Tips and Advice

• Backup to an external Solid State Drive! You need a copy of your data in case of catastrophic failure, theft, or fire. Many times I've been approached by distraught clients who knew better, but never got around to it. I recommend the excellent Carbon Copy Cloner software to do the job.

• If your Mac is 7 or more years old, you'll benefit from getting a newer Mac. New Macs are faster and have better Internet speeds. Buy as much Storage and Memory as you can afford as they are not upgradeable later.

• If you need an All-in-One printer I currently recommend Epson Workforce. Avoid HP, their software is garbage. Consider the Eco Tank printers which save you lots of $$ on ink. For pure black and white needs get a laser printer (cheaper to run), Brother and Lexmark make them for a reasonable price.

• Many of my new clients are living in Password Hell! You've seen it, passwords written on checkbook registers at all angles, some crossed out, most illegible. Take a look at PasswordWallet, they make a Mac ($20) and iOS ($4.99) version. You can even print out your list. https://www.selznick.com/index.htm

• If you have programs starting at System launch, go to System Preferences or System Settings / Login Items and remove everything in the list except CCC User Agent. As well, when you log out, if you see the box checked that says "Reopen windows when logging back in", uncheck it! Having programs launch at startup can stop you cold, especially if you've accidentally installed some Adware or Malware.

• Don't install Web Browser Extensions (in Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari) UNLESS you vet them first via a Google search to make sure they are safe. If you get prompted to install a search engine helper or anything else for that matter, back out! If you notice that your home page has changed or your search engine looks odd, you've probably been hijacked. Installing an AdBlock Extension can help you avoid getting tricked.