CleanMyMac X 4.8.0

MacPaw has released a new version of CleanMyMac X. I’ve talked about how I’ve been a user of CleanMyMac in the past as my go-to for disk maintenance and management. When it comes to Mac maintenance, I don’t want to fiddle in the terminal. I just want a nice looking app to handle it for me and in my case, it’s this one.

The update includes support for Apple silicon Macs. MacPaw has optimized the app for M1 so now CleanMyMac X runs like a champ on the latest Mac models. This latest version also brings a fresh new look with the biggest visual update in the last few years so now it perfectly matches the macOS Big Sur style. And to help you reclaiming disk space and help you get rid of even more junk, they’ve added a new feature to the System Junk module to save your disk space. You get get CleanMyMac X directly from MacPaw or as part of a Setapp subscription.

Apple as a Remote Company

Apple has never been very enthusiastic about having its employees telecommute. On MPU 538, James Thomson shared the story of how he, while employed as an Apple engineer, secretly worked from Scotland to the chagrin of Steve Jobs.

In the Apple Shareholder meeting yesterday, Tim Cook talked about remote work:

“We’ve been primarily remote since March of last year. We’ve got nearly a year under our belt right now, and I would tell you we’re still learning new things. I would say that I’m incredibly impressed with our teams and their resiliency. The fact that we have had this remarkable run of innovation and creativity of the past year is a testament to their work, undertaking during a really challenging time.

There’s enormous benefit to getting teams together in the office, but when the pandemic made business as usual impossible, we innovated and adapted …”

While I’m sure Apple, as a whole, has more respect for remote work going forward, I also know that when it comes to corporate culture, old habits are hard to break. I expect that once vaccines are distributed and things are safer, Apple is going to try and get most of its employees back on site.

My hope, however, would be that this experience causes some reconsideration on the historical position that Apple employees are all in Cupertino. If Apple is to continue with its historic run, they need to keep talent acquisition and retention a top priority. There are a lot of brilliant folks that could help Apple out that don’t wish to live near Cupertino, California. If Apple could become a bit more of a remote company, getting those folks on board would be a lot easier.

Mac Malware is Getting Smarter

I still bump into people that think their Macs are somehow immune from Malware. That just isn’t the case. Mac users are just as able to download malicious code as Windows users are. Historically, however, we’ve had some advantages on the Mac:

A Smaller Target
There just are not as many Macs in the world as there are Windows computers. Moreover, often the targets of malware (business and financial institutions) don’t run Macs.

Apple’s Increasing Emphasis on Security
Apple has been putting the screws down on macOS for years now. They’ve steered users toward the App Store, where they have more control over the apps you install on your Mac. They’ve rebuilt the plugin systems for Apple Mail and Safari so they are much more secure. They’ve implemented a notarization system for apps and they’ve even created a way to disable binaries from Apple Servers.

These two factors have combined to give Mac users a false sense of security. All that said, if you install an app from an untrusted source (or if one of your trusted sources that was unknowingly compromised, which happens), users are fully capable of installing malware on their systems.

That happened over the past few months with a malicious payload known as Silver Sparrow. (Red Canary did an excellent job documenting it.). It looks like this one was caught before it did any real damage (and Apple has now disabled the binary), but the advantage of catching this unexploded bomb was that it gave security researchers an opportunity to study it in detail. Silver Sparrow was designed to launch additional software that would do who knows what. It was also designed to cover its own tracks. It was very sophisticated software designed to run on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Malware is increasingly targeting the Mac at a time when malware is getting increasingly advanced.

You shouldn’t be paranoid, but you also shouldn’t assume you are safe just because you are on a Mac. Don’t install software from unknown developers. Be careful around unknown download links and email attachments. In short, keep your head screwed on.

Whenever this question comes up, I get asked if I’m running virus software on my Mac. Currently, I am not. In my experience, virus software too often comes with its own set of headaches. However, reading about Silver Sparrow has me considering it again.

Mac Power Users 576: No Judgment Here

In this feedback episode, Stephen and I revisit dictation, UUIDs, FileVault, and the longevity of recent Mac hardware. Then, I talk about a new computer in my life, and Stephen reworks his home screen.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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The Intrazone, by Microsoft SharePoint: Your bi-weekly conversation and interview podcast about SharePoint, OneDrive and related tech within Microsoft 365.
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Software Update via Emoji

Jeremy Burge has a fun post on Emojipedia showing all the new emojis Apple is adding/changing with the upcoming iOS 14.5 update. One note he makes is the way Apple continues to brand its emoji with Apple products. For instance, the headphone emoji now looks very much like AirPods Max.

I don’t begrudge Apple this. If I had my way, the Apple book emoji would look like a MacSparky Field Guide. 😍

However, I do note how Apple continues to use new emojis in point iOS updates to encourage folks to update. For all of the non-nerds out there, new emoji is the world’s biggest 🥕 when it comes to updates.

StreamDeck + Keyboard Maestro with KMLink

The Stream Deck already has a built-in plug-in for running Keyboard Maestro. It’s great and lets me run Keyboard Maestro scripts from my Stream Deck. However, it can also be tedious in that it requires me to hard link specific buttons to the Stream Deck and if I want to move a button, I’ve got to get past a bunch of friction. If I want to move the button, I needed to change the Keyboard Maestro entry. That’s no fun.

Lately I’ve been just using the independently developed KMLink instead. The script looks at your Keyboard Maestro library and lets you attach a specific script to the button. You can also add a custom icon. Once you add it to your Stream Deck setup, you can move the button around the Stream Deck without any complicated remapping.

If you are combining your Stream Deck with Keyboard Maestro, you’ll want to check this out.

Focused 119: Productivity & Meditation, with Chris Bailey

Author Chris Bailey joins Mike and me on this episode of Focused to talk about the productivity benefits of meditation, conquering resistance, and the path of least regret.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FOCUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
PDFpen, from Smile: The all-purpose PDF editor for Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.

Additional Considerations for Home Security Cameras

Over the past few years, home security cameras have got better and cheaper. That’s good. Now anyone can set up a home security camera and keep an eye on the front door or the dog. The problem, however, is that all of these cameras are not created equal. There are two issues you need to consider when purchasing a camera that manufacturers don’t often mention: commerce and security.

Commerce

A lot of the camera racket has turned into a razor and blades style business. You get the cameras but then you end up spending around $100/year to have their cloud storage. That may be worth it to you, assuming the vendor knows what they’re doing and they have a good security model. I have trust issues with all of these vendors. How much of a stake do they really have in protecting your privacy? How much effort are they putting into keeping all that video from your house safe?

Security

It’s called a security camera but is it actually secure? This is particularly a concern if you do use the vendor’s cloud storage. Do you want anyone in the world able to look at your front door or your dog? Vendors are slowly coming around on this. Ring just announced that you can add end-to-end encryption to your video on their servers but it is (currently) off by default.

I continue to be happy with my Eufy cameras. They didn’t break the bank. They’re holding up fine and they work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service that gets me encrypted online storage as part of my iCloud account (that I’m already paying for).

Mac Power Users 575: Talking Parity with John Siracusa

John Siracusa joins Stephen and me on the latest episode of Mac Power Users to talk about the 2019 Mac Pro and what Apple silicon may mean for pro users. Then, John talks about his pair of Mac apps and what he wants out of the future of macOS.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
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