suffered since then. Be that as it may, Mac users would do well to be aware of this threat.
The takeaways are these:
1) do NOT believe any WEB BASED alert that indicates that you have a virus or other infection. The ONLY alert you should believe to this effect is one from a real anti-virus program that you intentionally installed, and is maintained.
2) Mac Defender is BOGUS. ”Apple Security” is BOGUS. If you get solicited on the Internet for either of these, they can be VERY persistent, downloading even if you hit “Cancel.” In some cases, attempting to get away from the bogus infected site can cause “unsavory images” (I think they mean porn) to appear on your screen, as supposed evidence of the infection.
If you get hit with such a site, force-quit the browser (Safari or FireFox) by choosing “Force Quit…” under the Apple menu. This will get you away from the malware, and any naughty pictures it might load.
3) If the software is downloaded, it may (depending on your system settings) attempt an auto-install. If it does, just quit the installer (and throw the download away out of your downloads folder). If you click through the installer it will ask for your Admin password. DON’T GIVE IT THE PASSWORD and it cannot do any harm.
4) Some versions of this thing (there are quite a few already, all based on the same scheme) attempt to extract your credit card info by having you attempt to “purchase” the software. Apparently, after you put in your card information, the server will “decline” the card and encourage you to try another — a clever way to steal multiple credit cards from you. IF THIS HAPPENED TO YOU, ASSUME YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED and IMMEDIATELY call your bank(s) and alert them. Like, right now.
5) If you installed any version of this thing, please call me for assistance in removing it. Because there are many versions of it out there, there is some possibility that other harm could come of such an infection. Please minimize your use of the computer, and call me right away at 415 479 2931. I’ll take care of you. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, start with this article for info on how to remove it. Please understand that this is not a complete solution, however.
Finally, if anyone reading this can point me to a reproducible way to encounter this Malware, I’d be appreciative as I haven’t been able to play with it myself yet.
Filed under Creative Goose News, Uncategorized | Comments (2)Bogus MacDefender malware campaign targets Macs using Google Images
Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, install any version of “MacDefender.” It is MALWARE, masquerading as protection against Malware. If you have already installed it, please call me to make an appointment for me to come clean up the mess.
Bogus MacDefender malware campaign targets Macs using Google Images.
Filed under Creative Goose News | Comment (0)Creative Goose now accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Distress!
Thanks to the handy dandy little Square credit card reader, we now take major credit cards with an immediate eMail receipt sent to you on the spot! Square readers work with iPhone, iPod and iPad — ask me how!
Easy!
Welcome to Creative Goose Dot Com version 3.0!
Thanks to Abigail Gorton Web Strategies for getting my new Web Site up and running! We hereby launch the new, improved, interactive Creative Goose!
Here you’ll see regular updates about what’s going on in the Apple field, and news and information of interest to Small and Micro businesses that stand to benefit from Apple’s technologies.
There will be opportunities to interact, learn and grow for all of us, here at Creative Goose version 3.0!
Filed under Creative Goose News | Comment (0)History of Creative Goose
I started Creative Productions back in 1998: I left my Help Desk job to provide high-quality Mac technical support and highly customized FileMaker Pro databases for the small and micro business community.
Today, I remain committed to supporting the family scale business with simple, elegant technology. The industry has changed a lot over the last 12 plus years, and Apple has done well. Now more than ever there is so much opportunity to harness elegant technology for small and micro business.
My simple philosophy is that your computers and systems should empower you to get your work done more easily, accurately and quickly.
If your systems don’t do this for you, if you fight your computers, copiers, telephones, scanners, printers, mobile devices, address books, calendars, etc. etc. etc… if you still type envelopes on a Selectric… if you struggle to sort and find your customer data….
…You need to get Goosed!
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